Resized 6x47 brass won't chamber

[savagedasher]

Smart ass answer? I failed to note he had a Co-ax. My bad. No need to be such a Cretin. I've seen you make a few bad calls but no one called you names. Grow up and get a life.

I never called you names your one of a few that gave a good answer . Larry

 

[Fotheringill]

I learn something every day. I always thought a sofa can was that last beer in my hand before I fall asleep watching TV.

 

[gotcha]

I never called you names your one of a few that gave a good answer . Larry

I guess I'm trying to understand how smart a__ isn't name calling At any rate, Thanks for the gracious reply. Have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Dale

 

[jlow]

Back on track, it seems to me that SG4247 and ShootDots is correct – if you size a 6.5 down to a 6mm, you are going to have thick necks and perhaps that artifact at the neck/shoulder junction. Both of those can be and should be fixed by turning the necks. I don’t think you can use neck down brass without neck turning.

 

[SheepDog]

So I have this new barrel installed on my rifle, 6x47 Lapua. I took some once fired 6.5x47 brass and ran it through the Forster 6x47 FL sizer. It won't chamber. I double checked case neck diameter, it was 0.269. Chamber is supposed to be 0.273. I double checked case length. It was 1.844 on avg. max is 1.850.

I took a headspace measurement with my Stoney Point gauge, it came out 1.4865 on several cases, (this measures from bottom up to along the middle of shoulder). I screwed the sizer down a 1/4 turn so my Co-ax press cams on the bottom of the die. Resized cases again. Measured again. I get between 1.4860 and 1.4865. Still won't chamber.

The only other thing I can think of is that there is a small ridge at the base of the neck. Not a doughnut, but a little ridge where the neck transitions to the shoulder. Anyone familiar with this? Could this be the problem? What is the solution?

After trying 10 cases, a few will chamber but I have to really muscle the bolt down to close. The rest won't chamber at all.

OK, from what you say the length from your case shoulder to base is too long. The cure is going to be to trim the bottom of the die to get the shoulder back a bit further. You could give the die manufacturer a call and tell them the length problem you are having and they might send a new die to you. I know that RCBS does this. If you don't have a lathe getting an accurate cut is going to be difficult but doable. You might be able to use a circular or belt sander to remove enough of the bottom of the die.

 

[dedogs]

The cure is going to be to trim the bottom of the die

Why this instead of removing material from the shell holder and dedicating that S H to that die? If he takes material from the die he probably can't ever re-sell the die. Just curious. dedogs

 

[Zero333]

I bet if you bump the shoulders back another 0.004" it will be fine because the die will be able to squeeze the base of the case a little more, just enough to chamber.

I've had this problem when using brass from another chamber. and all I had to do is FL size it a bit farther down and all was good.

 

[Ruddy]

Why this instead of removing material from the shell holder and dedicating that S H to that die? If he takes material from the die he probably can't ever re-sell the die. Just curious. dedogs

The Forester Co-Ax press doesn't use a standard type shell holder like other presses.

 

[Richard Jones]

The Forester Co-Ax press doesn't use a standard type shell holder like other presses.

Mine does, but only because of the adapter plate. Got a hell of a deal on my press, too! Hope your meeting was good.....

 

[dedogs]

The Forester Co-Ax press

Thanks for the reply. I'm not familiar with the Forester co -ax. dedogs

 

[Ruddy]

Mine does, but only because of the adapter plate. Got a hell of a deal on my press, too! Hope your meeting was good.....

Yeah you got a steal on that press!! Glad I can come visit it on occasionally.

 

[DHD]

There are 2 things at work here: 1.) when you neck down, your neck wall thickness grows>>>possibly too large to enter the chambers' neck area; and 2.) The base of the case, fired in a different chamber, may be too large to enter your new chamber. It is one or both of them..

I'm going to echo Benjamin here. While not a 6×47L, I had a very similar experience with 223 Lapua brass fired in another rifle. I full length sized them with the intention to fireform to 223 AI, and they sent me into some head scratching time to figure it out. The base was too large. The bolt would almost close but would not cam all the way down. As soon as I marked the cases all the way down to the base with a good black stripe, it was obvious. And yes I use a Co-Ax for all of my smokeless reloading.

While it's possible the problem is in the neck area, I bet it's the base. As someone else mentioned, try some new cases. I suspect they will chamber after being necked down.

FWIW, I also load 6×47L and started with new cases. The cases last so long, I figured I would wear the barrel out before the cases.

By all means, let us know what the issue was.

 

[smoooth]

As stated by many, you may need a small base die or smaller diameter FL size die. Factory dies can be problematic with custom chambers. I recently went through 4 sets of .243 win dies to find one FL sizer tight enough for a custom chamber. Lately I have found the Hornady New Dimension dies to have the smallest base diameter, perhaps just luck of the draw, though.

You may want (or have) to do a little neck turning as .273 is getting pretty tight and you will need .001 - .002 per side for expansion.

Best of luck!

 

[fredhorace77]

I,for one, hope this man never quits posting on this forum. He is a constant source of levity.

I'm beginning to think he is just drunk 24/7

 

[CacheCropp]

I'm going to echo Benjamin here. While not a 6×47L, I had a very similar experience with 223 Lapua brass fired in another rifle. I full length sized them with the intention to fireform to 223 AI, and they sent me into some head scratching time to figure it out. The base was too large. The bolt would almost close but would not cam all the way down. As soon as I marked the cases all the way down to the base with a good black stripe, it was obvious. And yes I use a Co-Ax for all of my smokeless reloading.

While it's possible the problem is in the neck area, I bet it's the base. As someone else mentioned, try some new cases. I suspect they will chamber after being necked down.

FWIW, I also load 6×47L and started with new cases. The cases last so long, I figured I would wear the barrel out before the cases.

By all means, let us know what the issue was.

Lots of great advice here by many, Thanks! I will start with the easiest steps, marking case with a sharpie to see where the problem is. If it's the base, I'll try the 5 sec dwell time first to see if I get lucky. If it's the shoulder, I'll try the feeler gauge under the case head and see if that does it. Will advise what happens after that, thanks to all.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Good Post !!! Some times Funny.
I would like to add , I had Foster 6.5X55 Die that would not size my Brass correctly. Sent it to Foster they sent it back stating in Spec.
I ordered a Redding and a RCBS Die. End of trouble both Dies worked.

A good friend ordered all Foster equipment Co-Axle press and Dies for .308.
He called me asking why can't I get this Brass in my Rifle ( I built it F/TR with 2011 Full Bore Chamber ).
I had No problem with it ......

It turn out His Foster Die was a shoulder bump Die not marked that why.
SH-- Does Happen
Best of Luck

 

[clowdis]

There is one thing about a Forester Co-ax press that no-one seems to want to talk about. It isn't solid, it WILL stretch when you try to form cases. I tried making 6mm SLR cases from .243 cases and the press would not make those with any consistency and that's a pretty easy resizing operation. I had to tear down the whole setup and put it in my Rockchucker to get the brass to reform with consistent results. If you have another press move your resizing operation to it and you'll get better results. A Co-ax may be good for straight ammo but it ain't worth beans for any kind of serious resizing operation.

 

[Richard Jones]

There is one thing about a Forester Co-ax press that no-one seems to want to talk about. It isn't solid, it WILL stretch when you try to form cases. I tried making 6mm SLR cases from .243 cases and the press would not make those with any consistency and that's a pretty easy resizing operation. I had to tear down the whole setup and put it in my Rockchucker to get the brass to reform with consistent results. If you have another press move your resizing operation to it and you'll get better results. A Co-ax may be good for straight ammo but it ain't worth beans for any kind of serious resizing operation.

I'll have to disagree with that statement, respectfully, of course...........

Maybe you could start another thread about the pros/cons of the press?

Your first sentence almost sounds like there is some sort of conspiracy.......... Perhaps "no one has mentioned that........" was what was meant? Or, you can go with the conspiracy thing..........totally up to you, of course. I for one would like to see the data from the deflection testing that you've done.

 

[clowdis]

No conspiracy Richard. I bought a Co-ax expecting it to fully replace my Rockchucker. One of the first things I tried to do on it was to reform .243 brass into 6mm SLR. This involves pushing the shoulder back a little and changing the angle to make the neck longer. My brass would not chamber after resizing. Measured the shoulder and it wasn't pushing it back far enough so I set the die to where it was pressing into the shell holder. Still didn't work so I blamed the die. Took a few thousands off the bottom of the die and it still wouldn't push the shoulder back far enough. If I used a large amount of Imperial sizing lube I could get it back far enough but also got dents in the case from too much lube. So thought I'd try it in the Rockchucker and found I was pushing the shoulder back way too much. After resetting the die and using RCBS case lube I had no more issues resizing the brass. This is the same issue that the OP is having sizing his 6.5 x 47 to 6 x 47 with his Co-ax. The press just isn't as stiff as other presses due to the design.

 

[clowdis]

OK, my bad, I see now after re-reading the first post that he is using Forester dies but doesn't say he's using a Forester press.