seated bullets fall out of necks

[Dux-R-Us]

I got some brass and reloads in a trade from a friend. Calibre is .243 Win.

The bullets in many of his reloaded cartridges were loose and actualy fell out of (or into) the case. I tried full length sizing of these and the necks were still too big to hold the bullet. Trying to crimp the bullet with Lee Crimper was of no use either.

Questions:
1. What caused the necks to become so wide? Was it his rifle? Expander die too big? What gives?
2. Can I restore the brass?
3. Should I restore the brass or just throw it out.

Tally ho! - Kevin

 

[1000yardstare]

Did he turn the necks?

 

[Dux-R-Us]

Did he turn the necks?

I doubt it. We've never discussed neck turning in our conversations.

 

[RonAKA]

What is the outside diameter of the neck of a loaded round that does not hold the bullet, compared to one that does?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I had that happen when I first started turning necks and didn't understand what was going on.... I turned too much off the necks and the sizer die doesn't have enough brass to squeeze down enough to allow the expander ball to properly contact the inside neck wall..

The other option is to remove the bullet and powder and run one of the brass through the full length sizer and see if the bullet will seat ..

 

[jonbearman]

Go to any reloading manual and see what the drawing of the cartridge says.My book says a loaded cartridge in its original form should measure .276 using unaltered .243 win brass. When you full length size the neck should be at least .002 thou under the size of the bullet.If you full length size and the bullets drop in ,make sure your expander ball is correct size and if it is I would say that the brass has been altered by someone.Just consult your hornady manual or whatever you have,all the answers should be there.

 

[jimbires]

measure the bullet diameter too . maybe he bought a box that are small . that's my only guess ,after whats been mentioned already . Jim

 

[fdshuster]

It may simply be brass (what brand?) that has very thin neck walls. I've seen factory, 223, 243, 308, etc. brass that will vary from .014" to as little as .0105". Load a few rounds using new factory brass. I've found Winchester in the 50 count bags to be very high quality at a fair price.

 

[Dimwit Flathead]

Is it soft, new brass? Do the bullets have big pressure rings at the bases?

 

[jonbearman]

He has to send us more measurements before any of us can figure this one.It is a puzzle for sure. Dux R Us,send all the measurements to us,the neck diameter of a good loaded round ,the inside diameter of the fired neck ,the neck wall thickness,etc.Then we wil know what the real problem is.Post the imfo tonight if possible.Measure the expander on the sizing die too.

 

[Dux-R-Us]

What is the outside diameter of the neck of a loaded round that does not hold the bullet, compared to one that does?

normal case outside dia of neck: .272"
inside dia of neck: .236"
thickness of brass at neck .018"

weird case outside dia of neck: .278"
inside dia of neck: .241"
thickness of brass at neck .019"

FL sizing has not reverted the brass back to a state in which it holds the bullet snugly. All my .243 bullets fall out or at least are very loose, so it is not a bullet thing.

My friend used a Lee die, which I also got in the trade. However I got a stuck case in it and ruined the die getting it out. I replaced it with RCBS dies.

Kevin

 

[fdshuster]

I've never had neck wall thickness measurements of .018" and .019", and that's with Winchester, Remington, Federal and Lapua. Most I've ever seen has been .014" and that's a very few examples. Average is closer to .012". Are we talking about the "old" 243 Winchester or the "new" 243 Winchester Super Short Magnum? An easy solution remains to forget about the brass you got with the rifle & try new virgin brass.

 

[RonAKA]

Something does not seem right with your sizing die. Is it a standard full length sizing die with an expander ball?

 

[6BRinNZ]

How many times has the brass been fired?

I have had an issue using lapua brass in a factory spec chamber - the brass had been fired 4 times....after resizing (I use redding dies with a bush) for the 5th reload I could push the bullets in with my finger....basically the brass was overworked...annealing fixed the issue.

Although those measurements sound like no squish is going onto the neck at all.