Should I use a small base FL die?

[cfrazier77]

I have a question for reloading for an Rock River AR15 in 223. Currently in order to be able to get it the bolt for fully close I had to grind down a shell holder so my FL die could size more. Before if it bottomed out on a shell holder, lee or redding, it would not chamber. My question is should I continue doing what I am doing or get a small base die?

Thanks in advance!

 

[CADDIE5]

Yes you need to buy small base dies for your ar15. FL dies are mostly used in bolt guns. If you are serious I would also get an adjustable bullet seating die like Rcbs. It depends on what kind of accuracy you expect out of your shooting experience. The better you want to become the more you need consistent match grade ammo. Steve

 

[HPMike800]

I don't think the diameter of the base is your problem, It sounds like you need to push the shoulder back a little more. Take some emery cloth and take a little off the top of the shellholder. You may just have a chamber with a tight headspace. An AR chamber should not need more than a standared base diameter die.

 

[cfrazier77]

I don't think the diameter of the base is your problem, It sounds like you need to push the shoulder back a little more. Take some emery cloth and take a little off the top of the shellholder. You may just have a chamber with a tight headspace. An AR chamber should not need more than a standared base diameter die.

I had to take the shell holder to the bench grinder in order to get it to work. I would say that I took at least a 1/16" off.

 

[fivering]

Before you go any farther you need to get yourself a set of the Stony Point type head space gauges and see how far you are setting back your case shoulder, comparing a resized case with a fired case. If it is over about 3 thousandths or so, you are likely to have very short case life, and maybe case head separation if the set back is much more than that.
The instructions that come with a new die set are "ball park" at best, you should always use a headspace gauge to set your die shoulder set back.
If you still have trouble chambering with correct shoulder set back, by all means go to a small base die.

 

[Scott Harris]

You definitely do NOT need small base dies. Rock River uses a Wylde chamber on most of their barrels. The Wylde has 5.56 NATO body dimensions: very generous. As mentioned several times above, you DO need to know how much to set your shoulder back and without the right tools you are completely in the dark on this crucial measurement. Use standard F/L dies and find out how much you need to bump the shoulders and whether your current setup is achieving this....sounds like it is not. If your die is making contact with the shellholder, but not bumping the shoulder enough, you may need to get the bottom ground down: I'd probably send the die back to the manufacturer for this work.

It's always possible that your chamber was poorly done. Measuring your headspace before and after firing will give you the info you need to figure this out.

 

[cfrazier77]

Thanks for the advice. I got out a neck gauge and it was the FL die that I was using, Hornady. (I am not saying that Hornady dies are bad, everybody has a mistake and I have one.) The brass grew by .004 after sizing with the die making contact with a normal shell holder. I got out a Redding body die and moved the shoulder back .002/3 and it chambers nicely. I am ordering a Redding FL die and all should be well.

Thanks for the good advice!