Why are these Flat Spots on my Shoulders

[hoz53]

i looked over some reddings today and none of them had vent holes i could find. i cleaned the die to and i think it helped a little. sure couldnt see anything in there though. ill get some of that royal you recommend and see what happens—- thanks

yyy

 

[RED DIRT]

i looked over some reddings today and none of them had vent holes i could find. i cleaned the die to and i think it helped a little. sure couldnt see anything in there though. ill get some of that royal you recommend and see what happens—- thanks

Sometimes the hole is within the threads of the die. It is extremely small. Look again carefully, it should have a air bleed hole somewhere.

 

[hoz53]

Is this NEW brass (unfired) that you're prepping??
If it is I'm wondering if the case body might be a touch long and the die is trying to force the shoulder back and it's starting to collapse.

no- prob 15 firings on it. i will check how far the necks go in bushing. i did check case length today and i think they r all rite—— thanks

 

[hoz53]

Sometimes the hole is within the threads of the die. It is extremely small. Look again carefully, it should have a air bleed hole somewhere.

ok— ive seen the ones in the threads to. i dont think redding puts them in cause i looked at several other redding dies today to. im gonna call them to see,,, thanks

 

[hoz53]

Since it appears to go all the way around the case shoulder I'd say you have some chatter from the chambering reamer. How old is the chamber?

im wondering more about my chamber than i am the brass. will check more later today. i do have two other chambers from that reamer in other guns. ill be reporting back. thanks

 

[hoz53]

How much are we sizing the brass? I like the plugged vent hole observation. Looks we are setting the shoulder back based on how crisp the corners look.

Heavy bullets and high pressure or light bullets?

Bushing die, factory one piece die, or custom honed sizing die?

it does seem i was pushing the shoulder to far back. also no vent hole that i could find.
Im still at it- thanks

 

[Webster]

Hoz

Does your die have a hole drilled into to it, 90* to the chamber ?
It might be plugged. Take a paper clip and clean it out.
Sometimes it’s hidden under the lock ring that’s used to adjust the die height.

Hal

Never thought to see if the ring blocks the vent hole on my dies. Don't have a problem but it's a must to do.

 

[hoz53]

Never thought to see if the ring blocks the vent hole on my dies. Don't have a problem but it's a must to do.

took the lock rings off several dies today (yesterday) to see if the hole was blocked. i knew it would be my luck the hole would be under there. saw forester is smart about it and puts the hole at the top of the die.

 

[SeabeeKen]

i looked over some reddings today and none of them had vent holes i could find. i cleaned the die to and i think it helped a little. sure couldnt see anything in there though. ill get some of that royal you recommend and see what happens—- thanks

I hope it helps. lubed cases tend to take extra lube and keep pushing it up into that area as each case is inserted. With no vent hole it can keep building up. When I was testing case lubes a few years ago, I also found Lee case lube could build up a lot too. Lee lube would dent shoulders if used wet but did not when allowed to dry before inserting in the die. I think you will like the Royal, use sparingly as a little goes a long way

 

[Kracken McGraw]

None of my Redding’s have a vent hole.

 

[K22]

Hi K22. all the dents i have seen in shoulders have been a lube issue also. i worked with this again today. it seems i was over sizing the cases by mabie 002 as after i cleaned the die again and sized with just a lite amount of imperial on the body and the imperial neck lube dipping the necks the bump wasnt as much. cases look much better but i believe there are still small dents. i do have another of these dies i can try. i do use a sinclair bump gage. i get less resistance from the lapua. oh i do have the correct bushing in the die. i have some other pete brass i think i will try- same lot- the original batch is almost all sized now so i gotta shoot them to experiment some more. Im really wondering now if i have some chatter marks in chamber. gotta take new batteries for hawkeye tomorrow.
thanks

I have used Imperial Sizing Wax for the last 25 years or so. I never got a stuck case and only 1 time some dents because the lube accumulated in the die.

Since I got those dents, many years ago, I adopted a practice of brushing out the sizing die after each sizing session with a nylon bottle brush. I do not use any chemicals, just the brush which keeps the die free of accumulated lube. Never got another dent.

As I am sure you are aware, proper application of Imperial is essential to avoid problems. I apply to the body only with thumb and two adjacent fingers, a technique Frank Shuster (RIP) taught me. It works to perfection. Plus, a 2-ounce tin will lube several thousands of cases.

If you are monitoring your case head space with a bump gauge, then you should have some sense of whether you need to bump the shoulder which can also be verified by testing in the rifle chamber. I believe the Sinclair gauges index on the shoulder whereas others such as Whidden and Hornady index on a datum line on the shoulder. I do not know if this could cause some discrepancy in measurements but probably not since the boys at Sinclair know their business at least in my dated experience.

If the problem was in the rifle chamber, then wouldn't the Lapua cases also show this condition? Also, you stated previously that this condition only appears after sizing. To me that would rule out the rifle chamber.

 

[6MMsteve]

Make sure your vent hole isn't blocked it's weird never seen that before

 

[mmcu]

None of my Redding’s have a vent hole.

No vent holes in any of my Redding dies either.

I wish they did as they are more prone to denting case shoulders than other brands of dies that I use.

 

[hoz53]

I have used Imperial Sizing Wax for the last 25 years or so. I never got a stuck case and only 1 time some dents because the lube accumulated in the die.

Since I got those dents, many years ago, I adopted a practice of brushing out the sizing die after each sizing session with a nylon bottle brush. I do not use any chemicals, just the brush which keeps the die free of accumulated lube. Never got another dent.

As I am sure you are aware, proper application of Imperial is essential to avoid problems. I apply to the body only with thumb and two adjacent fingers, a technique Frank Shuster (RIP) taught me. It works to perfection. Plus, a 2-ounce tin will lube several thousands of cases.

If you are monitoring your case head space with a bump gauge, then you should have some sense of whether you need to bump the shoulder which can also be verified by testing in the rifle chamber. I believe the Sinclair gauges index on the shoulder whereas others such as Whidden and Hornady index on a datum line on the shoulder. I do not know if this could cause some discrepancy in measurements but probably not since the boys at Sinclair know their business at least in my dated experience.

If the problem was in the rifle chamber, then wouldn't the Lapua cases also show this condition? Also, you stated previously that this condition only appears after sizing. To me that would rule out the rifle chamber.

ive used imperial a long time to and i never got a stuck case. have got plenty of dents but usually when i wasnt paying enough attention and overlubed—. sometimes when i was trying to size something down. it always has worked well for me. i am guilty of not cleaning my dies enough. i need to do better at that. i do use a bump gage but with the flats on the shoulders its hard to get consistent readings.
i borescoped the gun last nite but couldnt really see any flat spots.
gonna cerrosafe the chamber to find out for sure. thanks

 

[hoz53]

I hope it helps. lubed cases tend to take extra lube and keep pushing it up into that area as each case is inserted. With no vent hole it can keep building up. When I was testing case lubes a few years ago, I also found Lee case lube could build up a lot too. Lee lube would dent shoulders if used wet but did not when allowed to dry before inserting in the die. I think you will like the Royal, use sparingly as a little goes a long way

have you tried the outlaw lube with lanolin? ive got the lanolin but havent mixed it yet.

 

[Rem06]

Is this NEW brass (unfired) that you're prepping??
If it is I'm wondering if the case body might be a touch long and the die is trying to force the shoulder back and it's starting to collapse.

This^^^^^?... i have seen that before! It is not lube.
Dang , i am trying to remember...wrong shell holder?

When have you trimmed?

Air vent hple maybe makes sense..
back off the die a bit , re check bump.

Now i wont sleep tonight! Lol?

 

[Rem06]

I bet there is a bulge the whole way around the case top like it is getting crushed the whole way around, not just a dent?


Crushed, and bulged....

 

[Rem06]

Back outta bed lol, really...

Are you using a button? Misadjusted...

 

[SeabeeKen]

have you tried the outlaw lube with lanolin? ive got the lanolin but havent mixed it yet.

Not that particular one but I have tried several lanolin based lubes.

 

[6MMsteve]

Back outta bed lol, really...

Are you using a button? Misadjusted...

I've destroyed a few cases with a high button, and maybe I have seen that with a high button, can't remember but I've done just about all the dumb stuff u can do but there is still more just wait