5.56 tight fitting in shell holder

[IRY]

Hello everyone. I have a question about some 5.56 cases I have been collecting lately. I pick it up at the local shooting area and I usually decap it then clean. Some of this brass is a very tight fit in my shell holder if it fits at all. I would guess I'm throwing away around 25%. I don't know if my shell holder is a little tight or If the brass is actually flawed. Some of these cases are obviously out of round at the base because I can rotate them to fit sometimes.
This is kind of frustrating because of the time wasted both collecting and it makes my case kicker useless. Also I don't think the brass was previously loaded because the crimp is still in.
Any thoughts about this? Thanks.

Read More

 

[Member 34319]

Hello everyone. I have a question about some 5.56 cases I have been collecting lately. I pick it up at the local shooting area and I usually decap it then clean. Some of this brass is a very tight fit in my shell holder if it fits at all. I would guess I'm throwing away around 25%. I don't know if my shell holder is a little tight or If the brass is actually flawed. Some of these cases are obviously out of round at the base because I can rotate them to fit sometimes.
This is kind of frustrating because of the time wasted both collecting and it makes my case kicker useless. Also I don't think the brass was previously loaded because the crimp is still in.
Any thoughts about this? Thanks.

I chalk it up as a deformed case from a handful of things.

Overgassed gun extraction causing rim to deform. Some guns are notorious for this, IE Sig556 absolutely destroys brass. My M85 does a good number on brass as well.

High pressure round causing case to deform in various ways.

Some guns have funny bolt faces causing the brass to fireform into it creating a deformed case at the base.

There are other things too, but those are my three main points.

 

[Rick4570]

the common thing for this to happen is when the .556 fired in a magazine that has metal feed lips. the feed lips will cut into the rim and deform usually causing a burr on the rim. when i run into cases like that i pick up at the range i just file down the burr. if you get a .556 case gauge you can stick the rim of the case first in the case gauge and catch those before you try to reload them. that is why i purchased a polymere mag as the plastic feed lips do not deform the rims during feeding.HTH

 

[Certaindeaf]

All of the above and check your shell holder with unfired brass/factory cartridges to rule that out.
Some brands of shell holders are not as specific/have a wider or lesser range of cartridges that it'll "do" so be aware of that.

 

[IRY]

Thanks for the replys as they all make since! My new Starline brass fits great in the shell holder. I think I'll try the case guage too.

 

[DizzyJ]

More than likely it's the extractor pulling hard on the case head while the pressure is extremely high and the chamber not quite yet wanting to let go of it.

 

[Caveman Jim]

All of the above and check your shell holder with unfired brass/factory cartridges to rule that out.
Some brands of shell holders are not as specific/have a wider or lesser range of cartridges that it'll "do" so be aware of that.

This right here, I have bought a lot of used reloading stuff and I've noticed that some of the older shell holders have higher ramps & are a pain to fit .223 & 5.56 cases in. Plus the stuff you pick up is like a puzzle to figure out why it isn't worth reloading.

 

[po18guy]

What is the headstamp on the brass? Might be a military contract with looser tolerances. But, the extractor/ejector dings also can occur. My HK91 tears '308s up, as it is tuned for reliability rather than soft ejection.

 

[Certaindeaf]

What is the headstamp on the brass? Might be a military contract with looser tolerances. But, the extractor/ejector dings also can occur. My HK91 tears '308s up, as it is tuned for reliability rather than soft ejection.

It is "tuned" with a fluted chamber so it doesn't rip the brass in half.

 

[Tankjr]

Extractor or fixed ejector.

 

[po18guy]

It is "tuned" with a fluted chamber so it doesn't rip the brass in half.

That is part of it, yes, but the delayed roller-locked action demands that feature. Being military, it bangs the empties out without regard for reloadability. The port buffer helps in that regard, by avoiding the dent in the case wall. Fortunately, back when I worked for a living, I laid up a lot of .308 brass, so if it rips them up, it is not a real problem.

 

[IRY]

Well I had to dig this thread up again. I was a Coastal yesterday and decided to pick up a RCBS #10 shell holder just to satisfy my curiosity. The new holder is most definitely a better fit or the old one is too tight. Whatever it is the two are different! Some lose tolerance specs from RCBS I guess.

 

[po18guy]

Do you have dial calipers? A few measurements might tell the tale. My guess is that the newer shell holder is a little more tolerant of the wide variation in military .223/5.56 brass on the market. The older shell holder will probably produce more accurate loads as long as the brass slides in and out easily. It would be better for bolt gun or single shot loads. If the shell holders appear the same, I would mark them so you know the difference. A call to RCBS would probably explain this to your satisfaction.

Back to your original post. If you have been collecting range brass, there is no way of knowing what sort of velocity record that shooter was trying to set. The appearance of the primer and the case wall at the head would give you signs of high pressure loads - therefore, good cases to discard or sell for scrap. When I encounter such brass, I scrunch them with channel-locks so they cannot be reloaded.

 

[IRY]

POGuy...Of course Reloaders have calipers?...Right?....LOL. I have two sets(Starrett and Mitutoyo), but neither can measure the inside of the shell holders. However the tight fitters(brass cases) are pushing the limit, but are within SAMMI spec.

The only reason I bought a new shell holder was the shear amounts of brass I was throwing away! Add to that, I purchased a used progressive this summer and the shell holder on that took all the once fired brass no problems. Also I recently started reloading .204 Ruger and some of the brand new brass was a tad bit tight in the old holder.

I am going to keep the old holder as my guide though!!! If it won't fit in there then Ill just throw it in the recycler or sell it to you....Just kidding!

 

[po18guy]

I asked because I did not know your, um, age bracket. It is surprising to read of so many who reload without the essentials. Your calipers should be able to measure the aperture, and feeler gauges might be able to be stacked up so as to measure the cut for the cartridge rims. Then again, it could be the case bevel that is tight.

 

[Member 5605]

Some brass can have a bent case from extraction that makes them tight in properly fitting holders. I've had a few that are like that.

I rotate the brass until it goes in and carry on.

 

[Greenbug]

It was probably my fault...

I really enjoy scattering defective cases around popular shooting areas so others may feel the frustration I have endured during the reloading process.

I guess I am sick that way....

 

[Caveman Jim]

Last year I too was having the same problem, I deprime, resize and primed on my RCBS RS single stage. It had an older RCBS shell holder that was giving me problems with range brass that may have been deformed from extraction problems and having small burs that would prevent it from fitting into the shell holder.

I had bought a new set of Lee dies and just happened to change out the shell holder. I had the tub of the no go's so I decided to do a check, low and behold, 90% of them worked in the Lee shell holder.

 

[Deavis]

It was probably my fault...

I really enjoy scattering defective cases around popular shooting areas so others may feel the frustration I have endured during the reloading process.

I guess I am sick that way....

That's what small primer .45 acp brass is for.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Those pesky ones will work fine in an original Lee Loader.. kinda. lol