Trimming rifle brass.

[JuglansRegia]

If you are having difficulty closing the bolt on your re-loads, you might need to bump the shoulder back a little. If you adjust your sizing die to touch the shell holder when you are actually sizing a shell there will be enough backlash/play that when the ram is all the way up, you will have enough room to slip a thick business card between the bottom of your die and the shell holder. The solution is to insert the sizing die even deeper, a little at a time until you can easily close your bolt with a freshly resized shell. Trimming to length is another issue.

 

[MrElectric03]

I used to measure and separate my brass. Once I got the Dillon trimmer I just run it all through. Makes quick work out of a pile of brass.

 

[GWS]

This is for both my 7mag and 308. I'm not new to reload just new to rifle reloading. And it's all for a bolt gun.

I'll have to size some brass and see how it is with out a bullet on it to see if that is my issue. Thanks for that idea

That's a good odea! Do it.

 

[Goosebrown]

I get 10-20 reloads on a piece of brass but over time they get progressively harder to chamber. Solution from a gunsmith that does benchrest rifles is a bump die which seats the shoulder just a bit. I do this every five loadings or so.

I tarely trim as my load doesn't flow the brass much. Maybe twice in the case lifetime.

Search results for: 'Bump-Dies' | Natchez

outdoors.natchezss.com

 

[mr.revolverguy]

Using the RCBS X Die I am conducting an experiment with brand new federal premium brass. I chose federal premium because it is said to be the softest. I chose a known good load with varget and 69gr smk. Right now I am on my 6th loading and have not had to trim this since the first firing. I would say the RCBS xdie works as advertised but you must follow the exact instructions, I have met reloaders that aren't willing to.

 

[Lazyfaire]

OK, I use to buy 1x fired 7.62 x51 mm Nato brass from the recycle place. They probably got it from the base. Back then, M60s were what most of the ammo was shot out of.

Anyway, the brass was difficult to re-size. I believe that the M60's chambers were "generous." Hey, it's a machine gun.

FF today.....the surplus LC brass is probably coming from a M240.

Anyway, I still use a F/L re-sizer and got into the habit of using a gauge to test my re-sized brass.

STORY:

My reloaded ammo fit my M1a easily. But, when I tried the same ammo in my bolt action Rem 700....well, it didn't chamber. That batch of ammo got regulated for use only in the M1a. Humm.....but, I don't want that to happen again. So, I screwed down the re-sizing die down a bit more. The new ammo is just passing, in the gauge test. Remember, there is a high and a low cut, to test the re-sized brass to still be acceptable. Now, the ammo would work in both rifles.

Bottom line: chambers vary and a little bit could be all the difference.

And.......cam over while re-sizing. I hope you're doing that...RIGHT?

Aloha, Mark

PS....this is the type of gauge that I use. Though mine is made of old fashion steel.

L.E. WILSON, INC. BRASS CASE GAGES | Brownells

There are many other gauges and ways to accomplish the same goals.

I am learning all about the reloading process but got some good advice from someone that might be of help to the OP.
When you shoot ammo out of your bolt action it sits in the chamber for a few seconds and actually reforms itself to that size chamber.
When you shoot the M-1 it ejects immediately before it has that chance to reform. After firing it has expanded and since it got ejected immediately it is still 'swollen'. Therefore it will not fit into your bolt action. This ammo will have to be resized very time.

Hence the 308 I shoot out of my RPR is reloaded separately from the ammo that goes into my POF. My RPR ammo I check occasionally but usually do not have to resize. Just check the length every so often.

Try separating your ammo and see if that helps.

 

[JuglansRegia]

I am learning all about the reloading process but got some good advice from someone that might be of help to the OP.
When you shoot ammo out of your bolt action it sits in the chamber for a few seconds and actually reforms itself to that size chamber.
When you shoot the M-1 it ejects immediately before it has that chance to reform. After firing it has expanded and since it got ejected immediately it is still 'swollen'. Therefore it will not fit into your bolt action. This ammo will have to be resized very time.

Hence the 308 I shoot out of my RPR is reloaded separately from the ammo that goes into my POF. My RPR ammo I check occasionally but usually do not have to resize. Just check the length every so often.

Try separating your ammo and see if that helps.

Nope, as soon as the projectile leaves the barrel and the pressure drops, there is no more interaction between brass and chamber besides the transfer of heat. The issue with semi autos is that the chambers are cut with looser or bigger dimensions to allow them to chamber and function more reliably.

 

[ma96782]

I am learning all about the reloading process but got some good advice from someone that might be of help to the OP.
When you shoot ammo out of your bolt action it sits in the chamber for a few seconds and actually reforms itself to that size chamber.
When you shoot the M-1 it ejects immediately before it has that chance to reform. After firing it has expanded and since it got ejected immediately it is still 'swollen'. Therefore it will not fit into your bolt action. This ammo will have to be resized very time.

Hence the 308 I shoot out of my RPR is reloaded separately from the ammo that goes into my POF. My RPR ammo I check occasionally but usually do not have to resize. Just check the length every so often.

Try separating your ammo and see if that helps.

I was trying for ammo that would work/function in any particular rifle (bolt or semi-auto) as long as the caliber was the same. Like in: KISS. That way, if I picked up my reloads (in this case in 7.62x51) I'd be able to head off to the range and it would be expected to work no matter which rifle I brought with me.

I wasn't trying for "exceptional accuracy."

BUT YES, if you're looking for exceptional accuracy with a bolt gun......you'd would probably want to keep your brass separated and perhaps even neck size only, trim the necks, trim for length, weigh the cases, etc.... And, we haven't even started with bullet selection. Oh....and some have even reported that keeping track of what position the ammo is in, when it's in the chamber will help (speaking of bolt guns because it's easier to determine vs in a semi-auto firearm).

The major factor though is, that the rifle's chamber determines the expanded case size. In most cases the semi-auto and full auto firearms may be "slightly bigger" though still within specs. Also, the bolt slamming cartridges (semi-auto) into a chamber is also a violent action that could form brass to some small degree. Not so much with a bolt gun. Also, since I mentioned it, the violent extraction process (semi-auto) could also deform some case rims. Making for a PIA situation when checking brass in some gauges.

Aloha, Mark

 

[pharmseller]

I gave up full-length resizing years ago. When I fire a cartridge, the brass expands to fit the chamber, not necessarily SAAMI specifications. The brass has a custom fit to that particular chamber. FL sizing unnecessarily works the brass, causing, among other things, case stretch, which results in trimming.

I hate trimming. I use the Little Crow Gunworks WFT when I do trim, but I hate it.

I keep my brass separated by A. rifle and B. number of times fired. Tumble, neck size/deprime, primer pocket cleaning if I'm feeling nostalgic, reprime, powder, bullet. My brother and I do okay in the accuracy department.

And I don't weigh cases or bullets prior to loading. We only shoot to 600 yards (a little farther when marmots or sage rats are on the menu) so I don't feel the need to control for every variable.





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