Just getting into rifle reloading and having difficulty narrowing down why I can't get my headspace down. Not sure if it is operator or equipment. Here is my timeline of events:
-Resized 200 pieces of brass a using RCBS 223 FL dies with depth set to just touch the the Lee #4 shellholder using a Lee Hand Press while on a long road trip
-Received a second hand 223 Case gauge and noticed that all my brass were sitting proud of the top of the gauge
-Troubleshot the gauge by using factory ammo and those looked fine
-Troubleshot the press by using a bench mounted Lee Single Stage Press set again to just touch the shellholder, no improvement
-Lowered the die such that when loaded with a piece of brass the die and holder made contact. This seemed to have an improvement but still out of spec
-Measured the deck of the shellholder and got .124-.125, which seemed to be standard
So my running theory is that my second hand RCBS die is too long? Googling around, it sounds like that can happen. Seems a little farfetched, but I am out of ideas.
-Resized 200 pieces of brass a using RCBS 223 FL dies with depth set to just touch the the Lee #4 shellholder using a Lee Hand Press while on a long road trip
-Received a second hand 223 Case gauge and noticed that all my brass were sitting proud of the top of the gauge
-Troubleshot the gauge by using factory ammo and those looked fine
-Troubleshot the press by using a bench mounted Lee Single Stage Press set again to just touch the shellholder, no improvement
-Lowered the die such that when loaded with a piece of brass the die and holder made contact. This seemed to have an improvement but still out of spec
-Measured the deck of the shellholder and got .124-.125, which seemed to be standard
So my running theory is that my second hand RCBS die is too long? Googling around, it sounds like that can happen. Seems a little farfetched, but I am out of ideas.