Problem with belt cartridge

[Mada]

Hi, new to reloading here and I've ran into a problem (or noob error). I just started reloading and my first cartridge to reload is the 7mmRM. I've been saving the brass I get from shooting factories and I've began to reload them. I've encountered what I see as the "bulge problem". Yes. Just above the belt of my once fired brass measures .513, while factory the brass is .507. I've tried to FL resize the brass, mainly just to get a hang of reloading, but the cartridge wont fit into the die. About half an inch from the cartridge head is when the cartridge can no longer be push into the die without extreme effort. At this point I stopped trying not knowing if I should proceed and cam the cartridge into the die (hoping to eliminate the bulge) or if the bulge is a real problem. Please help :(

[boomtube]

The 'bulge' is not larger than the chamber it was fired in. If it's from your rifle it won't matter.

Rimmed, belted or rimless bottle neck reloads need to be resized so the shoulder fits the chamber. Meaning, forget about the belt and size the same as you would for any other bottle neck round.

[mo]

I have one of these dies. It works. Innovative Technologies - Reloading Equipment

[Kevin Thomas]

Mada,

for starters, it sounds like you need a better lube. Something like the old Imperial sizing die wax, now offered by Redding. Little goes a long way, and it should ease the feeling of pressure as you beat down on the press handle. It takes some degree of force to get a case fully resized, but it sounds like you're on the verge of sticking one, and tearing the rim off on the downstroke. As Boom Tube said, if these were cases originall fired in your rifle, it shouldn't take too much to get them to chamber easily again. Forget the belt, and size them as you would a conventional rimless bottlenecked cartridge, and you'll do fine.

[Tikkamike]

Originally Posted by Kevin Thomas

Mada,

for starters, it sounds like you need a better lube. Something like the old Imperial sizing die wax, now offered by Redding. Little goes a long way, and it should ease the feeling of pressure as you beat down on the press handle. It takes some degree of force to get a case fully resized, but it sounds like you're on the verge of sticking one, and tearing the rim off on the downstroke. As Boom Tube said, if these were cases originall fired in your rifle, it shouldn't take too much to get them to chamber easily again. Forget the belt, and size them as you would a conventional rimless bottlenecked cartridge, and you'll do fine.

lube was the first thing that came to mind for me too

[Mada]

Thats what I was thinking about aswell, to use lube, which i did but maybe mine isnt "lubey" enough. i also read about something called neck resizing? but I heard that you just set the die as you would to FL and back it off a bit. Which is a problem when i cant fit the cartridge far enough.. would the round part of the piece that knocks the primer out be good enough to redo the neck to fit a bullet?

[Kevin Thomas]

Mada,

No, neck sizing is a different issue, and it cannot be doen (in most cases) by simply backing off a FL die. You need a true Neck Sizing die if you're going to do this, one that touches only the neck and is not touching the body. Personally, I reccomend against it, particularly for hinting ammunition. You'll eventually have chambering issues with this, and it will usually manage to come at a very inopportune time.

Try the lube solution first, but stick to the FL sizing. I usually recommend a chamber type gage, such as the Wilsons, or a bump gage like the Hornady or Sinclair, just to make sure you're getting adequate clearance where needed, and no more.