5.56 mm Reloads Won't Chamber?

kelly mt

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Feb 12, 2012
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I have two AR-15s one of which is new. The new gun will not chamber my reloads but will fire military rounds perfect. My old AR will chamber both with no problem at all. Both are 5.56 mm NATO chambers. What might be going on? Thanks for any ideas. PK
 
could be the chambers a bit tighter. I size all my 223 and 308 ammo thats going in black guns with a small base sizer. It doesnt effect brass life or accuracy and it goes a long way toward insuring reliablility. Even guns that will run with brass sized in a regular die can start misfeeding when they get a bunch or rounds through them and everything gets dirty. All my ar ammo is sb sized and trimmed after every shooting.
 
How many times has the brass been fired? I ran into the same issue when I first starting to learn about relaoding, and I have not had an issue since as long as hte brass is sized and trimmed prior to loading.

I have an older 5.56 PWA Upper that will eat anything. I have another one that the tolerances are much tighter.....
 
How are you re-sizing it. Any sizing FL die if properly set up will re-size to Sami Spec. Sounds like your die may not be set correctly.
Also check your OAL on your casing, but it has to be quite a bit longer then spec to start causing jams..
Never had a problem with at least 10 diff. AR15 rifles using RCBS and Redding FL dies and checking my brass OAL.
 
i have had problems using lee dies and rcbs but I believe redding normal 223 die is cut to close to small base dimentions.
How are you re-sizing it. Any sizing FL die if properly set up will re-size to Sami Spec. Sounds like your die may not be set correctly.
Also check your OAL on your casing, but it has to be quite a bit longer then spec to start causing jams..
Never had a problem with at least 10 diff. AR15 rifles using RCBS and Redding FL dies and checking my brass OAL.
 
I do use a RCBS FL die set correctly. I've been shooting these rounds in my Bushmaster for 12 years with not one chambering problem. The OAL is in spec. The brass has been fired 3 times. Question, "Redding body die". Not sure what you mean. The suggestion of using a SB die just might be the answer. Like I said, the new gun chews through military rounds.
 
I haven't needed or used one, but you may need to consider a small base FL die set.

I highly recommend you get a case gauge such as this...
JP Rifles

It will help ensure that your rounds will chamber cleanly in any SAMMI chamber.

-- richard
 
I do use a RCBS FL die set correctly. I've been shooting these rounds in my Bushmaster for 12 years with not one chambering problem. The OAL is in spec. The brass has been fired 3 times. Question, "Redding body die". Not sure what you mean. The suggestion of using a SB die just might be the answer. Like I said, the new gun chews through military rounds.
Look into what a body die can do . A small base die may be useful if your chambering issue is near the base diameter but I think the issue is chamber length . You can also buy a Redding SB body die if you need it . What you need to do is test where on the case is it too tight ?
Polish a tight case up with fine steel wool and try to chamber it . Don't jam it in too hard just enough to show some marks.
Then look at where it is sticking.
Remember Redding do not recommend you jump at using a body die to resize loaded ammo .
Stunt men don't recommend you jump of a building either but you can jump if you choose to .
 
I cant figure why some guys have such a problem using small base dies. I use them for all my ammo thats going to go into a ar in both 223 and 308. My thoughts are that it hurts absolutely nothing. brass life isnt reduced, at least not to a point ive noticed and accuracy is just as good in my guns. My thoughts have allways been that i may have to rely on those guns to protect my family and if using small base dies and trimming after every firing is going to do even a small ammount toward insuring reliability a guy is about foolish not to sb size. thing is too that because ammo sized in a nomal die fits a specific gun sure doesnt mean it will fit another and ive got a number or ars and i want to know that any ammo i grab will work in any gun A 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME. 40 bucks for a small base set of dies is a pretty small price to pay for that piece of mind. One other advantage is that i pick up lots of once fired range brass cheap or free and a small base die will take that brass down to spec even if it was fired in a large chamber.
 
I cant figure why some guys have such a problem using small base dies. I use them for all my ammo thats going to go into a ar in both 223 and 308. My thoughts are that it hurts absolutely nothing. brass life isnt reduced, at least not to a point ive noticed and accuracy is just as good in my guns. My thoughts have allways been that i may have to rely on those guns to protect my family and if using small base dies and trimming after every firing is going to do even a small ammount toward insuring reliability a guy is about foolish not to sb size. thing is too that because ammo sized in a nomal die fits a specific gun sure doesnt mean it will fit another and ive got a number or ars and i want to know that any ammo i grab will work in any gun A 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME. 40 bucks for a small base set of dies is a pretty small price to pay for that piece of mind. One other advantage is that i pick up lots of once fired range brass cheap or free and a small base die will take that brass down to spec even if it was fired in a large chamber.

That's exactly why I also recommended the jprifles case gauge. Just drop the resized brass into the gauge under it's own weight and feel both ends with your finger to confirm headspace, trim length and body diameter. It takes an extra 2 seconds. But, you can be confident it'll fit in your chamber.

Wilson also makes them for checking headspace and trim length.

-- richard
 
I cant figure why some guys have such a problem using small base dies. I use them for all my ammo thats going to go into a ar in both 223 and 308. My thoughts are that it hurts absolutely nothing. brass life isnt reduced, at least not to a point ive noticed and accuracy is just as good in my guns. My thoughts have allways been that i may have to rely on those guns to protect my family and if using small base dies and trimming after every firing is going to do even a small ammount toward insuring reliability a guy is about foolish not to sb size. thing is too that because ammo sized in a nomal die fits a specific gun sure doesnt mean it will fit another and ive got a number or ars and i want to know that any ammo i grab will work in any gun A 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME. 40 bucks for a small base set of dies is a pretty small price to pay for that piece of mind. One other advantage is that i pick up lots of once fired range brass cheap or free and a small base die will take that brass down to spec even if it was fired in a large chamber.

I did not even know there was another option then small base dies. All I ever buy for my auto guns.
 
It depends on the chamber specs . Some are tight and need SB dies and some are not. If you want ammo to transfer between any gun then a SB die would do that . However for a sloppy chamber in a single gun normal dies may be all that is required . Autos have to be sized a bit looser fit than bolts anyway.
There is no rule it is use what works for you.
 
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