Why can't I ever...

[gearfoot]

get 1 x fired brass to fit in my chambers?

I've had this happen three times now with three custom guns. 300 Win Mag, 22-250 and now a 7mm RUM.

I bought fired brass for all of them, ran it through the full length sizer and they will not chamber. Some barely chamber with a bit of force.

It seems that the problem is just in front of the web of the case. If I buy new brass will there be an issue?

Why is this? Do I need different dies? The dies are all Redding full length dies.

Thanks.

 

[highridge1]

With magnums in can happen,you may need a small base die. I don't buy used brass because it has been fired in someone elses chamber which is going to have different dimensions than mine.You must have tight spec chambers.I buy new brass and keep the brass with the same rifle.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

DONT JAM IT SOMETHING IS WRONG!

Could be a few things going on. First thing I would do is call the smith who built your rifles and ask what the chamber is? Ask him is you have a tight neck chamber? If you do you are going to have to turn the necks of your brass in order for them to fit.

Second go back through your die set up and make sure you did it right.

Third do all the brass prep you can.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I rarely use brass that was fired in a different rifle first. However, over the last year I picked up over a hundred pieces of once fired 300RUM brass at the range. Just recently I decided to clean and prep all the brass and use it in a semi-custom rifle.

About 1/3 of the brass would not chamber even though it was run through a Redding Type S FL die. The balance worked fine and after the first firing in my chamber the brass is no different than brass I originally bought new. Rather than spend any more time on the brass that didn't fit well (or at all) I just put it back in the brass bin where its sold by the pound.

 

[Shane G.]

Sounds like the shoulder is not getting set back enough. I had some brass like that I took an extra shell holder and took some material off the top so the case would go a little deeper into die.

It didn't take much and I used hornady case headspace to compare brass that fit to brass that was tight or would not fit at all.

 

[gearfoot]

Initially that's what I thought the problem was but upon closer inspection, it's the area of the case just above the web...

 

[boomtube]

"...upon closer inspection, it's the area of the case just above the web..."

"Adjusting" a size die as the "directions" say only gets us close, it's rarely perfect when done that way.

Install one of your FL dies in the press the way you normally do it. Run a case fully up and look under the die; see if there is a gap between the die and shell holder. If there is, and I would bet so, lower the ram and turn the die down enough to close the gap; that should do it.

 

[jasonprox700]

I know you're running bolts, but I ran into the same problem with my .308, only mine is a semi-auto. I resized a large batch of brass, and loaded some up to try. I could get it to chamber, but barely. I wanted to try sizing some more brass and I figured out my problem. When I screwed in the sizing die, I ran the ram to the top of it's stroke and found the bottom of the die was not tight against the top of the shell holder. I adjusted it so that the die touched, and then I gave it another 1/4 turn. Problem solved.

You may need to do this the first time around before you fire it in your own rifle.

 

[SidTheKidd]

I was having this same problem with my new 7-300 WM. I bought once fired 300 wm brass that I was going to neck down to 7mm. I got the brass re-sized with the redding FL 300 WM dies and the cases would not go into the chamber. They were clearly rubbing right before the belt. So I went and bought some new brass and a RCBS FL 300WM die. The new brass chambered without a problem after I necked it down.
So next I tried the RCBS dies with the once fired brass. Not sure why it worked now, but the issue went away and the rounds chamber.

So I definintely feel your pain, at the time this stuff was going on I was trying to break in the barrel and get a load worked up for testing on some speed goats. Thankfully it all worked out. Hope this helps somehow.

 

[renegadelzard]

ive been having the same issue with 243 and 308..until today...its all in die set up..take your time and get it set up as close to perfect as you can...here is how i beat my brass..first, check the decapping pin..not sure why, but i had mine out .030" and my brass just wouldnt go all the way in the die, no matter how many times i turned it in...i moved it back to .025 or so and bam, perfect brass every stroke..with the 243, it was as simple as screwing down the die until the shell holder touched the ram BEFORE it cammed over..this made all the difference in the world for some reason...dont know why, but it worked..hope you get yours straight, i know how frustrating it is throwing out perfectly good brass...

 

[Loner]

I went through it on a rechambered job on a 22-250. Called all the die makers and
found the Forester's were just a tad (about .0002) smaller than the others. My cases
were sticking just above the web like yours and I had a lot of brass. The gunsmith
used a new reamer. By the time I could get the rounds to chamber they were so short
at the shoulder they would nearly separate when fired. So back to the gunsmith, He
opened it up with a different reamer but also cut the shoulder a tad more. Now it was
too long. Off to another gunsmith, He set the barrel back .011 more and corrected the
chamber with another reamer. Everything is fine now. So if you show the rub mark,
(shiny spot) on the side of the case I don't think setting the shoulder back more will
help. Size a new case fired from that chamber and see if the current die setting will
size it properly.

 

[sdeering]

Yep make sure your shell holder is actually touching the die when sizing.

The press will flex when you are resizing and this is where problems can start.
Also make sure you have enough lube on the side of the case to help.

If that doesnt work you may have to get a different die.

 

[BIG MO]

Screw your sizing die down until it makes full contact with the shell holder at the top of the stroke. Adjust it so you can feel the shell holder make contact with the sizing die and you feel significant resistance as the ram cams over at the top of the stroke. Do this and they should feed smooth as butter.

 

[coues7]

I am not associated with Larry Willis in anyway but you need a Collet Resizing Die. This will size your brass all the way to the belt. I had the same exact problem.