Head space getting longer

[GW Hunter]

I've got a 7mm weatherby that i have always full length sized. I have always pushed the shoulder back .002. During my last session, the shells that I resized had the shoulder grow instead of being pushed back. I've never experienced this before. One batch of shells had only been fired twice, the second batch fired 7 times. Anyone have an explanation for this? Thanks in advance....

 

[Rich Coyle]

Your die is not set correctly. Start where you are and turn the die down about 1/16 of a full rotation. Measure. Repeat until desired length.

 

[dok7mm]

Work hardening of brass is what's changing your setting, if you're not annealing. You were right when you measured, some get them loaded and can't understand when they won't chamber.

 

[cdherman]

No one actually explained why your shoulder was longer after reloading. I can.

Here is what is happening. I bet $5 you are using FL dies to bump your shoulder back, and I bet another $5 you are using a decapping pin and expander ball to re-expand the neck to a decent internal diameter for your .284 bullet (usual is .283 or so, to give some grip).

But you have not been annealing. So your neck is getting harder and harder. The main problem is that the die is setting the shoulder back some, BUT the neck is hard and the expander pulls the shoulder back out, sometimes further than the shoulder was originally.

Hope this is correct and also clear.....

 

[lancetkenyon]

Also, work hardened brass springs back after bumping the shoulder. Anneal, and I bet this fixes your issue.

 

[bigedp51]

There are two possibilities.
1. Someone put Viagra in your case lube.
2. Your dies lock ring moved.

 

[GW Hunter]

The die has been set properly for a long time. Double nutted and locked down tight. That isn't the issue. I do not anneal my brass though and am thinking that may be my problem. The expander ball is pulling the shoulder back out... I find it odd the brass fired twice would start doing this though. I've never had this problem before but the two batches of brass in question were previously fired while developing loads using Barnes TSX bullets for the first time. 150gr TSX with 69 to 71.5 gr of RL19 and 160gr TSX with IMR 7828 from 68gr to 72gr. Some of the higher loads did some some pressure signs (ejector marks).

 

[243winxb]

Your fired brass has never fully expanded ro the chamber. So the shoulder is not going to contact the die.

Takes about 3 firings of neck sized reloaded to fill the chamber.
Less at maximum pressure, with hard bolt lift.

Adjust die down till sized brass fits into the chamber.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Your fired brass has never fully expanded ro the chamber. So the shoulder is not going to contact the die.

Takes about 3 firings of neck sized reloaded to fill the chamber.
Less at maximum pressure, with hard bolt lift.

Adjust die down till sized brass fits into the chamber.

Used to take seven firings of neck sizing before I had to full length my .223 brass. Neck sizing for that rifle was more accurate. (It was a fun rifle. Worse five shot group it ever fired with my good load was .496".)

 

[GW Hunter]

My much fired brass is and has always been 2.120" from base to a mid point on shoulder. When resized it has always been pushed back to 2.118". These last batches, the length is 2.122 to 2.124 with the cartridges I measured that would not chamber without some serious force. This is not a matter of the brass not reaching chamber length, it is over length. I'm thinking it is because the brass is being pulled back by the expander ball due to the hardening of the neck (that makes sense to me). My next question would be then, is this brass salvageable or should I trash it and start with new brass?

 

[GW Hunter]

And thanks for any and all the replies....

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

anneal em and you will be good to go -- if you dont have an annealer - pm me

 

[cdherman]

anneal em and you will be good to go -- if you dont have an annealer - pm me

I would agree that you need to anneal. Hot loads and neck sizing with a FL die and expander work the brass a lot.

You do not need a dedicated annealer -- do some searches. I use tempilac to make a spot on the outside of the neck, use a drill to spin the cartridge in the path of two propane torches and dump the cartridges into water when the tempilac goes black. Seems to be working for me. Look for some youtube vids.....

 

[GW Hunter]

Ok... so i annealed my brass for the first time. I believe I did a pretty good job for the first time, nice even, light color change just below the shoulder. Resized the brass and the length did not change (still long) so I decided to buy a new box of Weatherby brass. Reloaded it, shot it at low to medium loads (no pressure signs on any component). Came home, deprimed, cleaned and measured the brass. 2.118" from the base to midpoint of the shoulder. Ran one case through the die (with the expander ball removed) and it came out measuring 2.122". This die has always pushed the shoulder back to 2.120. Nothing has changed. The die is locked tight. I use the cam over method, so it cannot be set any lower anyway... HELP!!! Am I just losing my mind on this one????