Is it possible thatspent brass from one chamber will not fit another?

[Troutslayer]

My buddy just gave me more than 200 nickel plated once fired cases for .300RUM. Mostly Remington but a bunch of federal too. This is the kick in the *** that I needed to get into reloading. I have a .300 RUM on order which will one day be an edge I hope. Anyway, since the brass is fireformed to one gun, is it possible that it will not fit another?

Expect a barrage of questions on reloading in the near future. Going to get a RCBS kit and a good book if I can find one. Any other advice for getting into reloading is welcome.

Does everyone measure headspace? What kind of tool do you use? If I understand correctly, you have to cut the brass down because it grows, and you want it to be a certain distance from the lands? Too much distance causes case growth, too little can damage chamber?

Last question, what is the heaviest bullet I might try for the RUM that will fit a factory magazine? I am looking for a bullet that will perform well on game from 100-800YDS. I realize that I will probably try many over time but looking for a good place to start.

This forum rocks. I have learned a lot here and now I finally have the tools to take my shooting to the next level.

Thanks.

 

[edge]

It all depends on which rifle has the tighter chamber, BUT, IMO you want to size it and fire form it to your chamber anyway.

edge.

PS The short answer to your question was YES

 

[boomtube]

"Anyway, since the brass is fireformed to one gun, is it possible that it will not fit another?"

Initital "fit" won't matter if you full lenght resize the brass. And most of us do that after each time we fire it.

 

[Tyler Kemp]

I just neck size mine most times until I need to bump the shoulder.

 

[BountyHunter]

Yes, there can be substantial difference between chambers, particularily from one mftr to another.

FL sizing to match your chamber is the key. Overworking the brass is not what you want before you start resizing.

Best place to start is do a lot of reading. Get a sinclair catalog www.sinclairintl.com and RW Hart www.rwhart.com. They have all the tools you will need to work with.

A pretty good book to answer 95% of your questions is "Handloading for Competition" by Glenn Zediker. gives very good explanations of things and how to dos. Sinclair normally has it or look at Amazon.com. Right now it is about the best out there.

BH

 

[boomtube]

"A pretty good book to answer 95% of your questions is "Handloading for Competition" by Glenn Zediker. gives very good explanations of things and how to dos... Right now it is about the best out there."

I agree about the value of that book .... for an experienced reloader! But, I disagree about it's worth to a beginner.

It has just too much detailed and esotoric info for someone just getting their feet under them in reloading. A beginner is much better seved with standard reloading manuals. Plan to look at that big book after a couple years experience, all that info will make a LOT more sense then.

 

[kraigwy]

its quite commone for brass from one gun not fitting another. And yes there are case gages used to messure the head space of a case. I either use the wilson case gage or one that I made. The Wilson Case gage sells for about 20 bucks through Midwayusa. It measure the shoulder to base. Actually its a go - no go gage as much when the case is slide in the gage, it should be flush. The gage also tells you if the case is undersized and if the neck needs trimed.

A case gage is MANDANTORY in gas guns. In gas guns the gas starts bleeding off while the bullet is still in the barrel, so you have the bolt pulling on the rim of the case while gas pressure is pushing the inside of the shoulder stretching the case. The gage is used to set up the sizing die to get the proper headspace.

Granted this isn't as much of a problem on bolt guns, but would be handy if you're using brass from another Rifle.

 

[Troutslayer]

ok, so there is a tool that measures head space of the case. Is there also a tool that measures the chamber so one knows how much to trim off? Is there like a mfr spec, or do I need to actually get in there and measure it.

When you guys say your bullet is seated "right to the lands", how are you measuring this? How does one know where the lands start and the chamber ends? I told you I was going to ask some stupid questions, but that's what the internet is for right?

Now that I know that a die resizes the brass to the original specs, I see how that problem is solved. Everyone says that this is easy stuff, but from what I can see the people I have talked to who reload aren't exactly in it for the precision end of things, which is about the only reason I'm getting into it.

Thanks.

 

[BountyHunter]

Yes, sinclair sells a case length guage that fits in the end of the case and is put into the chamber to measure exact chamber length.

However, for starting it is easier and simpler to just use max trim length in most reloading manuals. You will not know or be able to tell the difference starting off. Plus measure wrong and pressures jump up.

Starting off stay with the easier until you learn and become practiced.

BH