redding body die issues?

[infidel 811]

hey guys, I switched over to a diff batch of once fired Winchester brass for my 300wm. It wont chamber, so I tried to put it in the redding body die and my brass feels like its going to get STUCK, and don't want to force it and it needs a bunch of pressure to get out of die. I have the 3pc redding comp dies. I put case lube on the case before going into body die. it did nothing to shoulder bump. almost like case is to big for die feels like. The case has about an inch before it would be fully in die. also using the redding stepped shell holders, I use .010 for my other good brass. should I use a different size shell older? any help would be great!
thanks

 

[jimbires]

the shellholder has nothing to do with being an inch away from getting your brass completely in the body die . I'd say the new once fired brass came from a large chamber . I think you need to use a good sizing lube , I'm back to using lube on a pad . then work the brass in and out , a little at a time , until you can get it completely in the die . I would use the standard shell holder so you can size as much as possible this first time .

 

[tanner o]

the shellholder has nothing to do with being an inch away from getting your brass completely in the body die . I'd say the new once fired brass came from a large chamber . I think you need to use a good sizing lube , I'm back to using lube on a pad . then work the brass in and out , a little at a time , until you can get it completely in the die . I would use the standard shell holder so you can size as much as possible this first time .

I had the same problem with my 300 win and redding die end up running the brass twice once with die backed out a turn more than normal then at normal spot. I used rcbs lube on the pad and wall la. Just make sure the entire case has lube on it. Hope this works for you.

 

[J E Custom]

I had the same problem with my 300 win and redding die end up running the brass twice once with die backed out a turn more than normal then at normal spot. I used rcbs lube on the pad and wall la. Just make sure the entire case has lube on it. Hope this works for you.

+1

Remove the expander ball also to get the brass sized and then use the expander ball or the bushing depending on what type of dies you are using.

I have also switched back to the "Old" RCBS sizing lube (Not the water soluble Kind) because the very big cases were taking a lot of force. I hope I can find some more of it, as I am just about out.


J E CUSTOM

 

[infidel 811]

Thanks for all the help guys, that was indeed the issue. I put lube before, but turns out I just didn't spit on it enough. More lube and it went in. Now, a little confusion on my part and think I may have screwed myself. My cases were not chambering, then put in body die and now the chamber easy. But seems like I need a bit more resistance in the chamber.(don't have had space bushing yet) can I make it tighter or in there or did I bump it back to much?

 

[el matador]

My preferred way of measuring for shoulder bump is with the RCBS precision mic tool. You put a fired case into the tool and it takes a measurement off a datum point on the shoulder. Then bump the shoulder slightly and measure it...you want to be .001-.002 shorter. This can be tricky to achieve since the body die has no micrometer adjustment and one turn of the die is about 70 thousandths. Bumping the shoulder more than .002 won't be catastrophic by any means, you'll just be working the brass more than you need to. You'll also be begging for "the dreaded donut" to make an appearance.

The precision mic tool is about $40-50 if I remember but it's one of those things that's very nice to have. It also allows you to measure the distance to your lands accurately.

 

[jimbires]

Thanks for all the help guys, that was indeed the issue. I put lube before, but turns out I just didn't spit on it enough. More lube and it went in. Now, a little confusion on my part and think I may have screwed myself. My cases were not chambering, then put in body die and now the chamber easy. But seems like I need a bit more resistance in the chamber.(don't have had space bushing yet) can I make it tighter or in there or did I bump it back to much?

now that you have the brass fitting your gun , fire it , now it will be formed to your chamber . now you can use your redding competition shell holder set and get the proper shoulder bump . I like to use a RCBS precision mic to measure my brass , there are other tools that will do this too.

was you using originally one shot spray lube ?

 

[Bullet bumper]

It's possible you have a small base body die and you don't actually need it .
It's possible you are using bad case lube .
It's possible your die is dirty or gumed up with dried protective lube.
It's possible your case is not actually clean . Even though a case can look clean it can have lots of tarnish on it that will increase friction markedly .
Adjust the die so the sizing is done with the ram at the very top of it's travel where leverage is the greatest .
Without a gauge it is benificial to size the tight case a bit at a time until the bolt just closes with some resistance then turn the die down a further 1/16 of a turn where it should then chamber easy .

 

[infidel 811]

No on the spray lube, a very knowledge able man told me not to use it, I was just using lymans case lube. The brass that was not fitting in the chamber, I used my .010 shell holder and body die. No resistance in the rifle chamber. If there is no to little resistance isn't that bad? If I use my comp neck sizing die with the neck bushing out doesn't it do the same as the body die? Should I still set the lands the same as my tighter good brass. Or maybe further due to less then tight cases

 

[Trickymissfit]

just buy a tin of Imperial Die sizing wax, and be done with it
gary

 

[jimbires]

No on the spray lube, a very knowledge able man told me not to use it, I was just using lymans case lube. The brass that was not fitting in the chamber, I used my .010 shell holder and body die. No resistance in the rifle chamber. If there is no to little resistance isn't that bad? If I use my comp neck sizing die with the neck bushing out doesn't it do the same as the body die? Should I still set the lands the same as my tighter good brass. Or maybe further due to less then tight cases

I had good results with one shot on 308 size brass and smaller , but bigger brass I had problems with hard sizing and stuck cases . so I'm back to using my lube pad and lube .
your .010 shellholder should be sizing your brass less than your other shellholders . a neck sizing die is just that , it only sizes the neck . if you remove the bushing , it should do nothing . I'm not exactly sure what you mean by ;

<< " Should I still set the lands the same as my tighter good brass. " >>

I think your asking if you should change your cartridge overall length ? No , you should not . the bullets jump to the lands will be the same , your bullet will just not be seated in the brass case as deep as brass that fits the chamber more closely . after you fire this brass in your gun it will be the same as the brass you have been using . you can just do everything as you were with your old brass .

 

[Bullet bumper]

No on the spray lube, a very knowledge able man told me not to use it, I was just using lymans case lube. The brass that was not fitting in the chamber, I used my .010 shell holder and body die. No resistance in the rifle chamber. If there is no to little resistance isn't that bad? If I use my comp neck sizing die with the neck bushing out doesn't it do the same as the body die? Should I still set the lands the same as my tighter good brass. Or maybe further due to less then tight cases

Not sure I understand what you are saying.
It is ok to have an easy fit of the case in the chamber as long as you work upto that easy fit in small increment so you dont OVERSHOOT and go too far and create excessive head clearance .
My crystal ball tells me to presume you are using a Redding S die so if you remove the bushing it is essentially a body die . However I think that a Redding S sizes a bit tighter than a standard body die due to it being popular with auto shooters.
Start with the thickest shell holder that will not size enough to close the bolt on the case .
Add the next size thinner shell holder and size again and try to close the bolt and so on .
When the bolt is just close to closing with resistance add the next size shell holder and that should be about .002 clearance . Keep that shell holder with the die .
If the thick .010 shell holder sizes the case to fit then I think the die is on the tight side for your chamber . Buy a standard body die and try that .

 

[varmintH8R]

No resistance in the rifle chamber. If there is no to little resistance isn't that bad?

I think resistance in the chamber is a poor predictor of what you are trying to determine (correct amount of sizing/headspace). A case with no resistance could have the shoulder bumped 1thou, or much more. It is possible for a case to expand near the head and give the feel of resistance, even with excessive headspace. This is especially true if brass was fired in a different rifle.

I am a strong believer in measuring for headspace. It is pretty inexpensive in the scheme of things and is a good thing to know when you are essentially making your own mini controlled-explosions. BulletBumper's advice is a reasonable interim step to ensure you are not over-sizing, but nothing beats actually measuring and knowing for sure.

My 2C

Brandon

 

[infidel 811]

I'm going to hold off on loading that batch of brass, until I do get the head space bushings. And I'm using reddings competition dies(3pc) set. I'm still new to reloading so with this brass I'd rather do it safe then sorry. My other rounds I just loaded up shot awesome but I've played with that brass before. Thanks for all the help guys I really appreciate it. Now trying to work up a load for my scar 17