Started loading the 223 WSSM last night...got a general question on dies

champ198

champ198

Member
the dies i have for the 223 WSSM are RCBS like most of the other gear i have....using a bullet comparator and its zeroed to measure ogive COL......now when i measured the chamber it was 1.888 so thought i would start at .10 off the lands.....which is fine maybe a little long but it would be a start....the bullets are 55 gr NBT....now when i got it all set with a test shell it was dead on the $$ at 1.788....so charged up 10 cases and went to seating....i have a variance from 1.787 to 1.797....thought that was kind of odd...every other shell i have ever loaded with my RCBS stuff was within 1-2 thou...any ideas on what the problem could be?
my goal load for this thing is going to be for deer for my daughter and lookin at going with a 60 gr Nos Partition but got 250 of the 55 gr NBT left so thought i would at least get it shooting with them till i get me some of the partitions to load but i thought it was kind of odd to have that much variance
 
Have you run the new cases through the Sizer die before loading them? and with the WSSM's you need to use a lot of lube of one type or the other on the inside of the necks when you size them, I like the imperial sizing wax with a Q Tip for the inside...
 
Ok im pretty sure i ran them through the sizer but i cant remember now...i normally always do with new brass....and i did notice that they needed quite a bit more lube when sizine as well. ill try it tonight and see what happens
 
You may look at the variance in just the bullet tip depending the tip, or look at turning the case a quarter or half turn and move the ram up again to seat the bullet again to see if that will bring your OAL variance closer.
 
From my experience thus far with the .223 Whizzer, New Brass that has been just chamfered and loaded,"using the VLD chamfer tool" has been no problem for me. No lube.. they slide like a sled on snow. Full resize seem to have more neck tension" feel only" I have 3-4 loads out of the same case and then they are in the trim area. I have also annealed at the third stage and it seems to soften the brass making it easier for trimming. Depending upon choice of bullets OAL shifts a bit. Sierra match and Speer spitzers gave me the most consistant OAL. VMax and Hornady bulk SP's with cannalure had the most variance in the ones that I have tried. On 4 reloads no splitting necks as of yet. Good Luck. Keep us posted.
 
I was researching the WSSM this am and ran across an old thread from 2005, A fellow was using RCBS dies, and he said that his expander ball on the die was too small?I measured mine and its 0.222. Wondering if this could have impact on the problem?
 
Originally Posted By: Orneryolfart357I was researching the WSSM this am and ran across an old thread from 2005, A fellow was using RCBS dies, and he said that his expander ball on the die was too small?I measured mine and its 0.222. Wondering if this could have impact on the problem?

i noticed the same thing...it does look small to me as well. i never measured mine but i did think it was a little small.
i never thought anything about it since the sizer ball came from my nephew who was using it to load his non WSSM 223 and he never said anything about it,...but i thought it was small as well. i might email RCBS and see what they say.
like i said i have noticed its with the new brass i thought i ran it through the sizer die but i dont know now...im gonna size a few new cases and see what happens tonight...wanted to do it last night but didnt get the chance to
 
Originally Posted By: Orneryolfart357Well please keep us informed. I havent had my wssm long, and am interested in anything you find out. Good luck.

will do bud gonna mess around a little with it this weekend if i can get time
 
Back
Top