Resizing trouble.

L

Lou

New member
Hi,
I have been reloading for quiet sometime, and never had this problem. The problem is, I adjusted the sizing dies as per instruction. Size the case put the case in the chamber and the gun will not eject the round or case. I insert one tha has not been resize and ejects without any problems. I had move the dies up or down, but I can't get the round to eject. The bolt feels smooth no hard to close at all, with both case(s).

Did I mess up the case?

Any help will be appreciated.


The specific:

Brass: lapua

Gun: tika

Caliber: 6.5-55sw

Dies: c&h
 
What is the case length after resizing? Did you trim the ones that are hanging up? You may be jamming the case neck into the throat if they are too long, and this will cause some huge pressure issues as well. Just a guess based on your description, the bolt has enough leverage to push the neck into the throat without much effort, but will cause a sticky bolt opening.
 
Sounds like an extractor issue on the rifle. A piece of brass that has not been sized obviously will be bigger as it has expanded from being fired. A piece that has been full lengthsized should extract easily because it is not snug in the chamber. That's if your full length sizing as opposed to neck sizing. I had issues with an old 721 that would not extract full length sized brass or factory new brass because the Remington extractor was worn. I had to replace the bolt body on the old 721rifle with a 700 bolt body because they don't make 721 extractors anymore. I could extract old Lake City military cases with the old extractor because the rim on the lake City surplus brass was a couple thousandths thicker than factory Remington brass. And the worn extractor would get a good enough hook on the rim to pull it out of the chamber. New or full length brass would not be extract. Fired brass would extract. If your rifle will not extract full length sized brass the issue is probably in the rifle! You could try screwing your sizer die in further till the ram and linkage cams over to squeeze the brass down a bit more. RCBS dies recommend This for FL sizing. Some other brands recommend not doing this with their dies as it could damage the die. You said your rifle was having issues with ejecting?ejecting is the rifle throwing the case out of the action when the bolt moves back. Extracting is the bolt holding the case by the rim and pulling it out of the chamber. I assume you were talking about extracting issues. Sorry I got so windy... lol
 
Guys, sorry for the late reply.

The brass is withing the SAAMI specs. The rifle won't even engage the resized brass, but yet the bolt feel smooth. The rifle eject the new brass, but not the resize one. I have adjusted the brass to cam over to squeeze the bra up to 1/2 of turn (instructions says 1/4 of turn) I have adjusted the dies to leave 1/16 gap from the shell holder and stil no luck.
 
Originally Posted By: LouGuys, sorry for the late reply.

The brass is withing the SAAMI specs. The rifle won't even engage the resized brass, but yet the bolt feel smooth. The rifle eject the new brass, but not the resize one. I have adjusted the brass to cam over to squeeze the bra up to 1/2 of turn (instructions says 1/4 of turn) I have adjusted the dies to leave 1/16 gap from the shell holder and stil no luck.

I don't think you want a gap between the die and the shell holder if I am understanding this correctly. Run your die down until its against the shell holder then give it a quarter turn more. (no shell in the holder) If I misunderstood, disregard my comments.
 
1. New brass will chamber and extract.
2. Fired brass will chamber and extract.
3. Resized brass will chamber and not extract.
4. Brass is in saami spects, but you cannot measure the difference between 1 & 3, or 2& 3??? Do not rely on a Wilson case gauge, or other similar tool. What matters is the way you setup your dies for the rifles chamber and that your brass is shorter than the rifles chamber. If fired brass chambers and extracts like new brass I would be neck resizing only.
 
Screw the sizing die on down until it bottoms out and won't cam over, then bump the brass a couple of times with the press handle to make sure it is all up in the die.

Then trim it and try it.
 
Technically the Swede has an odd size case head although some manufacturers use the basic .473" to cut down on costs I suppose. The rim should measure a nominal .480" but I don't know about Lapua brass. It could be some very minor change keeps the extractor from grabbing it correctly to pull the case.
 
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Lou, I am going to give you an educated guess. As you size down the neck, there is a slight bulge that is ever so tiny right at the bottom of the portion that does not get sized.

I hope this makes sense.

The neck expands to chamber size, then you size it down. The size down is a major deal with your chamber and it creates a small bulge behind the part that is getting sized down.

Things can get complicated as you try and get this very small doughnut sized down.

Others have given you great advise. Contact me if you get out of your mind over this.

Your sizing die deals with two dimensions:

a. base of the case to shoulder dimension

b. dia of web

You have introduced a c. into the equation, the part of the neck that is not getting sized and you are actually trying to size the brass by closing the bolt.

Lou, there are a multitude of solutions, and C & H are world class dies...make no mistake about that fact!

Keith
 
Sounds like the shoulder is being pushed back to far and allowing the case to go to far forward and the extractor can't grab it. Head spacing is off of the shoulder so if you have a max or excessive headspace chamber and min spec die it will push the shoulder back. Try backing out the die 4 turns or so and work in from there to find where it starts to have issues. If this is what's causing it you will most likely have case head separation after a few loading if you full length resize and keep pushing the shoulder back.
 
Originally Posted By: 450 DakotaSounds like the shoulder is being pushed back to far and allowing the case to go to far forward and the extractor can't grab it. Head spacing is off of the shoulder so if you have a max or excessive headspace chamber and min spec die it will push the shoulder back. Try backing out the die 4 turns or so and work in from there to find where it starts to have issues. If this is what's causing it you will most likely have case head separation after a few loading if you full length resize and keep pushing the shoulder back. This
 
That is a pickle for sure. If they are new brass why you resizing it anyway? If it is in spec load it and shoot it. Might be the shoulder is just out a touch. But if it is new brass load it and shoot it. Maybe check a go no go gauge??
 
Throw the Wilson gage away and order a Sinclair ammunition gage with the cut out, drop in a re-sized loaded round and your problem will become very clear. The Wilson is only good for case length in my opinion, the Sinclair is made with a chamber reamer and will show you where the problem lies. You need you measure the head space set back on your resized cases as well. Screwing down the resizing die to better resize the head diameter smaller is also bumping the head space back way too far and your brass is going to suffer a short life. Again trim length is very important too.
 
Either way your rifle either has an extractor issue or a major headspace issue. If it extracts new and fired brass and not sized brass you can do a bandaid fix and neck size everything or take the rifle to your gunsmith and have him check/fix any headspace issue, (will require unscrewing barrel and rechambering). Or the issue is the extractor. Check headspace, wouldn't hurt. Dies might be short. May be undersize case not pushing rim back far enough to catch. That could create excessive headspace, in a chamber that is correct.
 
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as motohunter said get a head space gauge with max n min cutout. its a necessity tool anyhow. but before you do that let your wife know you need to buy another rifle to fit your current reloads.

check head space first like many here have recommended as its the most likely culprit if your rifle will eject factory ammo.. then read up on how to adjust your die for brass that will match your rifles headspace less a few thou. (using the feel of the bolt method)
 
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