cartridges from belgium 5.56 nato

[Fuch]

hello all
I have a problem with cartridges that I reloaded from original ref: FNB 5.56 nato casings from the Belgian FN, I cannot chamber them in my Ruger AR 556, which is intended for 5.56 Nato, while it passes without problems in my hornady caliber on the other hand it chambers well in my Ruger mini 14, 223 rem I do not understand why? (perhaps ammunition for the FN's "mini mi'" light machine gun).
Fuch from Belgium

 

[zeke]

Have a friend with a Ruger Ar with same problem. Factory cartridges fed fine, no reloads would. Does yours feed factory cartridges fine? Turns out his rifle had a tight chamber, and needed a small base die to resize cases from another rifle's chamber. In addition, your cases may have been fired in firearm with larger chamber than normal (military).

Regular resize dies do not return the brass base to original size, but a small base die should. Depends on the case base diameter. Rarely you may have to size a case twice to get it to fit, and you have to decide if it's worth the effort and shortening of case life.

 

[stansdds]

I agree with Zeke, sounds like a minimum spec chamber in the Ruger AR 556.

 

[rockquarry]

It's unlikely you need a small base sizing die. Get a case gauge first. Use it according to directions which will probably necessitate an adjustment to your sizing die. Then if your brass/cartridges work in the case gauge, they'll work in your gun.

 

[Fuch]

Have a friend with a Ruger Ar with same problem. Factory cartridges fed fine, no reloads would. Does yours feed factory cartridges fine? Turns out his rifle had a tight chamber, and needed a small base die to resize cases from another rifle's chamber. In addition, your cases may have been fired in firearm with larger chamber than normal (military).

Regular resize dies do not return the brass base to original size, but a small base die should. Depends on the case base diameter. Rarely you may have to size a case twice to get it to fit, and you have to decide if it's worth the effort and shortening of case life.

thank you for your answer
, I shot with S&B manufactured cartridges in my Ruger AR 556 as well as reloaded from several origins recalibrated with the same dies and no worries more over I pass each cartridge in my hornady gauge to be certain of to avoid chambering problems, and I only have problems with these FNB military cartridge cases, but in my MINI 14 OK maybe as you say the chamber of the AR 556 is slightly narrower.

 

[Fuch]

It's unlikely you need a small base sizing die. Get a case gauge first. Use it according to directions which will probably necessitate an adjustment to your sizing die. Then if your brass/cartridges work in the case gauge, they'll work in your gun.

I don't think it comes from my hornady dies because I have no problem with the other brass that I use in my reloads and I pass all my finished cartridges in my 223 rem hornady gauge, and the 5.56 FNBs pass in the gauge but still stuck in the chamber of my Ruger AR556!!

 

[Doug M.]

It has been known for years that a lot of chambers marked 5.56X45 are out of spec and too tight. I was at a Dean Caputo/Pat Rogers two class event in 2008. Dean brought a chamber reamer and almost all of the rifles were way too tight.

I have not seen it in years, but there used to be a chart done by a guy whose screen name was something like "Tactical Yellow Visor" that showed which manufacturers were actually honest about chamber dimensions. What was marked on the rifle was often not correct. This is one of things one is getting when paying for top tier rifles such as BCM.

 

[rockquarry]

I don't think it comes from my hornady dies because I have no problem with the other brass that I use in my reloads and I pass all my finished cartridges in my 223 rem hornady gauge, and the 5.56 FNBs pass in the gauge but still stuck in the chamber of my Ruger AR556!!

You may be right. I'm only familiar with Colts and Colt chambers - never had a problem with them.

 

[BE Mike]

What is your procedure for case preparation? I like to trim cases to the minimum length (after resizing them, naturally).

 

[zeke]

thank you for your answer
, I shot with S&B manufactured cartridges in my Ruger AR 556 as well as reloaded from several origins recalibrated with the same dies and no worries more over I pass each cartridge in my hornady gauge to be certain of to avoid chambering problems, and I only have problems with these FNB military cartridge cases, but in my MINI 14 OK maybe as you say the chamber of the AR 556 is slightly narrower.

you're welcome

And as with anything else, there are sure to be other possibilities. Not all brand of dies size to the exact same degree, and have found it beneficial to use same brand of shell holder as the die. Then there is how u set up the die.

In addition to possible larger chambers in Military rifles or machine guns (especially in 308), have had same difficulty with resizing 223 brass from very short barreled Ar-15's.

If you get stuck with a batch of loaded rounds that won't work in your Ruger, there are also small base body dies (Redding) that can resize the body of the brass of loaded round (carefully). Once had to do this with a batch of over 500 rounds that used range pick ups.

 

[WR Moore]

OK, as others have stated you might not need a small base full resizing die. However, I've got a tight chambered bolt gun and I found a lower cost solution to the problem: a small base body die. Redding has such a device their stock # is RED7411 through grafs.com. I run the brass for that gun through a full length sizing die, then through the body die and have no chambering issues.

It is possible that your used brass was fired in something like a squad automatic weapon (belt fed machine gun) which tend to have generous chambers. Standard resizing dies might not return them to a dimension that will work in that particular rifle. It could also be that the FN brass has more "spring back" after resizing than your other brass.

 

[Fuch]

OK, as others have stated you might not need a small base full resizing die. However, I've got a tight chambered bolt gun and I found a lower cost solution to the problem: a small base body die. Redding has such a device their stock # is RED7411 through grafs.com. I run the brass for that gun through a full length sizing die, then through the body die and have no chambering issues.

It is possible that your used brass was fired in something like a squad automatic weapon (belt fed machine gun) which tend to have generous chambers. Standard resizing dies might not return them to a dimension that will work in that particular rifle. It could also be that the FN brass has more "spring back" after resizing than your other brass.

thank you for your analysis, the brass FNB in question come from the Belgian army and were used in a light machine gun "MiniMI" I think that as you say it is the origin of the problem

 

[steelslaver]

If I had multiple 5.56 and all but one of them chambered all my reloads, after doing the checks etc you describe, I would rent a reamer for that one

 

[WR Moore]

Assuming his chamber isn't plated, that might be a solution, however, he'll also need the GO/NO GO gauges. Besides, the OP lives in Belgium. I'm not sure what the applicable regulations are there. Some local gunsmith would probably be able to do the job with little fuss & expense, but again, all governments are here to help us.

 

[steelslaver]

In this case he could use the rounds that will not chamber in that gun as his go gauge. They are already a no go.

 

[Imissedagain]

Just curious.
Will a set of small based dies solve the problem?

I used a Lee Zero Error kit for a bit and when I got a Lyman Spartan press the only dies available were small based RCBS that day.
Still use the Lee kit for bolts and the No.1V.
Have two Colt 6920s in Florida and an unfired
Ruger 5.56 in Denver, that was bought new a few years ago.

I'll take the Lee hand press and dies with me next time we're in the Rockies.

 

[Racer X]

thank you for your analysis, the brass FNB in question come from the Belgian army and were used in a light machine gun "MiniMI" I think that as you say it is the origin of the problem

The US military M249 SAW is a Belgian FN minimi, made under contract here in the US. Its the chamber that it was fired in causing it.

My shooting buddy is a heavy weapons expert from the Navy and we share a lot while we shoot and carpool to/from the shooting spots.

 

[BSA1]

Fuch is this one time brass with crimped primers?

 

[Fuch]

Fuch is this one time brass with crimped primers?

yes that's those FNB military 5.56x45 Nato cartridge cases with crimped primer berdan

 

[Warren Sear]

It shouldn't matter what firearm, or type of firearm, or how oversized the chamber is; a properly made sizing die will re-size the brass to specifications. A small-based sizing die might be required for certain undersized or minimally headspaced chambers, but this has nothing to do with the history of the fired brass case.