Once Fired .30/06 Brass

jimmyj

jimmyj

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Purchased once fired commercial .30/06 brass.
Necks had to be trimmed.
Attempting to full length resize the cases discovered that the brass will not enter the RCBS die completely ?
Also using 150 grain JSN bullets, crimping in the bullet's crimp, I can turn the bullet by hand.

Opinions ?
 
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How did the primers look before de-capping ?
Sounds like high pressure usage, over stressed neck area and high diameter expansion at the base. And/or had been fired in an overly long rifle chamber and shoulder pushed forward. Is there an internal ring inside just forward of the base, also visible as a shiny ring on the outside.

Measure the base diameter of the ones that won't fully go into the resizing die versus those that do. Sometimes cases go beyond the ability to be resized and have to go to the recycle pile.
 
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jimmyj said:
Opinions ?
Click to expand...

I've run thousands of rounds of various brass cases through my RCBS .30-06 die set, including brass fired through all kinds of rifles.

Some chambers are at the upper limit of the spec range, and some may be chambered out of alignment. For over size chambers, you may need a small base die to squeeze it enough to bring the brass back into spec. For chambers out of alignment I never found a cure.

If the case comes out of the die and won't grip a bullet, the expander may be incorrect.
Or a remote possibility is the bullets are not actually .308 in diameter. ?? There are a few threads out there in the world that cover that. Rare but not impossible.
The die should reduce the dimension of the neck 0.004" or so.
Check both.

The odd thing is the case not entering the die. I've never seen that one with any of my 18 RCBS die sets. Assuming you have a properly lubed case, that tends to indicate a die problem, in view of your other problems.

It's an odd one though.
 
The only problem I have ever had with resizing .30-'06 cases over decades involved some fired Korean military brass. The brass was so hard I could not force them into the FL die. I put them all in the recycle bin, not worth the effort. For cases of normal hardness, it is very difficult to understand why they couldn't be resized. I have re-formed .30-'06 cases into many other calibers with no problems.
 
Some ammo is made for machine guns that have larger chamber spec's or
they might have been fired by a BAR or just a rifle with a out of spec chamber........

that is the risk with that type of ammo.........
but with commercial cases you should not get "No Go" fits, since they are loaded to meet 30-06 pressures.

Sounds like the shoulder might be too far forward from fire forming, in the last weapon?

Win some, loose some but I hope the price was right.

Have fun with the '06.
 
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What is the head stamp, manufacturer?

What lube are you using?

Can you "mic" the cases near the bottom, near the shoulder and the neck?

All the best,
 
Extremely high pressure loads can expand the solid cartridge case base slightly but that would be highly unusual. Otherwise, cases fired in sloppy chambers can easily be full length resized with adequate lubrication. My M1 has sloppy chambers (they were designed that way), yet resizing cases fired in it presents no difficulty beyond trimming to length after resizing.
 
I've over 100 sets of dies. Have most of the WW2 military dies. I have never come across casing that wouldn't enter die. There is no ammo made for a given cartridge that is oversized. That is why they have cartridge designations. Being 30/06 I don't know. Small base dies you would think harder than standard dies. Is their a possibility the brass isn't brass? I use a Rocker Chucker press and it develops a lot of leverage. Sometimes when a certain point is reached it feels like it's bottomed out. Putting a little more meat to it and it's likely to go all the way.
 
Can you try another set of dies to eliminate the die as a problem.

Also, with your existing die set, perhaps trying another manufacturer of brass...ie. some Remington's instead of your existing, or Winchester, Federal etc.

That way you can by process of elimination find where the REAL problem lies.......

Randy
 
Interesting. Did you mike the web yet and if so, what was the measurement?

What press and dies are you using? My RCBS dies and Rockchucker press have never met a case they can't handle. In fact, I use the Rockchucker to form cases for hard to find cases from common cases.
 
Do you have a decap/resize combination die or two dies for those processes? Check the decapping die to make sure that the decapping pin is not set too deep as to bottom out on the inside of the case. This can prevent the die from running the full length of the case.
 
Purchase 50 brand new Starline cases (or whatever brand you can get) and start over from square one . Reset all the dies carefully following the makers instructions .
If you are still having problems .... it's the Dies . Return To Maker.
Starting with new brass will eliminate one possibility that the brass is wonky .

I came across a batch of 303 British fired cases that were so oversized I had to partially resize them twice before getting them completely into a full length die ... the brass was so over worked after that ...one or two reloadings were all I could get before the cases started to develop signs of head separations .
If this is the case (pardon the bad pun) just buy a batch of nice new brass and your life will be better .

And do check the depth of the expander ball/ decapping pin unit, if too deep it will keep the case from going completely into the sizing die .
Gary
 
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A lot of us have done that....................

a 270 is not a 30-06 etc etc... ( Big Grin )

Stuff just happens but at least we can finally fix the problem and get back to having fun.

As long as there are no "Ka-Booms", everything is just peachy.

More Popcorn..............
 
jimmyj said:
Problem Solved !

OPERATOR ERROR !
1.Used a different case Lubrication (wax) with great results
2. needed to trim case prior to decapping.
3. discovered I was using wrong resizing die (mix up on internal part)

I am in the corner wearing the dunce cap. (failed the grade)
Click to expand...


No Dunce, simply human.
 
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