resizing cartridges already loaded

[peteral]

yesterday I tried seating some bullets with a different seating die to what i have been using.
when i did the chamber check most ere oversize ie. would not go fully into the chamber......
rarther than pull them all +/- 40 i decided to put tem thru my resizing die ........it worked ...all fitted the chamber....
am i playing with fire???? ifi do this as a regular check....
infrquently i find that after seating a bullet the case will be oversize alho it was resized before charging.

 

[blujax01]

While some use the actual barrel of their pistol (or chamber of their revolver), I purchased case gages for every caliber I reload. L. E. Wilson, Lyman and Dillon all make them. The first round gets checked and one in every 100 thereafter. That's when I reload primers and take the opportunity to get a weight check, check overall length, and examine primer seating depth as well.

Less than $20 from the usual suspects and much safer.

 

[Raider]

Lee makes a "factory case resizing die" for around $20. I use one on 9mm cartridges that I shoot in my finicky, tight chambered Mod 39. Works great!

Charlie

 

[cololab]

O

You didn't mention if the entire case is oversized or just the area around the seated bullet. You also didn't mention if you have utilized a taper crimp. Does a sized case fit your chamber before you bell the case mouth?

 

[madmikeb]

Lee also makes a "factory Crimp Die" which is a crimp die with a carbide resizing ring at the base. I have to use one of these when I load for my 627 with moon clips or the cartridges won't chamber in the gun.

 

[TrapperL]

While not unsafe, I would expect accuracy to suffer some on those rounds. You have now effectually resized the bullet diameter smaller as well. Obviously not frangible bullets or you'd be seeing the bullets break in half at the end of the brass.

 

[tappedandtagged]

I'd get the Lee Factory Crimp Die. It should work well for your purpose, and if used correctly, add to accuracy instead of detract from it as TrapperL already said.

The LDC die can be set too tight and also resize your bullet, but if you just put the right amount of crimp on it, the round should be returned fully to factory dimensions.

Out of curiosity, what are you loading up?

 

[Aticus]

It sounds like you used a slightly over size bullet. If you use your standard sizing die after the bullet is seated you will swag the bullet down to the size of the inside of the case. This is not dangerous but can ruin accuracy if the bullet is too small for the bore. I've never used the Lee factory crimp die but if it resizes the case back to factory spec after the bullet is seated guess what. You just swagged the bullet to be under size. Don't make sense to me, but what the heck I've only been doing this for 25 years.

 

[ehfudd]

I run all reloads with 4-die carbide dies. Just my .02

 

[scattershot]

I tried that once, and found that I had resized the bullets in the case. I didn't shoot them, but I can't imagine that they would be accurate.

 

[quewalda]

I tried to resize a loaded 38spl ctg once.....the bullet popped out the die.
I will not do it again.

this kind of problem often happens when you load a 44/40 with a .429 bullet instead of a .427

 

[W.E.G.]

Simple answer is: NO!!!!

 

[carpriver]

To crimp or not to crimp?

I have been using the lee factory crimp for about 6 years. I have one for each caliber I reload. I only give my opinion as to the accuracy of my loads. In my opinion the are as good as factory loads and I feel they hit at point of aim. As stated by another poster check the bullet diameter and use a full stroke of the press lever to ensure sizing and depth are completed. I AM NOT AN EXPERT AND I DO NOT PLAY ONE ON TV.I just know what works for me.

 

[max]

Years ago I started reloading on a Lee hand tool. I bought 1k rounds of once fired brass, loaded a bunch of it and found it would not chamber. I then purchased an RCBS Jr and set of dies. I inserted the loaded rounds into the resizing die and just "bumped" them lightly. They then chambered and fired fine. I now use the Lee FC die on most, if not all, of my revolver rounds.

 

[2152hq]

It's easier than pullin' them down and better than setting there looking at them not being able to shoot them.
40 rounds done like that & used up (I'm guessing handgun). Shot at close range you won't see much difference in accuracy unless you're a really stickler for such things. Who knows,,maybe it even improved it in this case.

But,,,I wouldn't do it as a normal step in my reloading practices though.
Find the source of the problem and eliminate it.
Good advise here to look into the use of the factory crimp style die or one of the dies that is designed to size a loaded round to factory dimensions.

 

[peteral]

resizing reladed ammo

thanks for that advise 2152hq....ihave alreadystarted looking for the fault.....resized and primed cases fit the chamber perfectly...so my problem isthe seating...untl i can find a dealer here in south africa who will supply Lee factory crimp dies i will just carry on as before.....using my lee seater and leave the RCBS which caused the problem

 

[TheTinMan]

Go back to the seater die that did not cause this problem. Figure out why it happened.

IMHO the Lee FCD might "solve" the problem in terms of being able to chamber the rounds but it really would be a Band Aid over a fundamental problem that you should fix.

 

[RobsTV]

LFCD caused a lot of problems here. I used to swear by it. Then I tried a different bullet, and results were key-holing / tumbling bullets. Pulled a few and found the .401 were being resized to .399. Removed that die from turret. Now just use the seating die to remove the flare and problems solved.

You must pull a couple bullets after resizing to see if they have been swagged down in size. Of course you already slugged your barrel so you know what size they need to be (aprox slugged + .001 to .003 if they chamber).

 

[quewalda]

I remeber having problems in chambering cartridges with a too heavy roll-crimp
the heavy crimp deformed the top of the bullet (this will happens when not crimped in the right groove)
I solved the problem by sizing 2mm (not more!) of the loaded round with the sizing die .

(sorry for my poor spelling; I don't really "speak" English)

 

[mikld]

I didn't see what cartridge you're loading. Forget the LFCD, you are already doing the post seating sizing. Get some dial calipers and measure the cartridge after each step. Isolate the step that is causing the cases to "grow", so you can correct it. Many times the case is buldged from overzelious crimping...

BTW; Don't wait until number 40 to check your ammo for chambering, check the first round.

 

[67tempest]

Resizing loaded ammo

I run all my hand loaded .45ACP thru the Lee Factory Sizing die as a last step. It assures that the ammo is sized to specs and will chamber without any issues, it's made specifically for that purpose. I don't care if this adversly affects accuracy, I'm not shooting for scores, only fun. What it does assure is that all the rounds I have loaded will chamber without issues. I have seen this same question arise regarding the use of a factory style collet crimp die. Some say that the collet die that crimps the case neck at several places around the perimeter distorts the bullet. Most military ammo uses this style of crimp to ensure that the bullet will not come loose under any circumstances. I use this collet crimp die on all the .223 I load. If it's good enough for the military it's good enough for me.

 

[125JHP]

I recently had this same issue with some 9mm 122 LFP I had loaded back in 1991 and found recently and wondered why I never used them all these years . Well I found out THW that a lot of them were not fully chambering and some of them pulled the bullet out when I forcefully racked & cleared the jam.
Turns out I must have forgot to bell the mouth or something back then as there seemed to be a slight ripple in the case about half way down and they wouldn't go completely into my case gauge. I also noticed rings of lube and sometimes a thin lead ring at the case mouth. I also determined I must not have crimped them very well either. Thinking back to that time period I was using a Lee 1000 progressive and having quite a few problems with it.
So I pulled the stem from a Dillon sizing die and re-sized all 1000 of them. That straightened out the case walls without seeming to touch the mouth or bullet. Then I used a small sharp gouge and rag to clean up the case mouth of lube and lead. Finally I ran them all thru a taper crimp die and measured them once more. They all chamber fine now and yesterday shot 2" groups from 6 different 9mm guns so they are still as accurate as necessary for shooting games.

 

[358156hp]

Oftentimes, chambering issues are caused by not getting the bullets seated straight in the case. Some seating dies are semi-notorious for this. The FCD will squash the bullets down smaller, but not correct the original issue, which is what needs to be addressed.

That said, I utterly loathe the LEE FCD.