unusual problem with 308 brass

[murph11011680680]

I had a similar issue with a 270 WSM recently, about 10% of the brass that I resized for it would not chamber without being forced. I was thinking issue with the shoulder or the OAL. I eventually figured out that the FL resize die was not resizing enough at the base and a small base FL resize die took care of the problem.

The easiest and cheapest way to identify what is going on is to take one of the cases that is not chambering and paint the entire thing with a black sharpie. Then chamber it, putting enough pressure on it to make sure the problem area is rubbing. Once you remove it there will be a nice shiny brass spot letting you know what is going on in the chamber.

 

[m657]

"The easiest and cheapest way to identify what is going on is to take one of the cases that is not chambering and paint the entire thing with a black sharpie. Then chamber it, putting enough pressure on it to make sure the problem area is rubbing. Once you remove it there will be a nice shiny brass spot letting you know what is going on in the chamber."!!!! I never thought of that!!!! Thanks for the idea.

Update on the 'loading 308 brass' project:

New opportunities to express my patience!!!


1) Have a couple boxes of once fired 7.62 brass still in the 'new' box.

While it sizes & chambers nicely, of the 10 I've loaded, 4 have had some kind of primer-disruption issue.

2) Have reset my sizer die ever downward the last few precious millimeters, with success on 5 old cases that previously wouldn't allow bolt-lock in the Scout.

Stymied when the next case actually, yes, "got stuck" fully in the sizer die, despite ample case lube applied by finger immediately before sizing.

Gave me opportunity to further investigate various skills in recovering the die.....but lost the expander plug/decapper pin set up in the process. No blood, no broken parts other than having to order new internal sizer die components.

3) Don't like the way 4064 is so inaccurate in my Dillon. Can go from literally ~zero~ to ~almost right amount~ and back between each case.

4) due to primitive conditions and poor component reaction to my ministrations, am using my 650 press as essentially a single-stage operation with a turret advance option.

5) I've accumulated a number of Hornady 150g FMJ along with some LRP Winchester style.

6) Have failed to find the new or 'once fired' 308 brass supplier. Yet. Cabelas/midway/couple other online outfits 'on backorder'....

so life goes on in the putty knife factory.....
pending parts, will update later

 

[murph11011680680]

Don't know exactly what your looking for on the brass, but I just picked up 500 mixed headstamp, crimped primer, once fired from wideners for $50 plus shipping. Not too bad of a price if that would work for you.

Widener's Reloading and Shooting Supply INC

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

Don't know exactly what your looking for on the brass, but I just picked up 500 mixed headstamp, crimped primer, once fired from wideners for $50 plus shipping. Not too bad of a price if that would work for you.

Widener's Reloading and Shooting Supply INC

That's a good deal, especially for auto loaders that toss brass into the next state. Just need to deal with the crimp and that can be fast with a drill press and a $4 1/2" counter sink bit.

To the OP try the sharpie trick. I also use Dykem machinest dye, same idea, contact scratches off the dye. I had to do this with my Savage that had a burr in the chamber.

Nice thing about dykem is it has a brush so if you mark brass you can do a bunch in one swipe.

 

[scooter123]

To the Putty Knife Factory.

1) Be careful sizing that 7.62 brass. My experience with once fired brass I've purchased has been that the NATO brass has often been used in a NATO chamber with the result being that the shoulders are set a bit "forward" of what is typical with a 308 chamber. This means that a full length size can require working the shoulders back in 3 or 4 separate full length sizing operations. If you try and force it you'll just end up with buckles in the case.

2) Stuck cases happen sometimes. One lube I've found to work well is the RCBS case lube in the squeeze bottle, so far in about 1000 308's loaded I've only stuck 3 cases when using this lube and it was probably due to me trying to "stretch" it too far.

3) IMR 4064 is a cut extruded powder and I've never found these types of powders to meter well. Because it's a bolt rifle is a rare occasion when I shoot more than 20 rounds at a range session. So, I don't worry about loading in volume and hand weigh each charge. Yeah, I only get about 40 rounds per hour doing this but it's a lot less expensive than purchasing a power trickler, last time I checked memory has the RCBS trickler scale combo running over 300 bucks.

4) Love my Rock Crusher. Thought about picking up a 650 that a local range had ordered in for a customer that never picked it up and they let me think about it too long. When I did that I realized that a press that was rated for up to 1200 rounds per hour would cost more to feed than I could afford. In addition I enjoy the Quiet Time I get when reloading.

5) Hornady makes great bullets. I also have found that Lapua and Nosler make superb bullets.

6) In my area we have weekend Flea Markets that once a month have a small Gun Show. About 1/2 the time some vendor will be selling once fired 308 brass and I'll pick up whatever I find with a reasonable price. Best score so far was a bag of 300 cases for 45 bucks but any 100 count bag for 25 bucks or less goes home with me. Point is, start hitting the Gun Shows in your area, I've found them to be an excellent source for reloading components even if it can be a bit spotty at times. I've also found prices for items like primers has come back down to a fairly reasonable 35 bucks per 1000.

 

[H Richard]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is using the "Small Base" dies. Military calibers of .308 and .223 often require resizing with small base dies in order to chamber reliably. I have used the RCBS SB dies for years and have had no problems. RCBS part # 15503.

 

[jepp2]

See step #5, directions clearly state that sizer die is supposed to contact the shell holder. This may be the cause of your problem.

While your die may or may not need to contact the shell holder for the proper shoulder set back, IMHO the WORST thing you can do is to adjust your die using step 5. While it may allow your brass to chamber, it also may set back the shoulder excessively. Measure and adjust your die properly. RCBS could give a hoot about how long your brass lasts of if it has a case head separation. Measure and adjust so your get the correct amount of shoulder setback. To give you an idea of how bad the the RCBS directions are (1/8 to 1/4 turn) look at the movement diagram provided by Unclenick on TFL forum. Just look at how much 1/4 turn can set back the shoulder (keep in mind you are looking at 0.002 to 0.003" setback)

[URL=http://s860.photobucket.com/user/jepp2/media/DieAdjustment-1.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[andyo5]

I had a similar problem with two 30-06 rifles. Rounds fired in one would not fully chamber in the other. They would go in, but I could not fully close the bolt handle.
Turned out that the chamber on one of the rifles was 0.001" or so larger in diameter than the chamber in the other. In fact, it was slighltly out of specification. This occurred in an area of the case called the web, at the very bottom; and in that area my resizing die does not have an effect. So once expanded, that small area will not be re-compressed during re-sizing.
My gunsmith advised me to simply use separate types of brass for the two different rifles to avoid confusion.
The 'errant' rifle is a Model 1903 that I bought through the CMP. It is an outstanding shooter in spite of its little quirk, and I do not intend to fool with it especially since only re-barreling would cure it.

 

[aviserated]

Mixed brass will have mixed hardness and thickness. This is the reason some of your brass will not chamber and some will. Annealing will help even things out some, but you should allways uses brass from same lot to get equal sizing.

I like the softer Remington brass, because it does not spring back as much when sized (sizes easier). Harder brass...such as older Winchester brass will spring back more.

RCBS precision mic is a verygood tool to use when setting the shoulder back just .001-.002 to your rifles chamber.