Neck sizer adjustment or other problem?

[muleman]

I sat down today to load up some of the fire formed 22-250AI brass that I shot previously. It had all been cleaned, neck sized and primed. They won't chamber!? I thought at first that I had not adjusted the die down far enough so I added a 1/4 turn to the die and promptly crushed the shoulder of the next case. I've measured the cases for OAL, length to shoulder and length to base of neck all within spec. I had no problem with ejection at the time of fire forming. An unfired 22-250 case chambers with no problems.
Could the sizing button have pulled the shoulder forward? Anybody have any idea what is going on?
Scott

 

[jimbires]

it sounds to me that the shoulder needs bumped back . a neck sizing die will not do this . you will need a full length die , or a body die . if this brass was fired in this same rifle / chamber , adjust the die so it bumps the shoulder back about .002 " and I think you'll be fine . if it was fired in a different rifle you will need to size it smaller and let it fire form to this chamber .

 

[rick smith]

Did you use a neck die or try to neck size with a FL die?Rick.

 

[muleman]

I used a neck sizer. This brass was recently fire formed in the same rifle that I'm trying to reload for. I'm having a hard time believing that the shoulder needs to be set back after the fire forming. This is the first time I've used a dedicated neck sizer. I adjusted it to do the entire neck. I'm suspecting that I turned it down a tad to far and possibly bulged the shoulder. There is no visible bulge but I'll put my caliper to them shortly.
Scott
Measured the shoulder and they're at .460"; Cartridge drawings in my manuals say it should be .454". I don't have a FL die or body die.......time to acquire one.
Do you think having the neck die adjusted to far down could have caused this or something else?
I didn't try to chamber a fired case but I've never had rifle that wouldn't rechamber a once fired case.

 

[jimbires]

I'm going to say you found the problem . if you bottom the neck sizer into the shoulder something has got to give . yes I agree , it's time for a body die . usually a once fired case will chamber very easy , unless it was a hot load .

on your original post you asked about the expander . the expander button should not be able to pull the shoulder forward . very , very unlikely for this to happen . .

 

[rick smith]

The expander ball can pull the shoulder forward. I polish expander balls and use a dry lube when I use them.Rick.

 

[ElmerThud]

The expander ball can pull the shoulder forward. I polish expander balls and use a dry lube when I use them.Rick.

I agree this can happen. Particularly if the inner case mouth isn't lubed slightly. Polishing the expander ball is a good move too.

These days I've gone back to F/L resizing using a Hornady headspace tool to measure and set dies ensuring I don't push the shoulder further back than .002" at very most.
For the most part I'm +/- .0005" of fired case shoulder dimension using the RCBS Precision Mic. guage and get excellent cartridge consistency with no chambering issues at all. Takes a little longer to check, but definitely worth the effort. ATB

 

[muleman]

Thanks Rick, Jim and Elmer!
I've ordered a body die and will soon fix my mistakes. I'll practice a little more with the neck die so I'll get it right next time.
Scott

 

[rick smith]

Muleman, put some marker on the neck of the case so you can see how far you are sizing, use a dry lube like the Imperial dry lube and polish your expander ball. Rick.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I partially FL resize the cases in a Forster FL Benchrest die. Follow Forster instructions to set up the die for partial resize. You only want to move the shoulder back about .002 inch. Just so it will chamber with a little "feel" to the bolt closing.