Sizing .22-250 rem cartridges

[cody19]

Hey guys. I loaded a few round for my .22-250 the other day and i noticed that i have a hard time getting the bolt on my rifle to close when cambering a round. I measured the rim of a few shells to be slightly larger than that of factory ammo. .004" larger in diameter. Could this be the problem? The overall length of the loaded cartridge is within spec as well. What can i do to my lee full length sizing die to decrease the outside diameter of the rim of the brass.

Hand loaded dia of rim.469" factory rim .463"


Thanks for any help.

 

[Greg Nolan]

cody19

The rim itself won't expand except under extreem overloads. Usually the primer starts fitting very loose or falls out. The probable cause is either the case has stretched which means the overall length of the case is too long. Not to be confused with the maximum overall loaded cartrige length. Check that. There is a reference in most reloading catalogs that show maximum case length. There are also quick sizing measurers usually made of aluminum that you can check your case against quickly. The other possability is that you have a tight chamber (still within specs) and you have not seated your die deep enough. The Lee instructions say seat the die untill it touches the shell holder. The slack in the linkage of your press may not allow the full length die to seat all the way against the shell holder with the resistence of the case to being compressed.
OK so we checked and trimmed the case within specs and the cartrige still is hard to close the bolt on. We need to tighten the full length resizer a quarter turn and resize a case. Now put it in your rifle and see if the bolt closes normally. Yes! Great. No! Turn the die in another quarter turn and resize the case and try it in your rifle. You get the idea.
This has been a real common process (at least for me) for almost 50 years with the 22-250 and a few others. This WILL work!!! If there is still a problem let us know. :wink:

 

[cody19]

yep the cases are trimmed to the right length and i use the lee pilot trimmer tool as well. Thanks a lot for the help. I try some tweaking and let you know how it goes.



Thanks :grin:

 

[03psd]

cody19

The rim itself won't expand except under extreem overloads. Usually the primer starts fitting very loose or falls out. The probable cause is either the case has stretched which means the overall length of the case is too long. Not to be confused with the maximum overall loaded cartrige length. Check that. There is a reference in most reloading catalogs that show maximum case length. There are also quick sizing measurers usually made of aluminum that you can check your case against quickly. The other possability is that you have a tight chamber (still within specs) and you have not seated your die deep enough. The Lee instructions say seat the die untill it touches the shell holder. The slack in the linkage of your press may not allow the full length die to seat all the way against the shell holder with the resistence of the case to being compressed.
OK so we checked and trimmed the case within specs and the cartrige still is hard to close the bolt on. We need to tighten the full length resizer a quarter turn and resize a case. Now put it in your rifle and see if the bolt closes normally. Yes! Great. No! Turn the die in another quarter turn and resize the case and try it in your rifle. You get the idea.
This has been a real common process (at least for me) for almost 50 years with the 22-250 and a few others. This WILL work!!! If there is still a problem let us know. :wink:

This works. I had the same issues with a number of 22-250 cases. The bolt would not close on them. I compared to factory brass and other cases I had fired and the shoulder was not set back far enough. It doesnt take much for the bolt to not close. I turned down my resizing die a 1/4 turn and ran a few through followed by trying them in my rifle. Wha-lah!! It closes. I also think part of my trouble was that the turret on my Lyman press was loose and there was too much up and down play so that when I was resizing the brass the turret raised up and the shoulder did not get resized.

 

[cody19]

Working perfect there now. Just a bit of turning on the die and it fit great. I just kept going a 1/4 turn at a time until i produced a round that would lock-up smoothly. Id say that i ended up going about a turn and a half more than what lee's specs were; going a 1/4 of a turn after the die would touch the ram.


Thanks a lot for all the help. This forum is excellent for guys a bit slow like me lol :grin: