I am still having trouble with FL sizing in some of my 270 wsm cases. I am using winchester brass and lee dies. Some of my cases just won't re-size properly, I tried turning my die down gradually until it was almost a full turn past the shell holder and still they won't chamber in my rifle. It is only 5 or 6 cases that do this, but very frustrating anyway, to have to try every case in my rifle before loading them with powder and bullets. Why is this happening?
Trouble FL sizing my 270 wsm
- Thread starter nshunter
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DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
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Have you trimmed these cases? Is the neck jamming in the throat? Case length is critical in this instance.
G
Guest
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It could be a mismatch between the die and shellholder. Perhaps try another shellholder? (Cheaper than trying another die, but that would be my first action as I don't care for Lee dies.)
- Thread starter
- #4
Cases are trimmed as far as I can trim them back with the tools I have, they are within spec according to the numbers on my lee die instructions and are the same as mt factory winchester ammo I have on hand. It appears to be the body on the case that is not being brought back into spec. When I measure the shoulder of the case the new factory ammo is.529 and my re-sized cases are .538 to .540. My dies don't seem to make them any smaller.
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- #5
G
Guest
Guest
I personally like Hornady dies, but RCBS, Lyman, Forster, and Redding also make good dies. You might start with whatever (other than Lee) is available at your local reloading supplier. If you don't have a local, again, I like Hornady dies. But RCBS is also good.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
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You may have a problem with the dies, but I believe dubyam's suggestion of buying a new shell holder has merit, especially if you are certain about your case length. While Lee dies are not necessary of the highest quality, I've used a lot of them and never found them to be incapable of producing good ammunition. Most companies, including Lee, have tolerances that are fairly strictly observed for their products. I am assuming that your rifle isn't short throated. You can test this by seeing if factory ammo chambers easily. Ultimately, there are a limited number of issues that could cause difficulty in chambering. Either the neck is too long, the case diameter is too large or the shoulder is too far forward. Measure the case length, comparing to cases that chamber easily. Measure the shoulder position, again comparing to a case that chambers easily. Armed with that information, you should be able to diagnose the problem pretty quickly.
rick smith
Handloader
- Apr 6, 2005
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Remove your expander ball assembly from the FL die, size it and try it in your rifle.Rick.
G
Guest
Guest
Are you thinking possibly the expander ball pulling the neck/shoulder forward, Rick?
@nshunter - what's the measurement to the shoulder of a fired case that has not been resized?
@nshunter - what's the measurement to the shoulder of a fired case that has not been resized?
- Thread starter
- #10
This is a very common problem with the wsm's and many brands of dies. The problem gets worse as the shells are shot more and more as most win wsm brass pretty much needs annealing right from the get go.
My advise is to take your shellholder and take about .006" off the top of the shellholder letting the die push into that shoulder of the casing more.
It's very easy to do and the top of the shellholder has NO function in reloading so you won't hurt a thing.
You can rub it against a stone or better yet just hold it in your fingers and hold it against the side of a smoother grinding wheel on a bench grinder. What I do is hold it against the wheel lightly and start the grinder.....it takes very little to evenly take off that amount of material.
Give it a try and I'll be you a 12 pack you are good to go on the next szing.
My advise is to take your shellholder and take about .006" off the top of the shellholder letting the die push into that shoulder of the casing more.
It's very easy to do and the top of the shellholder has NO function in reloading so you won't hurt a thing.
You can rub it against a stone or better yet just hold it in your fingers and hold it against the side of a smoother grinding wheel on a bench grinder. What I do is hold it against the wheel lightly and start the grinder.....it takes very little to evenly take off that amount of material.
Give it a try and I'll be you a 12 pack you are good to go on the next szing.
rick smith
Handloader
- Apr 6, 2005
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dubyum, that was my thought.
nshunter, how was it that it went in three times and not the fourth? Were you sizing it each time? If you oversize your case that can also make a case hard to chamber.Rick.
nshunter, how was it that it went in three times and not the fourth? Were you sizing it each time? If you oversize your case that can also make a case hard to chamber.Rick.
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- #14
I'm not sure how it went in three times and then not the fourth, it has since happened again a few more times. I have some federal brass on hand that is once and twice fired, I stopped using it due to loose primer pockets. It all chambered no problem, I measured the length and the federal brass is slightly shorter as well. So I decided to take a case length gauge for a .243 and shorten up the win brass to match the length of the federal brass. It seemed to work at first but I then started to have the same issue again after chambering each round a few times. I looked at my chamber with a flashlight and was shocked by the amount of brass filings present in the chamber, mainly in the neck area. It seems that each time I chamber a round a small amount of brass is being shaved off of each case. After giving it a good cleaning I thought I may have solved the problem, but it soon returned along with new shavings. I think the problem may be a combination of a few pieces of brass that expanded more than the rest and dies that are not properly bringing them back into spec. I'm also wondering if my rifle may have a tight chamber? It was bought new last year and is a browning x bolt. If new dies don't cure this I will be sending this rifle off to Browning.
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- #15
300WSM
Handloader
- Dec 24, 2011
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nshunter":2j73bd7d said:
What is the actual length of the cases you are using? I don't mean to sound like a goof here but I can tell you this. The max length is 2.100
I have some rifles that you could stand on the bolt handle and try to get them closed even as little as one thousandth over. 2.101 is enough to make them unable to chamber. Even 2.100 is or 2.099 getting hard to close.
We have all been there thinking we trimmed all of them or thought well that is very close and should be "ok" only to find out at the range that you cant get them chambered because you thought a thousandth or two wont matter or thinking you had trimmed them all but forgot a few. etc etc....
If you have resized them all and some are not chambering but others are....I can almost promise it is a length issue and they need trimmed.
- Thread starter
- #17
300WSM
Handloader
- Dec 24, 2011
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nshunter":21rjpli9 said:
NS,
if you have calipers what is the OAL of the cases that won't chamber
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- #19
Greg Nolan
Handloader
- Nov 25, 2004
- 2,143
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With all the numbers within specs it might be the base of the case is expanding from the pressure. If the primer pocket is loose than there has probably been expansion beyond the chamber size. I have found this in several different calibers when I got a little too hot on my load. It can even set the bolt back a little and give you headspace problems. My 270 WSM was hard to resize for also. What load and bullet and OAL are you using?
Greg
Greg
