Thread: First time reloading 270win

Thanks for the useful feedback. I do recall now the gunsmith saying that it was on the limit of minimum headspace. Will go over it again tomorrow with fresh eyes. Didn’t think I’d strike a problem at this early stage in the proceedings but what the hell. I didn’t take up reloading as a mindless exercise, to fill in time, but to challenge my brain.
I’m going to sleep now, it’s already hurting.
Cheers all.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Thanks for the useful feedback. I do recall now the gunsmith saying that it was on the limit of minimum headspace. Will go over it again tomorrow with fresh eyes. Didn’t think I’d strike a problem at this early stage in the proceedings but what the hell. I didn’t take up reloading as a mindless exercise, to fill in time, but to challenge my brain.
I’m going to sleep now, it’s already hurting.
Cheers all.

Get a 30-06 small base die, take the neck expander out and run brass through.

Originally Posted by caberslash

Get a 30-06 small base die, take the neck expander out and run brass through.

in theory.....but same deal with my old BLR... some dies are tighter than others....

when you have it as hard down as it will go...is there any gap still between the die and base plate???? if so turn die down a bit more to take any slack out of arm/hinge etc
I have had same issue with hornady new dimension dies and a BLR .308..nearly went bauld pulling my hair out trying to get cases small enough to fit nicely in chamber....I suspect the dies are on generous size fatness wise...in the end I ran the cases through an old lyman .30/06 FLR with guts removed and it made 50-50% of them able to fit easily and the others with a bit of force...and yes Ive put my shell holder on a oil stone too,trying to fix this.
my .270 dies are earlier models and no such issue.

Okay, fresh day, fresh start. First double-check that I have the right shell holder (Lee #2) and that the ram is stroking fully (Lee Classic Cast). Screwed the die down a bit further so that contact was made earlier and not at end of stroke. Managed to get another couple of thou but still not there.
Next, marked up the case and chambered (firm but does fully chamber and extract). As photos show, there is a clear concentric contact mark showing.




So can we assume the prognosis is a combination of a tight chamber and slightly oversized die? And my next step, given I live in the wops, is to lightly polish the shell holder and see what transpires?

Are you lubing the inside of the necks generously? Had a similar problem and found I was pulling it back out on the up stroke. Had my die screwed right in and was scratching my head. So started lubing the inside of the necks with a cotton bud.

Originally Posted by charliehorse

Are you lubing the inside of the necks generously? Had a similar problem and found I was pulling it back out on the up stroke. Had my die screwed right in and was scratching my head. So started lubing the inside of the necks with a cotton bud.

This. Measure a case before full length sizing it and then after. If it’s longer after you’re dragging the necks out. Easiest way to pin down what’s going on is just measure the cases and compare to saami specs, you’ll soon figure out if it’s the case or the chamber

Hahahah, Sidetrack, step away from your thoughts, you’re getting ahead of yourself again. There is more to consider!!

Yes, you’re all on to something. I neglected to pre-measure the case before sizing but had that thought this afternoon so measured a few random cases and looks like I’m getting about 8-10 thou stretch. Finished case length is about spot on SAAMI spec at 2.539”

No, I’m definitely not lubing the case mouth properly so will use the cotton bud method. Lowering the ram felt rough so this should smooth things out a bit more. The case mouth doesn’t look pretty either. Is this normally resolved with a light trim?

Will clean up some brass that I won’t be reloading and go back to sorting press set up and practice the above. Have no point of reference on feel and I’m not the heavy handed type of person but understand the concept of cam-over. I guess it creates consistency of pressure so will tackle that first.

Will report back early next week with progress. Thank you.
Cheers, Sidetrack

I lube the inside of all my necks - originally with graphite, simply dipped in a small pottle of it. And lately using the RCBS lube on a brush rolled over the lube pad.

Sidetrack, when you lower the arm to bring the case up to the die, have you set it so that you get a definite "over camming"? It should come up firm and then be able to go a bit further, sometimes with a bit of an audible click. Having it come up to just finish the stroke as it comes in to contact is not over camming.

2nd easiest way to find out...it take the guts out of resize die and push a case down into size...then do your measuring.... if you ARE pulling it too big, you would soon see..... what did your fancypants measuring stick say about the web area??? is it shrunk back to spec???because I can see the usual lighter colour there to suggest its getting the usual stretching.....

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

2nd easiest way to find out...it take the guts out of resize die and push a case down into size...then do your measuring.... if you ARE pulling it too big, you would soon see..... what did your fancypants measuring stick say about the web area??? is it shrunk back to spec???because I can see the usual lighter colour there to suggest its getting the usual stretching.....

Thanks, will carry that out before I start from scratch. Just have to lookup what the web area is, LOL

Get the sizing right, then trim to length, then chamfer the inside and outside of your case mouth.

look at your case,,,come up from rim on sidewall about 1/4-1/2" and you will see the light colour area...known as the web...you SHOULD know about this as you SHOULD be checking it from inside the case with a paperclip feeler guage...basically scratch your way up inside feeling for a catchy spot...where the brass has got thin from all the stretching....

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

look at your case,,,come up from rim on sidewall about 1/4-1/2" and you will see the light colour area...known as the web...you SHOULD know about this as you SHOULD be checking it from inside the case with a paperclip feeler guage...basically scratch your way up inside feeling for a catchy spot...where the brass has got thin from all the stretching....

Got it.

if its a bit on the fat side...what I ended up with... your case will do as you are describing.... the good ladies at gunworks will send you down another shell holder in a jiffy..$35 mine cost last week and arrived 2 days later.....sanding your one down will allow you to push case down further and its less drastic than taking material off bottom of the die,and its a cheaper part to replace if it doesnt solve issue. pity your not closer or would be able to try different dies n bases here....