Thread: New to reloading problem

So first of all i am new to reloading. The problem i am having is that when i go to resize the brass i can't tell if its resized or not because when i take a projectile
and put it into one of the not sized cases it is hard to get it. I thought once you fired a round the neck expands and if you were to take a projectile of that calibre it should not even touch the neck. Can someone please explain?

Are you full length resizing or just neck re-sizing ? As for the projectile , firstly you have got the right size projectiles for your rifle / caliber ?

Yes that sounds a bit wrong, what caliber of rifle and projectiles?

Some chambers have a tighter neck. They will allow the case to expand to release the projectile, but then the case contracts again so that you cannot push a projectile back in. Mainly happens in custom chambers rather than factory rifles.

Super easy way to tell what is sized and what is not.

The sized stuff will have no primer.

rifle is 7mm-08 rem 700 projectiles are 7mm 139gr sst

depends how tight your chamber is

Brass will expand and release the bullet and then can retract to a size that may not allow u to hand fit a projectile. If u can hand fit a projectile, even with a little force, that's normal. A properly sized neck should not allow you to fit a bullet by hand even with brute force. (Unless you are experienced and have dies that set your neck tension to 1 thou etc...)

As mentioned before what type of dies are you using?

Most standard sizing dies should size the neck so you cannot fit a projectile in the neck by hand. The neck should be a few thousandths smaller than the projectile after sizing.

Originally Posted by 6.5Harasser

Brass will expand and release the bullet and then can retract to a size that may not allow u to hand fit a projectile. If u can hand fit a projectile, even with a little force, that's normal. A properly sized neck should not allow you to fit a bullet by hand even with brute force. (Unless you are experienced and have dies that set your neck tension to 1 thou etc...)

As mentioned before what type of dies are you using?

Most standard sizing dies should size the neck so you cannot fit a projectile in the neck by hand. The neck should be a few thousandths smaller than the projectile after sizing.

Hey thanks for that reply. I am using the lee collet die. Now i am unsure on how much tension my neck should have because the videos on youtube show projectiles that can fit into the unsized case...

try seating one into what you think is a sized case and one into a newly fired case in the press. you should feel the difference. that will tell if you are sizing. also read the die makers set up instructions carefully again and follow them. and with the collet die you can often see little marks on the outside where the collet closed on the brass.

read the die makers set up instructions carefully again and follow them

+1

a good thing to do with the collet die is to take it apart. take out the collet part - looks like a cone with 4 petals. get some 1000 or 2000 grit wet-and-dry and lightly rub the outside of the cone part where the petals are. then put a dab of lithium grease on your finger and smear it on the area you just polished. this helps the collet from sticking. about the only way to get too much neck tension with the lee die is to sand or turn the mandrel down so that it is undersized. if in doubt use a micrometer to measure the diameter of the mandrel.

are you using re sized 308 win brass by any chance this could lead to this issue also as when you resize the brass the neck of the case becomes thicker than a normal 7mm-08 case and it doesn't have room to expand in the chamber properly and create that issue this can be fixed by neck turning the brass a process where a small amount of brass is removed from the outside of the neck to decrease its thickness
could also happen with 7mm-08 brass if your using brass with a slightly thicker neck and your rifle has a tight chamber

I had this issue when I 1st got my 6mmrem in the young falla rush to shoot it the shop didn't have brass so I brought 7x57 mauser brass gut it home run it through my full length sizing die sweet 6mmrem brass smart dude I was thinking was so confident that I didn't even test fit one just loaded up the full 100 with a nice mild load got to the range the next day and went to chamber the 1st round in my new very expensive custom gun and the bolt wouldn't close the necks were to tight in the chamber so I went home with my tail between my legs and had to pull all 100 rounds and get a mate to neck turn the brass for me lol big lesson learnt

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

are you using re sized 308 win brass by any chance this could lead to this issue also as when you resize the brass the neck of the case becomes thicker than a normal 7mm-08 case and it doesn't have room to expand in the chamber properly and create that issue this can be fixed by neck turning the brass a process where a small amount of brass is removed from the outside of the neck to decrease its thickness
could also happen with 7mm-08 brass if your using brass with a slightly thicker neck and your rifle has a tight chamber

I had this issue when I 1st got my 6mmrem in the young falla rush to shoot it the shop didn't have brass so I brought 7x57 mauser brass gut it home run it through my full length sizing die sweet 6mmrem brass smart dude I was thinking was so confident that I didn't even test fit one just loaded up the full 100 with a nice mild load got to the range the next day and went to chamber the 1st round in my new very expensive custom gun and the bolt wouldn't close the necks were to tight in the chamber so I went home with my tail between my legs and had to pull all 100 rounds and get a mate to neck turn the brass for me lol big lesson learnt

Nope i am using once fired winchester 7mm-08 brass. I have loaded up a bullet with a fired non sized case and a sized case and i can definitely tell the difference.
Also where would i get lithium grease?

mitre 10 or anywhere like that

To know your neck tension measure your mandrel and bullet diameters, the difference is your tension, probably 2-4 thou of an inch. If the difference is less, then you need to chuck the mandrel in a drill and polish with 400 wet and dry and reduce the mandrel diameter. Check the mandrel diameter often until you get a min 2 thou difference between bullet diameter and mandrel diameter. Go for as much neck tension as you like, but dont go crazy.
Even with 2 thou tension, pressing the bullet in a loaded round against your bench with considerable force should not move the bullet in the neck.

As mentioned, read the setup instructions carefully. They do mention 25 lbs of force to squeeze the neck against the mandrel and rotate your brass 1/4 turn and size again.

Another way to see if you are sizing is to measure your neck outer diameter, size the neck and measure again and see if it sized.