Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Loaded ammo through a Body Die?

R R

First off, I don't load for any semi-A so I don't Full Length size ANY brass.

I've had great performance from P Fl sizing. Interestingly enuff, even P Fl sized brass has worked w/o
problems in 1 Tikka 270 & 2 Rem M Sixes. I was expecting to have to size a little differently for 1 or more
of them but didn't have to. I can't explain it but glad all the same.

I work the brass AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE and I have good case life to boot.

Jerry

edit to add : That is the SAME die for 3 diff 270s. Also I have multiple Belted Mags
and P Fl sizing works great w/good case life.

I just use a triangular file and nick the rim to segregate the cases.

Yup.

Actually, I had forgotten about my old 94 in .30-30, and I have that die set up to FL size, but just a bit loosely. I've used partial FL sizing for everything else for many years myself, so I know the pitfalls....it just so happens that I fell into a known pitfall this time. Again. I don't like it when that happens, but it does now and then.

One thing about partial FL sizing that I discovered a long time ago: it does NOT necessarily eliminate unwanted working of the brass. Depending on the geometry of the case, very often the shoulder will flow forward to some extent before it is bumped back in the die. I think it IS effective in extending case life, as compared to conventional FL sizing and you do get a better fit to the chamber, but it is not a perfect technique by any stretch (pun intended). That's why I've outfitted with Lee Collet dies and Redding Body dies. IMO, collet dies are worthwhile just for the fact that case lubing is not necessary. I'm always open to something that eliminates some of the PITA in handloading. And I am glad I asked the question posed in this thread, too. It is possible that running the offending cartridges through my body die will not address the issue (I'm a believer in the adage that "you don't know until you KNOW"), but if it does work it will save me having to pull bullets, deprime, and start over.

I haven't been able to detect an accuracy advantage in partial sized brass, and I'll take no worries 100% feeding over a perceived accuracy advantage any day. I fl size my 223 brass so it will run through my bolt guns or my AR's and brass prepped thusly with a good load results in 1/2 moa 5 shot groups from my M700 varmint rifle.

If you like it and it works for you, then there's no reason for you to change a thing.

I'll get my own issue straightened out and be happy with the way I'm doing things myself.

We don't all have to have the same approach to this game, or do things the same way. There must be 50 ways to leave---errrr, I mean skin the cat!

This is the answer ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

JSTUART,

Your statement puzzles me: "I understand that some do this but for myself there is no way in hell am I putting a live round in any type of chamber not part of a firearm, particularly an extremely hard to brittle one."

How do you seat bullets?

I think that the problem is that, after you resize the neck of an empty case, seating the bullet expands it a little. A die that pushes back the shoulder of a loaded round also tries to resize the neck, but the bullet prevents this and the round can get stuck, unless you use a body die for a larger case as MD suggested.

No way would I try this, even with lubricant.

The clearance of a bullet seating die is a lot more.

How many rounds are involved? Why not just pull the bullets?

Not necessarily so. Many times I've used a Redding 308 Win. body to brush back shoulders of loaded 308 Win rounds. You should check for clearance and mine has plenty. MD's suggestion was for if there was a tight situation. Then you should use a die for a larger necked cartridge.

My other comment is that often the problem that's preventing easy chambering of resized cases isn't the shoulder being too far forward, but the base of the case being too large in diameter.

The other possibilities, that I have found from experience, are that the neck has been deformed in the seating, and/or the cases are a bit overlength. With a chamber which is tight in the neck area this can make it hard to chamber rounds.

It might be worth painting a few rounds with a Sharpie and trying to chamber them to see just where it is that they are tight

That's a good idea, Dan, and done.

I tried running the cases through the body die, and it did NOT take care of the problem. I painted up one round as Dan suggested and verified that the body diameter near the case head was the issue, just like Mule Deer suggested above. I doubt I would have thought of it before this thread began, but I happen to have FL die sets for several cartridges based on the '06 and decided to try them with the decapping stems removed. My .35 Whelen sizing die didn't do the trick, but my .280 Remington die did.

So, several things learned here, and that in itself would be worthwhile but I actually found a solution to the immediate problem...and even got to take the easy way out!

Thanks fellas.

I had base sizing issues with my .257 Roberts cases since I owned four rifles in that caliber at the same time. I solved it by sending 3 down the road and working with the one. Voila! Problem solved.

I am reluctant to join this but here goes. Just before getting on an airplane for a three week trip to Africa, I loaded my ammo using new cases. The rifle, a 270, had a minimum chamber and the new brass was on the large side. About half wouldn't quite chamber. I was short on time, I had to be in the airport in 5 hours. I couldn't load 100 more shells.

So, I borrowed a 30-06 sizer from a buddy and tried to bump the shoulder back. It didn't move the 270 shoulder back quite enough. So, I cut a shim from an aluminum Diet Coke can that fit between the shellholder face and the rear of the casehead. Problem solved. Pushed enough of the shoulder back so each shell chambered just fine. Went hunting. The ammo was particularly accurate. I guessed the process had produced very straight ammo.

[quote=Mule Deer]JSTUART,

Your statement puzzles me: "I understand that some do this but for myself there is no way in hell am I putting a live round in any type of chamber not part of a firearm, particularly an extremely hard to brittle one."

How do you seat bullets?

thinking like that is why you get paid the big bucks!

Many many times I have used a Redding Body Die to make minor adjustments to the case shoulder on loaded ammo. Also have used a Redding Type S Bushing Die, without bushing, to do the same thing. Works great.

I don't have any worries while doing it, but if you do, that's fine too.

I had my 223 rebarreled, and the new barrel had a real tight chamber. Much tighter than the original barrel. I had maybe 300 rounds loaded that would no longer chamber. Rather than pull them, I just ran them through the Type S Bushing Die, with no bushing, and it worked great and was a fast fix. They shot great in the new barrel.

You are welcome to do as you wish...and I shall continue to not put loaded rounds through a die.

So seating a bullet on top of a column of powder when the round is confined within a seating die is different?

I think that was MDs point, not that I speak for him.....

Things don't just happen, they happen for a reason. If the primer cup is not receiving impact or stress there's no reason the primer would detonate.

I saw the thread about impact pullers causing primer detonation. That's a different deal. Nothing strikes the primer cup, but I believe the priming compound pellet comes loose and impacts the anvil with enough force to detonate. I've used an impact puller myself for years and never had such a thing happen, but I'm thinking the whole thing over the last couple of days.

I think the chances of a loaded round detonating while being run through a body die is probably about ten thousand times less than when pulling bullets using an impact puller.

How about the way rounds powered by Cordite are made? Primed, straight-walled case receives its powder charge AND THEN the neck is formed. It's an assumption, I'll admit, but I think a very safe one: those cases are primed before the Cordite goes in. I think I'd MUCH rather do it that way than the try and prime cases already holding a powder charge---even if the powder won't leak out the flash hole.

I think it would take some doing to screw up enough for a loaded round to go off in a body die. I'm not sure I could figure out how to make that happen without some very deliberate stupid moves.