re sizing problem

[lead chucker]

I agee I use the Hornady lock and load head space gauge and bullet comparator to set my head space on all my calibers. It works great, never had a problem. I doubt your touching the lands at that OAL in a LBC chamber. Like others have stated if you used the lee shell plate with Hornady dies is probably your problem. You could just turn your die in another 1/8 or so turn to see if that takes care of it.

[SG4247]

No,

I am simply measuring the difference from fired brass, to re-sized brass.

The headspace gauge was used to determine (calculate) the spacer length. It serves no value other than a reference for the spacer.

Since the resizing die determines the body shape dimensions of your resized brass, the resized brass from your die either fits your rifles chamber - or it doesn't.

The Sheridan gauge offers no value, because it cannot be exactly the same dimensions as your chamber. Fun to use? Yes. Dimensional info - doesn't do much.

Will it tell your shoulders are .001" back from fired length? NO

I find the best accuracy with my rifles with the shoulder pushed back .002"-.003" from fired length.

I clean the chamber with a "chamber maid" brush on a drill - every 100 rounds (one AR steel match). So I can get away with that little amount of headspace clearance.

I use this one precision mic for multple calibers. 308, 6.5x47 etc.. Excellent tool, no guessing.

[lead chucker]

No,

I am simply measuring the difference from fired brass, to re-sized brass.

The headspace gauge was used to determine (calculate) the spacer length. It serves no value other than a reference for the spacer.

Since the resizing die determines the body shape dimensions of your resized brass, the resized brass from your die either fits your rifles chamber - or it doesn't.

The Sheridan gauge offers no value, because it cannot be exactly the same dimensions as your chamber. Fun to use? Yes. Dimensional info - doesn't do much.

Will it tell your shoulders are .001" back from fired length? NO

I find the best accuracy with my rifles with the shoulder pushed back .002"-.003" from fired length.

I clean the chamber with a "chamber maid" brush on a drill - every 100 rounds (one AR steel match). So I can get away with that little amount of headspace clearance.

I use this one precision mic for multple calibers. 308, 6.5x47 etc.. Excellent tool, no guessing.

This^^^
I use the Hornady gauge to check my fired brass then set my shoulders back .002 to .005". Iv never had a round not chamber, I also check my OAL before hand also. I reload to MY CHAMBER not a gauge.

[1911man]

Okay so I bought the Hornady shell holder and it did not fix the problem. I am using Hornady once fired brass that I shot in this rifle from factory Amax and SST loads. I tried backing off the dies a little and that does not work either. Should I be able to put an empty re sized piece of brass in my chamber and be able to close it? I just re sized a piece and wanted to check it rather than loading and it would not chamber but I did not know weather or not I would have a problem because there is no primer or bullet. I am going to order a gauge from Midway but until it arrives I will racking my brain.

[Zapp]

Since the resizing die determines the body shape dimensions of your resized brass, the resized brass from your die either fits your rifles chamber - or it doesn't.

There are a few steps in the reloading process between resizing brass and firing the loaded round. Sometimes the brass is bulged during bullet seating, for instance. And that can cause a problem with chambering. Sometimes the bullet is seated at a slight angle. A semiauto may slam these into battery so it does chamber. Even though it is fitting your rifles chamber, I wouldn't consider that round good.

The Sheridan gauge offers no value, because it cannot be exactly the same dimensions as your chamber. Fun to use? Yes. Dimensional info - doesn't do much.

When you say your chamber which chamber are you talking about? Many Grendel owners including myself have multiple rifles in the caliber. I know one of the guys on here was mentioning owning 7 or 8 Grendels. Do you keep brass separate? For that perfect chamber fit it would make sense to keep the brass isolated between the different rifles . But if the chamber headspaces are close, it does seem like a lot of people will just reload one round to fit either.

Aside from the bulges I pointed out above, I've had a long list of things that the chamber checking function of the gauge caught. SOME of those would actually chamber in the persons rifle. But once they saw the problem in the gauge they could eliminate it.

Some people already have all these potential issues sorted out in their loading process, so they don't find any problems when they use the gauge.

Judging by customer feedback though, a lot more people do use the gauge to catch potential issues with the gauge than don't.

It sounds like you weren't one of those people, I hope your buddy gets more use out of the gauge.

[Zapp]

Okay so I bought the Hornady shell holder and it did not fix the problem. I am using Hornady once fired brass that I shot in this rifle from factory Amax and SST loads. I tried backing off the dies a little and that does not work either. Should I be able to put an empty re sized piece of brass in my chamber and be able to close it? I just re sized a piece and wanted to check it rather than loading and it would not chamber but I did not know weather or not I would have a problem because there is no primer or bullet. I am going to order a gauge from Midway but until it arrives I will racking my brain.

Someone else earlier in the thread mentioned trying to figure out exactly which part of the brass is not fitting. That is a good start. See whether it is the shoulder, or something else. A black marker or smoke on the brass is one way to do that.

[SG4247]

There are a few steps in the reloading process between resizing brass and firing the loaded round. Sometimes the brass is bulged during bullet seating, for instance. And that can cause a problem with chambering. Sometimes the bullet is seated at a slight angle. A semiauto may slam these into battery so it does chamber. Even though it is fitting your rifles chamber, I wouldn't consider that round good.



When you say your chamber which chamber are you talking about? Many Grendel owners including myself have multiple rifles in the caliber. I know one of the guys on here was mentioning owning 7 or 8 Grendels. Do you keep brass separate? For that perfect chamber fit it would make sense to keep the brass isolated between the different rifles . But if the chamber headspaces are close, it does seem like a lot of people will just reload one round to fit either.

Aside from the bulges I pointed out above, I've had a long list of things that the chamber checking function of the gauge caught. SOME of those would actually chamber in the persons rifle. But once they saw the problem in the gauge they could eliminate it.

Some people already have all these potential issues sorted out in their loading process, so they don't find any problems when they use the gauge.

Judging by customer feedback though, a lot more people do use the gauge to catch potential issues with the gauge than don't.

It sounds like you weren't one of those people, I hope your buddy gets more use out of the gauge.

Right, so I have a dozen or so AR rifles that I load for. All have different chamber dimensions, even those made with the exact same chamber reamer are not identical.

This means that I should keep the fired brass from each gun, matched up with that gun.

Then in my note book, I can look up for each gun, where I recorded the fired brass length according to the reading on the precision mic.

Then I adjust the die, to give me the desired shoulder set back. Everytime - it requires very very small adjustments of the die to get .003-.005" setback. 1/8 turn of the die etc..is not the answer. Need to use a measurement tool to know for sure. Unless of course you don't care if you have sloppy loose ammo in your chamber!

Get a .261" and .262" pin gauge, to check the after sized inside neck diameter. A .264" dia bullet in a .262" neck works fine for most shooters with AR's. This means there is .002" of interference, which grips the bullet.

[1911man]

Do you guys think the location of the decapping pin and re-sizing ball has anything do with it? Meaning if I set it to where the pin sticks out further or is more recessed from the die it will change the shape of the case?

[NugginFutz]

Nope - Only thing the depth of the decapping pin will change is when the primer pops out (or doesn't). If it is too far out, the ram will not be able to cam over without bending the decapping rod assembly

I'd check the diameter of the case just below the shoulder to see if it is swelling. Anything over ~.4320" would likely indicate you are bumping the shoulders too much (case spec is .4318", and chamber spec is .4328").

Without a Sinclair or Hornady head space gauge or Wilson case gauge, you really have no accurate way to tell if you are under sizing the cases (not bumping the shoulders back enough is a very common issue).

[1911man]

Just below the shoulder is .4280". My factory loaded Hornady SSts are .4300" in that same spot.

[1911man]

Okay, so tonight after I got home from work I decided to do a little test. I grabbed 10 cases that I had re sized earlier and re sized each of them with the dies set in a different position. I started by using 1/4 turn tighter than Hornady suggests and I worked my way out 1/8th of an inch for each shell. Much to my surprise the first two cases would chamber but none after. I guess it turns out I needed to push the cases further into the die. I took the two that worked and loaded them with primer, bullet, powder and they both chambered in my weapon. The one set the tightest cycled in and out better. The one 1/4 turn up had a tough time ejecting by hand. So I guess I know where to set the dies now. Thanks for all the help guys.

[lwminton]

Right, so I have a dozen or so AR rifles that I load for. All have different chamber dimensions, even those made with the exact same chamber reamer are not identical.

This means that I should keep the fired brass from each gun, matched up with that gun.

Then in my note book, I can look up for each gun, where I recorded the fired brass length according to the reading on the precision mic.

Then I adjust the die, to give me the desired shoulder set back. Everytime - it requires very very small adjustments of the die to get .003-.005" setback. 1/8 turn of the die etc..is not the answer. Need to use a measurement tool to know for sure. Unless of course you don't care if you have sloppy loose ammo in your chamber!

Get a .261" and .262" pin gauge, to check the after sized inside neck diameter. A .264" dia bullet in a .262" neck works fine for most shooters with AR's. This means there is .002" of interference, which grips the bullet.

The problem with your notebook approach is that the "fit" of a fired case to your chamber changes over time by more than a few 1,000ths. I know this only because I bought an Instant Indicator and measure fired cases over and over.

Also, adjusting the die by "1/8 turn" is fairly imprecise. It is much easier to measure a case before and after sizing with the Instant Indicator and adjust as needed. A precise setback is easy then.

Get this tool and your life will change!

http://www.redding-reloading.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37:instant-indicator-headspace-and-bullet-comparator

[Boostmeister]

"Get this tool and your life will change!

http://www.redding-reloading.com/ind...let-comparator"

Has Redding added the 6.5 Grendel to this tool?

[SG4247]

The problem with your notebook approach is that the "fit" of a fired case to your chamber changes over time by more than a few 1,000ths. I know this only because I bought an Instant Indicator and measure fired cases over and over.

Also, adjusting the die by "1/8 turn" is fairly imprecise. It is much easier to measure a case before and after sizing with the Instant Indicator and adjust as needed. A precise setback is easy then.

Get this tool and your life will change!

http://www.redding-reloading.com/ind...let-comparator

I like this tool! I looked very closely at it. But they just don't make it for grendel or 6.5 x 47 last time I checked.

Hense I came to the precision mic and the spacer.

The precision mic does not require a bench press to check the shoulder accurately. It's a small tool that can fit in your pocket. Calipers style tools don't travel as well, like to the range.

On the bench, I can load one round in the press, size it, check it with the precision mic and adjust the die until it's the correct headspace. Once the press is set up properly, I can run 100 brass with all the shoulders within .002" or less variance!

I've never noticed the headspace changing over time. My personal barrels are usually finished by 2000 rounds. Rapid fire matches heat crack the throat so badly that they loose accuracy and I take them off.

[LRRPF52]

Okay, so tonight after I got home from work I decided to do a little test. I grabbed 10 cases that I had re sized earlier and re sized each of them with the dies set in a different position. I started by using 1/4 turn tighter than Hornady suggests and I worked my way out 1/8th of an inch for each shell. Much to my surprise the first two cases would chamber but none after. I guess it turns out I needed to push the cases further into the die. I took the two that worked and loaded them with primer, bullet, powder and they both chambered in my weapon. The one set the tightest cycled in and out better. The one 1/4 turn up had a tough time ejecting by hand. So I guess I know where to set the dies now. Thanks for all the help guys.

This is the most common problem encountered with loading for gas guns, and you found you had to set the shoulder back a little more.

We covered this in the detailed reloading procedures in Volume II of the 6.5 Grendel handbooks series, in addition to die and shell holder combos, component selection, die set-up, etc. Glad you got it worked out.