Bolt not closing

[Gorgon]

The die got loose?

I don't think so? I was doing a coolant flush on my bike so while it was cooling down after filling it with water I'd do ten cases then put them in the box until I'd done all fifty, so they were going in in batches of ten. The four anomalies weren't next to each other but were seemingly randomly placed in amongst them all.

 

[Gorgon]

You didn't answer my question before but I will assume you were using a full length die with an expander ball attachment in. If that is not the case, ignore what I am about to write.

When you pull the arm on the press down, the ram goes up and forces the case up in to the die. The already fired case, at this point, has a neck diameter that is larger than the expander ball, so the expander ball slides in without issue. At the top of the stroke (ram at peak height) the case is effectively sized down (depending on how the die is set) body wise and the shoulder set back. The neck is also forced in to the die and effectively sized down. It is sized down less than the desired diameter needed for bullet seating. It is then sized back up again to the desired neck diameter to accept a bullet for seating, by having the expander ball drawn back through it which happens on the up stroke of the handle which forces the ram back down and the expander ball is pulled back out of the case neck, thus sizing it correctly. If you have not lubed the internal bearing surface of the brass neck sufficiently, the expander ball might have experienced significant friction and effectively pulled the shoulder back out a little on the brass.

You could try screwing out the expander ball and just sizing the brass without it in situ to see if you end up with the desired size brass. It would be prudent to compare sized brass without the expander ball, to the brass which you did successfully get to chamber. There might even be a difference there. I don't know but it is worth checking so you can understand the processes and how you interact with your equipment.

For the record, I personally don't use expander balls. I use FL dies without them and then use an expander mandrel to size the necks back up. The difference being that the mandrel is forced down in to the neck in the first instance rather than being forced out from inside the neck, this resulting in less of what i think you might be experiencing. It also works the brass less and seems to realise more consistent neck tension.

That said, you can load perfectly good ammo with a FL die with an expander ball in situ. Just make sure to correctly lube the internal surface of the necks prior to sizing.

Sorry. I was flitting between messing about with my bike, reading all the replies and trying to measure/check stuff as the replies were coming through. I'm using bog standard Lee dies.

 

[.25-06]

Sorry. I was flitting between messing about with my bike, reading all the replies and trying to measure/check stuff as the replies were coming through. I'm using bog standard Lee dies.

In a lee press?

 

[Border]

Is it wise to attempt to push the primers in on a loaded round?

Nope. Pull the bullets, empty the powder, reseat the primer, charge powder and seat bullet. Voila
Been there, done it. I now have a bit of glass that I check that the primers are seated deep enough with. If the cartridge head rocks, seat a wee bit deeper.

 

[Gorgon]

In a lee press?

Yes. I don't know which. It's whichever one comes in the 50th anniversary kit.

 

[Gorgon]

Nope. Pull the bullets, empty the powder, reseat the primer, charge powder and seat bullet. Voila
Been there, done it. I now have a bit of glass that I check that the primers are seated deep enough with. If the cartridge head rocks, seat a wee bit deeper.

I did think it had the potential to go rather wrong! I think the glass idea is good. I will find some glass for this purpose.

 

[.25-06]

Either the die got loose or you didn't crush the case the same as last time. I blame the rubber lock ring and use a comparator now

 

[Cyres]

Are the cases from the same batch.?
I had a similar problem with neck sized .223. Full length resize cured the problem.
D

 

[Gorgon]

I thought I'd post an update here just in case any idy else has the same problem in the future. I loaded 25 rounds yesterday using the 75gr Vmax bullets and cases that measured 1.770" with the comparator sitting at the top(ish) of the shoulder. All of them cycled fine so I think my problem was me not pulling the lever on the press down far enough. I'll be having a word with the case prep quality control department to make sure they get checked after sizing!

 

[MTheaded but happy]

I thought I'd post an update here just in case any idy else has the same problem in the future. I loaded 25 rounds yesterday using the 75gr Vmax bullets and cases that measured 1.770" with the comparator sitting at the top(ish) of the shoulder. All of them cycled fine so I think my problem was me not pulling the lever on the press down far enough. I'll be having a word with the case prep quality control department to make sure they get checked after sizing!

Nice one

It's worth noting , if a body or f/l die doesn't engage the shoulder , then the head to shoulder measurement will increase as the web and body are sized .