.223 help

2

2wheelwander

New member
This is my first go around with .223 (or any necked ammo for that matter). I'd decapped, and sized everyting. I loaded about 6 rounds no issues, then thought I'd better check case length. Went through my brass (~500 pieces) with calipers as a go/no go gauge and found about 75 pieces that were over recommended max case length. Put them on my Lyman case trimmer set at 1.750. Then onto the prep station where I chamfered and deburred all those cases. and tossed them into my tote of ready to go brass

Back to the press and run the resized brass through the sizer just to make sure, new primer, powder, go to seat the bullet and it crushes the top of the neck down. Everything was fine until I sized/deburred/chamfered. Four cases in a row crushed when seating the bullet. I backed the bullet depth all the way out to the point the projectile began to seat, but collapsed the neck again.

It seams when I decap/resize it seems it isn't resizing as it should. I'm confident my chamfer/debur is up to snuff.

I'd appreciate any experienced advice on this. TIA.
 
Yeah, I did that too . . .

Okay, I'm not the pro here, but I recall having that same problem with crushing the 223 cases when trying to seat the bullet. I don't think your resizing had anything to do with it.

My suggestion is back the whole die out a little and see what happens. As I recall the instructions that came with my Lee dies had me seating the die a tad more deeply than it needed to be.

Good luck.

Prof Young
 
Sounds like you are using a flat based bullet. If you screwed your seater all the way out I suspect there is something going on with your alignment. I use RCBS dies. No problems with getting the bullets seated as you describe. Are you using a sliding collar Hornady set? I don't like those. Are you getting the bullets aligned on the case before you try to seat?
 
Lots of good YouTube videos on resizing

Your bullet has a flat base or the die closed the case mouth too much. Try a boat tail bullet, if that works your die is not setup correct. The mouth is smaller than needed for correct tension.
 
Are these new or fired cases? I had a similar problem traced to work hardened necks. If the neck is too hard you will find it hard to start the bullet. I have found the problem is minimized with properly annealed case necks.
Check the diameter of the neck expander button in your sizing die. If it is under size the case neck will be too small to accept the bullet.
Like rc said above I have the Hornady seating die and it is picky how the bullet will enter the case neck.
 
I think Proof Young has it . Sounds like you are Engaging the crimp portion of the seater die before the bullet is fully seated . Back the seating stem way out then unscrew the Die several turns . Now take a sized empty cases and place it in the press and raise the ram all the way up . Screw the seater die body into the press until it stops on the case mouth then back it out at least one full turn lock it in . Your seater die now should be gtg and seat bullet to intended depth by adjusting the seating stem .
 
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Some folks have,IMO nailed what is wrong but maybe could have explained it more clearly.
Your problem is quite common.

Built into the seater die body is a crimp function. I'm talking about the main die body. You increase crimp by screwing the die body deeper into the press.

If you screw the die body in until it contacts the shell holder,you are applying the maximum crimp the die is capable of.

Only there is no place for that crimp to go.The bullet is not compressible.

So a tremendous force is applied to the seater stem ,bullet,and on into the case neck.
The brass at the shoulder collapses,and cantilevers the shoulder outward.

If you measure the case body diameter at the shoulder,you will find it enlarged.

It not unusual for the new loader to take this problem to the range. The day gets ruined because these cartridges get very stuck in the chamber.

The die setup remedy: Ram position up,screw your seater die into the press about 1/4 inch short of touching the shellholder.
Lower the ram. Now,insert a piece of brass into the shellholder. It does not matter much,but I'll say sized,trimmed (or not) unprimed,no powder.

Now,ram up. The brass has entered the seater die.The die body is approx 1/4 inch off the shellholder. OK?

Now screw the die body down till you feel a little resistance. That is the restriction of the crimp function in the die contacting the case mouth.
Note the space between the die body and the shellholder. Thats how much you were crushing your ammo.

OK. This is not a super critical setting. We want someplace between "enough" die body to shellholder gap and unnecessary "too Much" From bumping the case,to allow for case length variation,back up 1/4 turn.

That will give you zero crimp. Now,here is a setup tip. Find a washer or something similar that is the right thickness so you can use it as a setup gauge.Screw the die body in so the gauge just fits between the die body and shellholder. If you do that,you can repeat the setup every time.

Clear as mud? OK. Once you have that down,this little experiment will show you something.

Screw the seater die body down to contact the shellholder.like you did originally.Now,no primer,no bullet,no powder. Just a piece of brass,run it full stroke into the seater die.Use a piece of brass ts OK to mess up.
Take it out,look at the neck. What do you see??? Thats what the crimper does.

Crimping is another topic for later.Its a bit controversial. Some think its a good idea in semi-autos. Bullet set back is a concern for some people.
I rely on good neck tension. I think a lot of folks don't crimp bottleneck rifle rounds. I'll leave it there.

Now,here is the price of this lesson. Within a month or two,this same problem will come up here again. Next time,YOU write this up for the newbie!!
 
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2wheelwander,

Sounds like you have the Lee Dead Length Seater Die. It has no crimp shoulder, per see, as Lee expects you to use their Factory Crimp Die separately for any crimping you do. However, it does have a narrowed portion (narrower than the case mouth) that is intended to align the sides of the bullet just where the ogive starts. So:

  1. Back the die body way out.
  2. Unscrew the aluminum plug on top that sets the seating depth.
  3. Put a resized case in your die and run the press ram all the way up.
  4. Screw the die in until you feel the narrow place contact the case mouth.
  5. Back the die out 1/4 turn and tighten the lock nut.
  6. Lower the case, charge it, and place a bullet on top and run the ram back up (you should see the seating stem rise when you do this).
  7. Screw the plug in until you feel it contact the seating stem.
  8. Lower the round a little and start turning the plug in until you achieve your desired seating depth.
 
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