223 rem.case. help

J

Jasonzee

New member
I was checking out my cases with the calipers and the inside neck is 216! This is after I deprimed and resized it. The bullet I'm using is 55gr. Soft point and the brass is winchester.
 
Using a calipers to measure the ID is not a good way to measure for accuracy. The best way to measure would be with pin gauges. Are you having problems seating bullets? Or is there some other reason for the post.
 
Check for any burr or residual crimp. Measure your expander button. Should be .002 or .003 smaller than bullet dia.
 
Before when I was reloading 223 I was using Honady max and no problem,now I'm using dogtown bullets there a knock off of Nosler .224 diameter but cant get bullet started without falling over!!.
 
Does the die have an expander rod (Lee) or a ball/bullet (RCBS and others?). If Lee, the recapping pin is the expander rod and is tapered, so you have to make it fully insert into case not barely touch the primer (you’ll get small ID if it doesn’t go all the way in). If it’s an expander ball, make sure it is right size as mentioned but then be sure it is pressing into case and popping back out when retracting, you should feel that on way in and out as pressure needed to move press handle changes.


Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, CRPA member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / FPC / CCRKBA / GOA / NAGR / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member - Support your defenders!
 
You can buy a carbide expander for the RCBS. I have found they aid accuracy by being much less prone to pulling a neck off-axis, especially when you also use an inside neck lube.
 
Have you been chamfering the case necks? If not that could also be the problem, especially with a flat based bullet vs a boat tail bullet. I load a lot of flat based bullets, and even with a chamfer you have to guide them by hand all the way into the seating die or they will tip. But as long as you guide them in they will seat just fine.
 
That's what I have to buy a chamfering bit because a few wont let the bullet sit. I have a few rows shy of 50 loaded.
Th anks for the advise!
 
You could also go away from the expander altogether and expand in a separate step using a Lyman M-die. This die expands the case mouth very slightly just before creating the flare needed for cast bullets. That slight expansion forms a little step a tiny bit over bullet diameter, and you can set the bullet in it, and it stays perfectly upright while you press it up into the seating die. That eliminates bullet runout, which improves accuracy, and it eliminates the chamfer requirement. If you see copper scraping of your bullets, you just screw the M-die in enough to get a tiny bit of mouth flare, then let the seating die's crimp shoulder barely kiss it to remove the flare and the step.
 
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