Full length case resize of a loaded case

T

The Old Salt

New member
I have 2 308 rifles and some once fired reloads that were not full length resized. Some cartridges fit one rifle only. I'm getting a new full length resize die and I'm thinking about modify my old one for the purpose of full length resizing of loaded cartridges.

My thought is to the the old die, an RCBS, remove the primer punch parts, and ream the neck to a size that would allow the heaviest wall brass with bullet installed to pass through the die head. This would allow the body and shoulder of the case to be resized even though it is fully loaded.

Has anyone else ever tried this? Does it work? Or have I over thought this one? I have a couple hundred rounds I would like to do this to, and the thought of pulling down 200 rds is not heart warming.

All suggestions welcome!
 
No have never tried it and wouldn't want to try. Doesn't in general sound safe and I would think you would end up with stuck cases. The seated bullets would probably not make clearance in the neck section of the sizing die. Why ream out the neck and ruin the die? Disassemble the loads to be redone and start anew. Let's see what others to follow have to say about that.
 
Lets see, you're going to ream a FL sizer die (and thereby render it useless for anything else), to avoid the work of pulling down a couple hundred rounds?

Seems to me to be running a half mile, to avoid having to walk a block...

To me, the obvious answer, if you don't want to pull them down, is simply to be patient. So some cases only fit one rifle? ok, USE them in THAT RIFLE!

THEN, FL resize the empties correctly and move on.
 
have I over thought this one? I have a couple hundred rounds I would like to do this to, and the thought of pulling down 200 rds is not heart warming.
Click to expand...

Never enough time to do it correctly the first time and always time to do over. Nothing new, a die that started out being called a body die got a make over when reloaders thought it was possible to bump the body without bumping the shoulder, I thought it should have case body support when bumping the shoulder etc.. I did not purchases the bushing dies, I did not need them.

And now, reloaders are removing the neck bushing from the die to size loaded rounds. I do not know if a die will support the pressure created when a round is fired, I do not believe a reloader has to worry about secondary spikes if the die is open on top.

I believe it is a bad habit. In the last 2 months I have pulled down 400+ rounds of 7mm Remington Magnum and 257 Weatherby. for me it was a matter of pulling down the loaded ammo or stop reloading.

F. Guffey
 
Long before there were dies sold like coffee, calf, half calf, de-calf, dark, light mocha? etc., I had dies I did not have chambers for. I also had chambers I did not have cases for. Dies I did not need allowed me to have dies that sized the shoulder/case body without touching the neck.

F. Guffey
 
It's an interesting thought when you start to break down the things that would happen . Depending on how much more you need to set back the shoulder . The brass that was part of the shoulder now needs to go somewhere . It will be extruded forward to the neck lengthening the case . To start with if the case is anywhere near max length it may now be to long . Then there's the idea as to what's going on with the bullet as material is growing around it . I can't imagine that it will stay straight with the bore axis as the case grows in length .

While writing this I decided to go do a test . I sized a case using a standard die and a +010 shell holder . I then measured the length of the case 2.015 . I then seated a bullet and sized the case again using a Redding type "s" FL bushing die with out bushing . I also used a standard shell holder this time . By doing so I was able to set the shoulder back another .008 with the bullet seated . I then pulled the bullet and measured the length of the case 2.018 . The case length grew .003 . Not as much as I thought it would .

Assuming you don't have a compressed load . It appears to be doable although I don't think I'd do it .
 
Sounds like an awful lot of work to modify a sizing die (reaming out hardened steel ain't normally a task I'd try), so I have a couple ideas; Sort the ammo and shoot the "big" ammo in the gun that it fits. Reload the brass with full length sizing. "There's only one way to eat an elephant, that's one bite at a time". No one says you have to sit down and pull all 200 bullets at one time. Just do as many as you're comfortable doing; 5, ten, twelve, etc. Pull a bullet, dump powder in a container, put bullets in a box/bag, as many time as you want. When yer done (however long it takes) remove the decapping stem from your sizing die and proceed as normal...;)
 
As others have suggested, just fire the ammo in the rifle that it fits. Seems like an awful lot of drama for such an obvious solution.
 
I've recently experienced a similar problem - a new barrel chambered with a brand new reamer; about 80% of my reloads for the previous barrel will not chamber. But in this case the reloads were sized with a FL die. The problem was not the shoulder, but the body diameter near the case head. Resizing with a small base body die resolved the issue for about 80% of the problem rounds.

I would first identify whether the problem is the shoulder or the body diameter. If you decide to resize them, consider a body die rather than destroying a FL die. Body dies are fairly cheap. If the problem is the body diameter near the case head you might find that your FL die wouldn't solve the issue anyway - a small base body die may be the only option. Understand the risks and take safety precautions against the possibility of ignition. If you have a gun that they fit, or you can break them down, that has to be the safest option.
 
Online its been done with a Redding body die. Your FL die, modified, should work the same. But FL sizing will make the trim length longer, but mostly not a problem as chambers are cut extra long for safety. The reaming must be done perfectly. Depends if your feeling lucky.
 
I sold my old 260 and bought a new one with a custom barrel. Very tight chamber on the new rifle. I bought a Redding Body Die and resized the loaded rounds just a touch and all was good. And the new rifle loved the load I had used in the old rifle.

Just got my 223 back from the gunsmith today. Same deal. New custom barrel with real tight chamber. I have a Body Die for it too, and a whole lot of ammo that needs to be shrunk. I hope it works as well as the 260 Body Die did. Anyway, after I've 'redone' the rounds, I'll measure everything just to be sure that it meets the proper dimensions. And further, since the loaded rounds are rather warm, I'll load up some new brass with workup loads, slowly working up to where my loads are now, so as not to blow myself up. I sure hope the new rifle has no problems with the loaded warmish rounds. I hate to disassemble all that I have.
 
308 Loader, In the movie 'Little Big Man' a group that rode their horses backwards and said hello when they meant goodbye were referred to as being 'contrars'.

F. Guffey
 
Well shucks, I set up all the reloading stuff and tried the Body Die out on my loaded rounds, and it won't size them enough to fit in the new and much smaller (apparently) chamber. Gonna have to pull them all down and FL resize them. As the Queen once said..."we are not amused".
 
ignition of a loaded cartridge being resized? Length growth?
1. Shell holder has a hole in it below the primer so where is the striking force required to ignite the primer coming from?
2. A FL die with the neck cavity reamed sufficiently to allow a neck with projectile installed to pass through undisturbed, (0.342" min dia, LC brass with projectile is 0.338") how does a properly lubed case & die get stuck together?
3. Growth of cases in FL dies is mostly attributed to the shoulder bump? Or is it the squeezing of the neck? Neck squeeze is eliminated in the modified FL die.

The ability to resize loaded cartridges makes it possible to resize any cartridge (same cal) from any source to fit any chamber with SAAMI neck dimensions. Think future ammo availability.
 
3. Growth of cases in FL dies is mostly attributed to the shoulder bump? Or is it the squeezing of the neck? Neck squeeze is eliminated in the modified FL die.
Click to expand...

If it goes beyond complicated it becomes cryptic. I was sharing some information about case forming, as expected there was a lot of snark going on. One responder suggested I was into some scary stuff. I called Hodgdon, I ran the information by them, they basically said I was correct, but after fire forming the load I was using would be on the high side and or exceed recommended pressure.

F. Guffey
 
For what it's worth, I've been pulling bullets, dumping powder, and resizing the primed cases (Redding FL std die with decap pin removed). Case length has not changed. Or maybe I should say, since I didn't actually measure resized case length, the length was right at 1.75 for the 223 and is still at the same place now. So, for all practical purposes...no change.

If the Body Die had reduced the case size sufficiently, I would have used it for the rest of the loaded rounds. Worked great for the 260 rounds, and I was hoping for the same for the 223 rounds. If some of you aren't comfortable with trying that, I understand.
 
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