Full length case resize of a loaded case

I was working for a gunshop owner who also had a hydraulic repair shop on the side

A customer of the gunshop brought in a FL die that had a fully loaded .308 stuck in it. Rim ripped off. He said they would not fit in his rifle, he thought he could make them a bit smaller without pulling them down.

I was left to figure out how to pull the live shell out of the die WITHOUT setting it off or damaging the die. Solution was to make a fitting that would screw into the top of the die where the decapper assembly screws into it and also threaded onto a hydraulic bottle jack made for cherry pickers.

This allowed me to exert about 2500 PSI against the bullet and shell in the die. That pushed the bullet into the powder allowing oil into the powder and then exert the same pressure on the primer. The primer backed out of the pocket along with very oily powder. A brass punch knocked the case out of the die, enough room around the bullet to allow passage.

People do dumb stuff. I got to see some real doozies during my time there.
 
Snuffy,
Your customer with the stuck loaded 308 live round didn't do his homework. With the expander removed from my RCBS FL 308 die the necks come out of the die with a 0.2995 neck ID. Which means the O?D. is undersize as well. Stuck case guaranteed!

Thanks to all for the theoritical and at times spirited discussion. I believe I have found the answer to the problem. Use a 338 Federal FL die with the expander assembly removed. 338 Federal is based off the 308 case.
1. The bullet will pass through the top of the die.
2. 338 Federal neck size is 0.369". Without the expander ball assemblythe resized case will exit the die at 0.360"ish.
3. A 308 case with bullet installed will measure 0.344" ish.
4. A 0.016" difference between the O.D. of the loaded 308 neck and the neck I.D. Of the 338 die.
5. The way to test would be:
A. Take 1 of the offending cartridges and pull the bullet
B. Dump the powder and pop the primer, re-install bullet
C. Resize cartridge in 338 Federal FL die
D. Do a chambering test
 
That's an interesting way to resize the loaded rounds. Thanks for sharing. Since I am finally done with pulling bullets, dumping powder, and resizing, I probably won't need to do this again,but I wonder which 223 based FL sizing die would work for me to do what you did. I'll do a little research, since my Body Die won't do the job.
 
Look at the 300 Black Out dies. You will need to note the O.D. of the neck on your loaded 223's, compare that to the neck I.D. of the 300 BO dies, which will be very close to the O.D. of a loaded 308 neck.

Just measured my loaded .223s by Double Tap. The neck O.D. is 0.248". Re-sizing a 308 LC brass in my RCBS FL die without the expander produces a neck O.D. of 0.330". You will have 0.080" difference. Your .223 rounds would fit, but it may be TOO much difference producing Too little shoulder engagement. You can only try.
 
Do you have the 338 Federal die already ?? If not , that is not the way to do it . The logical way would be to buy a 308 bushing die . When the bushing is removed it is just a body die . In my test I did in the earlier post I used a Redding type "s" bushing die with the bushing removed . I was able to bump the shoulder back another .008 with the bullet seated using that die .

The reason I say to use a 308 bushing die if you don't already have the 338 federal die is because there is no reason to buy a die that you only use once . If you buy a 308 bushing die you can use it as a FL body die then use a Lee collet die for the necks . Oh ya you can buy a bushing or two and have one of the best 308 dies on the market . The point is at least the bushing die is for a caliber you load and can be used for years to come .


$35 one time use
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/378606/rcbs-2-die-set-338-federal?cm_vc=ProductFinding

$60 life time of use
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/66...sizer-die-308-winchester?cm_vc=ProductFinding
 
Metal God, I can't speak for the OP, but in my case the Body Die I used was indeed the Redding Type S Bushing Die (without the bushing) for the 223. Odd, but it wouldn't resize the brass enough to fit in the new custom barrel chamber on my 223. I still can't figure that out. Must be a logical reason, which I suppose is that the chamber is really snug. The Redding Std FL die without the decapping pin worked well enough on empty primed cases.

I'm going to assume that I will never again find myself in the situation of having hundreds of loaded rounds that need to be resized. I hope.
 
Interesting , maybe grinding the top of the shell holder down to size the case shorter might be an answer . That would still seem better then buying a die you never use .For what ever reason I seem to I have many of the same shell holders . I Would not miss one if I needed to grind on it a bit . If you had to buy one , well now the costs are starting to out weigh the effort .

FWIW , in the test I did with a seated bullet . I was able to set the shoulder back an extra .008 . That actually was about .004 less then I thought I'd get . so it would appear in general the type "s" dies size a couple thou longer then standard dies . I can see if one has a very tight chamber it could cause issues . Then there is the fact there was a bullet seated in the case . Not sure if that in any way effects the shoulder bump .
 
Last edited:
In ~ 2000 I bought 1,000 rounds of reloaded .223 ammo for $100 at a gunshow.
I had a $1k Para Ordnance Carbon 97 AR 15 pistol.
That ammo could not chamber more than half way in.
I bought a LEE RGB die set for $11 and ground the neck off.
I think that worked.
I have never shot any more of the ammo, but I can see the jerry can with my handwriting that says "needs to be resized" and spiderwebs all over it.

A month after I got it, I sold the handgun for $850 on consignment after two trips to the range [made too much noise for me and too much flash for the range employees].

I still have the modified die, but i think that ammo will chamber in other 223s.
 

Attachments

  • Modified Lee 223 FL sizer die with neck ground off 6-28-2015.jpg
    Modified Lee 223 FL sizer die with neck ground off 6-28-2015.jpg
    95.3 KB · Views: 12
Just took the discussion to spark me into looking at it.
Click to expand...

Before bushing dies: It was possible to size a case without sizing the neck. Before the Internet there rifles were sold with the understanding one rifle would last a life time. Purchase a 25/06 then shoot it until the barrel was shot out. Mail the rifle in and have the barrel rifled to 270 and then start over. After the 270 is shot out have the barrel rifled to 30/06.

The rifle came complete with options and a price sheet.

As always when the die fails a reloader the first thing to go is the top of the shell holder and or the bottom of the die. I have a grinder that makes pilots, tapered gages and gages to length. For me it is a matter of chucking a die up in the grinder and start grinding. Before I start I want to know how much stock to remove, to determine that I use a feeler gage to shim the case off of the deck of the shell holder. A feeler gage can be purchased for the price of a shell holder.

Sizing for short chambers, not common but a case can be shortened by as much as .012" from the shoulder to the case head by using a feeler gage between the deck of the shell holder and case head, OH! a reminder, do not punch holes in the feeler gage with the primer punch, and do not forget, this is about grinding the die or shell holder, I want to know how much to grind off before I start, and it is about a reloader that can not size a case that will not chamber. And it is about a reloader that does not understand the design, the die is made to return the case to minimum length.

Dies can be checked for their ability to return a case to minimum length/full length size. Again, the feeler gage can be purchased for the price of a shell holder. When sizing a case and the case whips the press I want to know by how much. It is possible for a case lube to fail a reloader. There are times the case has more resistance to sizing than the press can overcome.

F. Guffey
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top