Resizing a complete cartridge

And again missing the point. The OP has a bunch of loaded rounds, and is inexperienced or the rounds would fit a standard chamber.
A simple gauge would let him determine what rounds (if any) will work, without stuffing loaded rounds into some Gizmo to try and size them after the fact.

While everyone seems to want to come up the most complicated ways to do things not considering the experience level involved.
 
Today 02:26 PM
JeepHammer:And again missing the point. The OP has a bunch of loaded rounds, and is inexperienced or the rounds would fit a standard chamber.
A simple gauge would let him determine what rounds (if any) will work, without stuffing loaded rounds into some Gizmo to try and size them after the fact.
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And then you suggest he dispose of the several thousand rounds? He did not ask what would work, he asked how he could fix the ones he had to fuction in his new Colt rifles.
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Or instead of doing all that work he can spend $10 more and just buy the correct body die .
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012478292/redding-small-base-body-die

How ever I would not buy a body die because the Redding type s bushing die is the same thing with no bushing or decapping rod installed . Then later on you have a bushing die if you ever want to buy bushings for it .

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101236227/redding-type-s-bushing-full-length-sizer-die-small-base

They seem to have gotten a bit pricy . I want to say mine were under $80
 
Brian Pfleuger wrote:
However, and it’s a big however, you have to realize that if that round DOES go BOOM! while it’s up in that die, what you essentially have is a very short barreled rifle...
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I've got some experience that may be relevant here.

In my earliest days of reloading (40 years ago, I know better now), a friend and I tried to do exactly what fpchief is asking about in the OP. We were using the old style Lee Loader and, of course, got the cartridge stuck in the die. One of us had the "brilliant" idea to saw off the case head and remove what would then be nothing but a brass tube with a screw extractor. So, we chucked the die into a bench vise and went to work. Just as my friend started to get into the metal of the case head with the hacksaw, the primer went off.

This did indeed turn the die into a short barreled rifle - but one with an ill-fitting barrel.

The bullet traveled down the three-quarters inch or so of the die's mouth, flew across the bench for six, maybe nine inches and came to rest in an ashtray.

That was it.

  • The primer ignited.
  • The powder burned.
  • The bullet flew a few inches.
  • The case did not rupture - if it didn't have the beginnings of the hacksaw groove in it, it would have even been reusable.
  • The die did not explode - it wasn't even damaged.

Since the die body was designed to size the case neck, there was space around the bullet roughly the thickness of the case at the mouth and this allowed almost all the pressure to immediately escape, so the bullet had little more than the impulse of the primer to drive it forward.
 
Agree, but I was trying to suggest a method to reduce the base and not touch the shoulder which seems to fit okay in all of the OP's rifles. Note that the die you suggest does "bump" the shoulder back a little.
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I understand but would be concerned that sizing down the body may push the shoulder forward some depending on how much the body is squeezed down . I would compare head to datum point measurements before and after any of these methods are tried to be sure the "case headspace":eek::rolleyes:;) had not changed .
 
Jeephammer:

I'm going to type slow

1) The OP said the ammo as is works in his original AR
2) He says it gets stuck in the Colt AR's
Don't over think here,just answer this one little question. Is the ammo a lot oversize,or just a little bit oversize? Seems like just chamber tolerance oversize,yes? Agreed?

Now. It is possible the OP is mistaken. It is possible the difference is headspace and shoulder bump,not diameters.
In that case,I absolutely agree,you can sort out ammo with non-SAAMI head to shoulder length with the bushing gauge...Agreed? If it is a LENGTH issue,the bushing gauge is good.And,I recommend the OP verify the lengths with the gauge.Between the steps! Check!

However,the OP said its a DIAMETER issue. For now,may we take his word for it? Ok

Is the L.E Wilson gauge designed and cut to accept FIRED,EXPANDED,UNSIZED brass from any SAAMI chamber ,with drop in clearance on the diameters? The answer is "Yes" . Go watch the above recommended video by Wilson.

Now,what are the odds ,if this is a diameter problem,and if the ammo shoots in the original AR, that trying to use a Wilson bushing gauge for a plunk test to check diameters will do anything but waste the OP's time ? Its BAD INFORMATION.

Its BAD INFORMATION no matter how easy it is or how inexperienced the OP is. Its not simple or foolproof if IT WILL NOT WORK.
And if you are using an L.E.Wilson case length gauge as a "last word " qualifying gauge to decide if your reman ammo is "good to go" out the door,you are selling a lot of BAD AMMO.

Now,I do agree that resizing the loaded rounds is not recommended.I'm not saying there is no way it can be done.
I maintain that each time the loaded round enters the die,it is similar to chambering a loaded round in a firearm. To do so is an assumption of potentially deadly risk.
From that point,individuals make informed choices.
IMO,the body die ,unless there is a shoulder bump,is like squeezing a banana. Things get longer in an uncontrolled manner.
Bullet concentricity will likely be poor.
Pulling the bullets or shooting the ammo in the original rifle would be the wise,prudent thing to do.

But none of that changes the function of a bushing gauge.
 
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Agree, but I was trying to suggest a method to reduce the base and not touch the shoulder which seems to fit okay in all of the OP's rifles. Note that the die you suggest does "bump" the shoulder back a little.
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RCBS instructions for the bump press qualify the design for the press. RCBS says the only press that is a bump press is the cam over press meaning the cam over press is a bump press and the other press that does not cam over is not a bump press. And then there is the other problem, it is impossible to bump the shoulder on a case back. I understand, it sounds cool on the Internet but it is impossible to move the shoulder back and or bump the shoulder back with a die that has full body/shoulder support.

Lyman had it correct many years ago, they claimed the case gets longer from the shoulder/datum to the case head when sized; even if the reloaders describes the sizing die as a squeeze-um die.

When it comes to moving the shoulder back? That leaves me, I am the only one that can move the shoulder back, for me? Not a problem but I can not move the shoulder back with a die that has case body/shoulder support. Same thing with 'bump', I can not move the shoulder back with a cam over press even thought it is a bump press. The one thing I can do with a cam over press is size the case twice with one trip of the handle.

And then there was the effort to glorify the case with head space; because? The lack of being able to call it anything else. The case does not have head space, we went through that when ever tool was a head space gage and everything had head space. Example, Larry sold a tool he called a digital head space gage. Reloaders had no clue what a head space gage looked like so they purchased his height stand, the height stand was set up to make comparisons so basically Larry made a comparator, I thought it was an expensive tool and I thought any reloader with a few shop skills could have made one if they could drill a straight hole, after the hole there were improvements that could have been made to the hole. There was only one Canadian that started by drilling a hole, he contacted me and said he drilled the hole and said it worked but he saw room for improvement but did not know how to improve the design.

I gave him the fail proof improvements and never heard from him again.

F. Guffey
 
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However,the OP said its a DIAMETER issue. For now,may we take his word for it? Ok

Is the L.E Wilson gauge designed and cut to accept FIRED,EXPANDED,UNSIZED brass from any SAAMI chamber ,with drop in clearance on the diameters? The answer is "Yes" . Go watch the above recommended video by Wilson.
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And I said it was possible to use the Wilson case gage to determine the diameter of the case, that was when I believed there were reloaders with a few shop skills.

Long before that I said I made datums, I collect datums and on rare occasions I purchase datums. when I need something I push myself away from the keyboard and make what I need, there have always been blank spaces in the array of tools available to reloaders. One day I was making a mold for lead bullets when I had an epiphany. I gave up on the mold and started filling in blanks/gaps for the array of tools.

F. Guffey
 
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It may be that a few folks are confusing a “bushing Gauge” with a Bushing Die and/or a Body Die. Metal God made a good point about a Redding Bushing Die, if you remove the Bushing itself, being effectively a Body Die. That Redding Type S Bushing Die is rather expensive, but the Redding Body Die is quite affordable - though I forget the price. The Body Die will allow you to size the body of the case and the shoulder, but won’t touch the neck. The Body Die has come in very handy several times. Once, as I mentioned, when the new barrel had a bit more snug chamber, and I used the Die to lightly adjust the shoulder of previously loaded rounds that had fit the chamber of the previous barrel. And a year or so ago I had loaded up some 223 with a Lee Collet Die and had managed to roll the shoulder ever so slightly. Couldn’t look at it and tell, but they would not chamber. I used that Body Die to readjust the shoulder (of the loaded rounds). The Body Die is good to have in your pile of reloading gear. But, if you don’t feel comfortable using it on loaded rounds, then by all means don’t do it.
 
though I forget the price. The Body Die will allow you to size the body of the case and the shoulder
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When the die became available reloaders thought the die sized the body of the case without touching the shoulder of the case. I have no ideal how the die became a 'body' die, I was sizing cases without sizing the neck of the case for many years before the bushing die, and? there was no extra cost beyond using a die I had already paid for.

Bushing dies: A neighbor/disciplined reloader asked me to alter a few dies for him. He has the only dies I know of that are a true bushing dies, and they are old; the dies have to be 55+ years old. The only way to get a set of the dies was to have a rifle built by the smith. My neighbor was his apprentice.

F. Guffey
 
I know this is old, but photos make everything better right?

It doesn't work. It resizes the bullet, which is then too small for the bore and you lose neck tension.

I had rounds loaded for my factory Ruger AR556. The round worked well in it. I build a 2nd rifle with a 14.5" lightweight barrel so I bumped the AR556 upto an 18" barrel. Both new barrels (Ballistic Advantage and a KAK) were 5.56 chambers. Neither would work the my loaded rounds, the headspace was too tight. I guess the factory AR556 chamber had a lot of head space. So I tried to just resized the loaded ammo....the results speak for themselves. This is 50 yards.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/41EoEQCwxWrzLjx23
 
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