wwillson Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 All,I took my first shot at reloading .223 for my AR this weekend. All was smooth and pretty self explanatory as I've reloaded lots of pistol ammunition. Well, at least right up to the point where I used the Lee factory crimp die and put a bulge in the case just below the shoulder on about the first 50 I reloaded. I had the factory crimp die about 1/2 turn in to far and when I backed it out the problem went away. So I figured out what was causing the problem and fixed it, but now I have these loaded cartridges with bulged shoulders. What is the best way to fix these cases so they will feed? Is it possible to remove the decapping pin from the full length resizing die and carefully size them just enough to remove the bulge, or is that a bad idea?thanks,Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkie_Lefty Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Any attempt with fully loaded cartridges would scare me to death! Remove die, raise cartridge, use pliers/vice grips to pull bullets. Salvage powder and throw everything else away.Cost of education!Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted February 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Cost of education!Bob Pretty much everything I've learned came the hard way and this isn't an exception. Experience really is the best teacher.Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSharp Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Get a kinetic bullet puller and pull them down. Pitch the bullets and throw the power back in the container. Resize the cases without decapping them.You now have some primed cases that are ready to reload. Out of curiosity, did you check the length of the brass after you resized it? I've never seen a factory crimp die do this. It makes me wonder if the cases aren't too long... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted February 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Anyone else use the Lee factory crimp die? It seems that with this die the difference between no neck crimp and mushroomed cases is only about 1/2 turn. Pretty hard to get adjusted correctly.Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsoup Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Did you Full Length size all the brass? Are all your cases the same length (1.750)? If not that might be some of the problem. Are the shoulders set back the same? The FCD works by the case holder pushing the split bushing up into the tapered sleeve and closing the bushing on the case mouth at the top of stroke. You only want about .030" of crimp length (measured from case mouth towards the base)Are you using bullets with a cannulure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted February 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 Did you Full Length size all the brass? Are all your cases the same length (1.750)? If not that might be some of the problem. Are the shoulders set back the same? The FCD works by the case holder pushing the split bushing up into the tapered sleeve and closing the bushing on the case mouth at the top of stroke. You only want about .030" of crimp length (measured from case mouth towards the base)Are you using bullets with a cannulure? All full length sized, all trimmed to 1.750, no cannulure.I wonder if the collet might be sticky since it's brand new? Possibly hanging and crushing the case instead of sliding smoothly with the case?Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsoup Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 That is a possibility. There is a step in the split collet on the end that the bullet sticks through. If it, the collet, is stuck closed the case will catch on the step.The 4 splits in my collet are about .030" wide when relaxed and .000 when compressed with the ram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steves Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Remove the primer punch and run the case again to see if it can be saved . I have do it many times with success. It is worth the try. Make sure there is some lube on the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_in_Utah Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Make sure there is some lube on the case.That is what I've found with the .223 LUBE is the RULE.. (don't skimp) Pull the bullets and start over would also be my suggestion. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trapper Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 If the buldge is small and is the only area that the case is deformed, remove the stem and primer punch from the sizing die, lube just the area that will be sized, push the round far enough into the die to size the effected area, and it should be ready to go. Obviously, do not attempt to rezise the complete loaded case- shoulder area only which means the case will probably only go into the die amybe a half inch at most at the shoulder area. If it requires more than that, I'd suggest getting a collect bullet puller like an RCBS or a Forrester and pull the bullets.The bullets will be reuaable as well as the powder if done correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwillson Posted February 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 If the buldge is small and is the only area that the case is deformed, remove the stem and primer punch from the sizing die, lube just the area that will be sized, push the round far enough into the die to size the effected area, and it should be ready to go. Obviously, do not attempt to rezise the complete loaded case- shoulder area only which means the case will probably only go into the die amybe a half inch at most at the shoulder area. Trapper,Exactly what I ended up doing and it worked like a champ. Many prairie dogs were expended with these rounds!Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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