Basic Reloading Question

[UncleNorby]

I have a rifle chambered in 358 Hoosier and I have a set of custom Hornady dies. I bought 20 Hoosier cases from the gunsmith that did the rebarrel for me. These were preformed for the Hoosier, and made from new 358 Win brass.

For the first loading I ran them through the sizer die, mostly to get used to using it, them loaded them. They chambered perfectly, with the bolt handle closing with little effort (identical to factory ammo when it was a 308).

For the second loading I resized (full length) again and loaded, and noticed the bolt was slightly more difficult to close.

Resized again and loaded, and now the bolt again requires more effort to close. I can close it without "much" effort, it is just more effort with each loading. So, that's the issue I'm having.

I know the COAL is correct, and I know the case length is on the money. What i am thinking is, that the shoulder is not getting set back far enough, which means that the die may not be "screwed down" into the press enough, yet, I did set the die to contact the shellholder with the ram handle fully down. So, not sure how this could be the issue. I'm sure those with more experience will know just what's going on, so thought I'd ask. The press is a RCBS "D" style, but not an expensive model. Thanks.

 

[Aszerigan]

Could be two things:

1) Time to trim the casings. As you fire and resize them, they gain length. This will cause the bolt to become progressively harder to close as they outgrow the headspacing in the chamber. Check the OAL on the brass, not the cartridge, and you'll find it's out of spec. I'm sure you already know this, but a few thousandths can make all the difference.

2) Overcam your sizing die by 1/4 turn. Since you're not using carbide dies, this won't hurt the die. That'll push the shoulders down ever so slightly further. Do you have a case go-no-go gauge? Might be time to invest in one. They're a life saver.

Did you get a neck sizer with your die set?

 

[UncleNorby]

Cases are within spec (they were trimmed to 1.795). I don't have a go/no-go gauge. Are they adjustable so they can be used for different cartridges? Yes, the die set includes an elliptical neck sizing "thing" along with the de-priming rod.

I'm thinking it is a need to "overcam" as you suggest. I may have tightened a little more than needed for contact between the die and the shellholder, but not anything near 1/4 turn. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Broom_jm]

On the plus side, what you are describing makes it pretty clear you have a fairly tight chamber, so if you don't get carried away with resizing, you should get excellent case life. That's always a bonus when you have to create custom brass yourself.

Here's a simple test you can perform:

1) Size a fired case without adjusting the die from where it is right now.
2) Do not seat a bullet, just feed it into the chamber and attempt to close the bolt.
3) If there is too much resistance, size the case a little more.
4) When the action closes easily, or with a slight "crush-fit", lock your die down.

If you find the action always closes easily on a sized case, but as soon as you seat a bullet it gets more difficult, you need to look at something other than the sizing operation. It could be a bullet seated a little too long or, if you're crimping heavily, that can cause a slight bulge at the junction where the neck and shoulder meet. If additional sizing doesn't fix the issue, look at how you're seating/crimping your bullets.

 

[UncleNorby]

Got it. Thanks!

I've pretty much got it narrowed to not sizing enough. I know the COAL and case length are correct, and I don't crimp.

 

[Saw46071]

I had the same problem with 30-06/308
Brass when I take the die out of the case
In the press even with case lube it is hard
To get out . I found my rims on the shell
Cases pulled and made it hard to chamber
On the bolt face . If you have not looked
You might check

 

[Broom_jm]

Saw,

I think what you're saying is that the sizing die was pulling the necks too hard on the down-stroke of the ram, when it's expanding the neck? Using a neck brush before-hand, or lubricating inside the neck, really helps with that problem.