What am I doing wrong?

[Broom_jm]

All the OP stated was that slightly adjusting the die down fixed the problem.

I don't find him stating anything about "cam over", "press flex" or other possible problems.

Excellent point! I was going off something the OP said earlier about following the manufacturer's instructions on adjusting the die. If he did that correctly, the mouth of the die was already in contact with the shell holder, or nearly so. When he said he turned the die in just a little more that allowed cases to chamber, I took that to mean he was camming over, which is sometimes needed.

Nat seems to prefer shortening the die to accomplish the same goal, which isn't a bad idea...but camming over slightly, isn't a bad thing, either. I don't have the means to shorten a die, so I adjust it properly and if that means the press has to cam over a little, I'm OK with that. I've never broken a die because I am careful in my adjustments. I suppose if I had a die that was grossly oversized I would resolve that by getting a custom die meant for my chamber.

 

[natdscott]

Indeed Broom.

GMCTTR: we are reading between the lines as to what the dimensions are on the chamber and dies, and interpolating what that may mean for the press function.

The BEAUTY of internet forums with open discussion is that sometimes you get answers to questions you didn't know you had.


Now Broom, what I mean by 'grossly oversized' might only be 0.010". But if the FL die's shoulder won't reach, it won't reach. In that case, if a guy wants to keep the same die, there areonly two options: remove from the die, or remove from the shell holder.

We like to think of these things as "precision", but truthfully, if it's a small amount, you could solve it on a bench grinder if you're any good at free handing. Deburr with diamond files or carbide, and repolish with microabrasive paper.

 

[Robert Richardson]

Other than custom dies, every bottle neck die that I have ever used required to be touching the shellholder. Todays dies are made to resize a case to factory specs of the caliber it's made for. I myself have never had one that didn't work as designed.

 

[bigedp51]

Other than custom dies, every bottle neck die that I have ever used required to be touching the shellholder. Todays dies are made to resize a case to factory specs of the caliber it's made for. I myself have never had one that didn't work as designed.

The dies directions tell you to screw the die down until it contact the shell holder and then 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn more. Doing this takes any slop and flex out of the press and more uniform shoulder location after sizing. Also Redding makes competition shell holders that allow the die to make hard contact with the shell holder.

Bottom line, some people think that press cam over will damage their press. I bought my RCBS Rockchucker press in 1973 and its been camming over since new and it works just fine. And every die I own tells you to make hard contact with the shell holder plus 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn more and the die manufactures tell you this for a reason. This is to make sure the resized case will chamber in any firearm. "BUT" if you want minimum shoulder bump the die can be raised and adjusted for less shoulder setback

Chambers and dies vary in size and once in over 47 years of reloading did I have to lap .003 off the top of a shell holder to get enough shoulder bump for the case to chamber. Most dies will push the case shoulder back more the needed and why Redding makes the competition shell holders. These five Redding shell holders have deck heights .002 to .010 "lower" and do not push the case as far into the sizing die. "BUT" the die still makes hard contact with the shell holder and the press still cams over.

NOTE, The more the case is resized and then fired the harder the brass becomes in the neck and shoulder. And harder brass will spring back more after sizing making the shoulder location move forward after sizing and even change bullet grip. And if you pause 3 or 4 seconds at the top of the ram stroke at press cam over this reduces brass spring back and gives you more uniform shoulder location.

Below when full length resizing the case shoulder needs to be pushed below the red dotted line. On a bolt action this is .001 to .002 and on a semi-auto .003 to .006 shoulder bump.

The only dies I know of that tell you to "NOT" screw the die down until it contacts the shell holder are Whidden custom dies.

WARNING
Failure to adhere with below warning could result in damaged and unsafe brass!
The Whidden Gunworks Sizer Die is engineered with a shorter overall length (OAL) compared to other manufactures of sizer dies.
This means you can set the shoulder back further if desired based on your specific application. This die is not intended to be used
while bottomed out or screwed flush with the shell plate.
Doing so will result in the shoulder being set back too far, possibly rendering the casing unusable.
During initial setup screw the die flush with the shell plate then back off 1-1 ½ turns, NOTE: Each full turn of the Sizer is approx. .071”
so it does not have to be turned very far to make a noticeable adjustment. Instructions are included with each die set and can
also be found at www.whiddengunworks.com-reloading-dies-instructions.

 

[Robert Richardson]

The dies directions tell you to screw the die down until it contact the shell holder and then 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn more. Doing this takes any slop and flex out of the press and more uniform shoulder location after sizing. Also Redding makes competition shell holders that allow the die to make hard contact with the shell holder.

Bottom line, some people think that press cam over will damage their press. I bought my RCBS Rockchucker press in 1973 and its been camming over since new and it works just fine. And every die I own tells you to make hard contact with the shell holder plus 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn more and the die manufactures tell you this for a reason. This is to make sure the resized case will chamber in any firearm. "BUT" if you want minimum shoulder bump the die can be raised and adjusted for less shoulder setback

Chambers and dies vary in size and once in over 47 years of reloading did I have to lap .003 off the top of a shell holder to get enough shoulder bump for the case to chamber. Most dies will push the case shoulder back more the needed and why Redding makes the competition shell holders. These five Redding shell holders have deck heights .002 to .010 "lower" and do not push the case as far into the sizing die. "BUT" the die still makes hard contact with the shell holder and the press still cams over.

NOTE, The more the case is resized and then fired the harder the brass becomes in the neck and shoulder. And harder brass will spring back more after sizing making the shoulder location move forward after sizing and even change bullet grip. And if you pause 3 or 4 seconds at the top of the ram stroke at press cam over this reduces brass spring back and gives you more uniform shoulder location.

Below when full length resizing the case shoulder needs to be pushed below the red dotted line. On a bolt action this is .001 to .002 and on a semi-auto .003 to .006 shoulder bump.

The only dies I know of that tell you to "NOT" screw the die down until it contacts the shell holder are Whidden custom dies.

WARNING
Failure to adhere with below warning could result in damaged and unsafe brass!
The Whidden Gunworks Sizer Die is engineered with a shorter overall length (OAL) compared to other manufactures of sizer dies.
This means you can set the shoulder back further if desired based on your specific application. This die is not intended to be used
while bottomed out or screwed flush with the shell plate.
Doing so will result in the shoulder being set back too far, possibly rendering the casing unusable.
During initial setup screw the die flush with the shell plate then back off 1-1 ½ turns, NOTE: Each full turn of the Sizer is approx. .071”
so it does not have to be turned very far to make a noticeable adjustment. Instructions are included with each die set and can
also be found at www.whiddengunworks.com-reloading-dies-instructions.

This ^

 

[bigedp51]

This ^

You must be almost as smart, good looking and modest as I am.

 

[Broom_jm]

And yet, within these very pages, we have a long-running test of brass that is only neck-sized, without annealing, and still provided adequate neck tension for an astounding number of firings.

 

[Robert Richardson]

You must be almost as smart, good looking and modest as I am.

Well, I don't know about all that but, great minds do think alike, lol.