round does not fully chamber

[chuckhunter]

I am just stsrting to reload. A friend is showing me how to do it. Here's the problem...I have once fired factory Hornady brass that I am using. I FL sized it, using 32gr Hornady vmax bullets, when I try to chamber a round the bolt has to be forced to close. I have no problems with factory ammo. I tried all the rounds and all of them require force to close the bolt. What did i do wrong? Is it safe to shoot this ammo?? Thank you all for your responses

[Vartarg]

Not knowing how you went about setting up your FL die, it's more difficult to comment.....but have you tried very gradually lowering the die? Is it touching the shell holder? I've had to learn to be more precise because I'm also now reloading for a DPMS AR in .204.....and it's been a lot easier since I acquired a Wilson chamber gauge.....
Good Luck.....

[scootertrash]

A couple questions for you. Were these once fired cases fired in your rifle, or somebody else's? Secondly, how did you adjust the F/L die?

Mike

[chuckhunter]

Scootertrash: The brass was fired in my gun. We were using rcbs dies. Not sure if that helps. I think that he turned it down until it just touched the brass and then a 1/4 turn more. He's at work so I'll call to find out later. Thanks again

[Ray P]

Chuckhunter ............check a piece of brass after size but before, charging and seating the bullet and see if the bolt closes easly or with resistance. If the problem is here then it's a sizing issue. If it is tight on a loaded round.........check your seating depth and make sure the throat of your rifle is clean..........carbon build up will all so cause a tight round if the bullet is loaded on the long side. Check in steps untill you find the problem.
Hope this helps.
Later
Ray P

[chuckhunter]

Thank you ...Ray, I'll check that next time I reload.

[foxwhistler]

One thing that i learn`t when i started reloading was to make sure that you seat the primers well in.I remember a couple of rounds i loaded when i started wouldn`t even chamber,and it was all to do with being a bit too nervous when seating the primers.Not saying this is your problem,but it`s best to try everything.

[futuretrades]

normally you can take an expended round fired from your gun, and rechamber in the same gun with no resistance. try this before you re-size your brass. If this brass does not rechamber in your gun, you may have other problems.
one other question, what press are you using?
when I first started reloading, I was using an older lyman turret press, and when i tried to full length size, the turret would move just a slight amount and I couldn't chamber these rounds. Just one of many experiences that I have not forgotten.

[chuckhunter]

I'm using a rcbs rockchucker press with brand new rcbs dies.

[Hawkeye Joe]

chuckhunter
I had the same issue with the RCBS FL die. Either the shell holder or die needed to be cut in order to work. Toss that RCBS junk in the trash and get a quality die. I now use a Redding comp neck die and when the bolt gets a little sticky, I bump the shoulder back with a Forster Bump die.

[jo191145]

Great advice so far.
Have you checked yet to make sure an unsized case chambers without undue force?

As a FL die squeezes the body of the cartridge back to saami specs the shoulders will move forward. Simply turning the die deeper until it also pushes the shoulders back might solve your problem. Remove the expander ball and turn the die in in small increments until it chambers freely.
This is assuming you do not yet have the tools to measure head space. You'll want those tools so put them on the list. Small steps is the ticket. Pushing the shoulders back excessively will age your brass quickly. At todays brass prices head space tools are a bargain. So aren't shoulder bump neck sizing dies or make your own out of a non bump die as I did.

There have been a few reports of RCBS dies not being able to push the shoulders back far enough to chamber in some guns. I have no idea if thats true or just inexperience speaking. We all had to learn the same lessons These forums have helped me immensely.

A standard FL die usually resizes the neck excessively. Supposedly to allow brass of differing neck thicknesses to work in the die. It relies on the expander ball to reset the neck to the proper ID. If your not lubing the interior of the neck properly the expander ball will pull the shoulders forward as you draw it through the neck.

I try to necksize only using shoulder bump dies and Imperial dry graphite. ( Its black, White mica was totally useless in my experience)
When I FL or use a body size die I use Imperial sizing wax.
Thanks to RIO and others on this forum who turned me on to this product my FL sizing has become less tedious and more precise.

While I was very slowly typing this I noticed Hawkeye Joes new post. If the Top Dog says his RCBS die would not bump the shoulders back we can believe him. A lot of folks have started with RCBS and moved on to Redding. I bought a Hornady FL die for my 6.5X284. Its in the trash and I now use Redding for everything. I'm a slow learner.

[Prdtrgttr]

I had a similar problem to yours. My problem was that when I went to seat the bullets, my seating die was turned in too far. It was pushing the shoulder back minutely; but just enough to not allow the loaded round to fit in my gun. I was looking at everything for awhile until I realized my mistake. I backed my die out a little, and voila, problem solved. Let us know what you find out.