Once fired .223 brass is 1.770" long, is this normal?

[IMtheNRA]

I just decapped and FL resized some of my own once-fired .223 brass with mixed headstamps. The cases measured 1.770 to 1.775 long, which exceeds the max case lenght of 1.760 in my manuals, so I'll have to trim them once I get the equipment to do so.

Is it normal for .223 cases to exceed max length after one use?

 

[trueblue1776]

It's not anything to worry about. It's rare for me to see that much stretch on my personal once fired brass, but I don't know what your chamber looks like.

Bottom line, no biggie just buy a $3.00 trim set and go to town.

 

[NuJudge]

Once fired cases, after sizing, have increased a lot in length. Trim them back to minimum length, and they should not need it for 3 more firings.

CDD

 

[Idano]

IMtheNRA,

If you use a RCBS X-Die to resize you won't have any stretch because of the way the mandrel is designed. With the X-Die you only have to trim the brass once and the die keeps it from stretching beyond 1.75" if was setup correctly. It is definitely a time and brass life saver,

 

[dmftoy1]

That sounds about right for me on a first firing. Second and subsequent firings I don't get that much "growth" after resizing. FWIW

 

[Urbana John]

lubricate the inside

I use the RCBS CASE LUBE-2 and a bore "thingy" to lube the inside of rifle cases before resizing and decapping, which helps prevent any stretching.

This stuff is "great"----I put the cases in hot soapy water, wash the lube off and then dry the brass, usually under a light bulb.

Also remember, the "hotter" the round, the more it's going to expand and stretch, and you get the stretching part on the "up stroke" as you are pulling the round out of the die.

Urbana John

 

[45ACPUSER]

There are many things you can do to help minimize case stretching during resizing.....
#1 as stated above lube the inside of the case neck
#2 Redding makes carbide expander balls the decapping rod
#3 is polish down the existing expander ball by smoothing up

The use of the X Die requires that you trim the cases after the first sizing down to 1.740 and the mandrel inside the attempts to limit the case growth.