Strange happenings.....

[jgh4445]

Decided to load for a new to me Ruger #1 this evening. I have some 25-06 brass that I had fired in an old Win Mod 70. I looked at my dies and they are neck size only.

Just for grins, I dropped one in the hole and it went in fine. So did the next and the next. In all, only six Hornady brass would not chamber. I set them aside.

I lubed and neck sized a piece that had dropped in the chamber earlier, inserted a bullet to set up the seater and seated it kind long thinking it would hit the lands. The case stopped about a quarter of an inch short of chambering. No matter how deep I seated the bullet, the case will not chamber. Repeat with several pieces of brass that empty had gone in the chamber and I get the same results. They all go in to about the same spot and stick, bullet or no bullet.

So....I took a piece of brass I shot out of the #1 today, and before I neck size it will chamber fine. After I neck size it will not drop in. Its the same as the brass that I had not fire formed in my rifle. Never had this happen before. Anyone have a clue?

 

[JeffG]

Only the obvious, you are going to have to full length size your brass. I am guessing you are getting some "squatting" on your case body from the pressure of the neck sizing; making the case body or shoulder just a teensy bit wider. The only thing I can think of, is your neck sizer is out of round.

 

[jgh4445]

Hmmm Think I solved it. I backed the sizing die out a whole tuen and tightened it down. Ran another case thru the die and this one dropped into the chamber. Seated a VLD in it and the action seated it right to the lands. I think its good to go.

 

[JimKirk]

Make sure your did is not set to low as it can bulge the shoulder also ... I like to color the brass with magic marker black to see where the sizing is stopping at ...

 

[jgh4445]

Exactly JimKirk. Thanks

 

[243winxb]

An RCBS neck sizing die will contact the shell holder without contacting the case shoulder. Lube the inside of the case neck, for the expander.
jgh4445 , What brand is your die?

A bulged shoulder can also happen in the seating die, if the crimping part contacts the case mouth.

 

[flashhole]

If you are using a Neck Die that pulls an expander ball up through the neck you can move the shoulder forward and cause the fit issue you described.

The Lee Collet Neck Die does not use an expander ball. I use one with my 25-06 loads in my Ruger #1V. Works great.

Brass brand can make a difference too. Federal is pretty soft and you will get a lot of brass movement. The primer pockets will enlarge too, that's the biggest problem I had with Federal brass. Never used Hornady and never will. Crap Customer Service.

I like to re-form HXB 30-06 brass for use in my 25-06. It holds up really well to repeated use.

Once you get the fundamentals worked out you can take a closer look at things. I found sorting brass with a concentricity guage goes a long way for consistent accuracy.

 

[flashhole]

I will add ... my experience has been chambers in the #1 are typically on the high side of the SAMMI tolerance. I get best accuracy in my #1 using a FL sizing die with .002 - .003 shoulder bump. Depending on the brass I use I sometimes use a Redding Body Die for the bump then the Lee Collet Die for neck tension.

I have turned necks for uniformity and that helps accuracy but mostly I just keep the brass sorted in groups that perform well in my rifle.

 

[jgh4445]

243, my dies are RCBS. Used a Hornady Cartridge headspace kit today. I learned that fired brass in my rifle grows about .006 in the center of the shoulder from a factory unfired round. After neck sizing the once fired brass, the center of the shoulder measurement is unchanged from the .006 growth it experienced. In other words, the neck sizing did nothing to bump the shoulder back as some of you suggested. Think I'll go to a FL dies set and be done with it. Or...maybe some RCBS Gold bushing dies with micrometer seating. I'll use no crimp at all. The loads I fired at the range today were full length sized with a die set I sold with my last 25-06. That's why they would load. On a bright note, I did get a 1/2 inch group with RL 19 and an Accubond 110. Did a little happy dance. Thanks for all ya'lls help and Happy New Year!