FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

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FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by Paul » 17 Mar 2021, 7:08 pm

I FL resized a box of Hornady, Superformance that I fired in my old 22-250 so it will fit my new Tikka T3x.

Only 2 would chamber. The others would feed in, but then the bolt could not be closed down. I have even resized several 3 times (also trying it without the neck pin), but still no luck.

Any thoughts? Is it possible the cartridge is not getting far enough into the die? It has been set up as per instructions, with the die dialled down till it meets the raised shell holder.

Thanks in advance.

Paul
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by Blr243 » 17 Mar 2021, 7:18 pm

I’m a bit at a loss. Only thing I can think is incorrect shell holder ?......or if there’s a ton of friction between inside of case necks the exp ball, the ball might be dragging the shoulder forward ....whenever I have this sort of issue it’s usually me doin something wrong rather than the gear and I eventually work it out
Last edited by Blr243 on 17 Mar 2021, 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by LawrenceA » 17 Mar 2021, 7:19 pm

Have you checked overall shell length? Have you checked the sizes of the sized cases?
If these are within tolerances and assuming the dies are within tolerances you may have a chamber on the tight side of acceptable and dies on the loose side of acceptable.
If this is the case then try shimming the bottom of the case with a thicknesses of paper, resize, and see if it chambers then. if it seems better try another thickness.
If this works then maybe just maybe buy yourself another shellholder and grind some off the top or get yourself a set of small base dies.
What dies do you have? Some can be a might umm.... loose
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by snag » 17 Mar 2021, 7:35 pm

Something very wrong here - if your resizing die is adjusted down to the shell holder, then that should fit any chamber. I'd be checking your case length.
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by Wm.Traynor » 17 Mar 2021, 7:35 pm

Paul wrote: Is it possible the cartridge is not getting far enough into the die? It has been set up as per instructions, with the die dialled down till it meets the raised shell holder.
Thanks in advance.
Paul


Merely "meeting" the shell holder might not be enough, Paul. Screw the die down another quarter turn and resize a few. If that does not work, keep screwing down in one eighth turn increments. One of two things will happen.....................the cases will chamber or the press will not cam over with normal effort. In that case, small base dies might be the answer but honestly, at that point, it becomes a guessing game and a more expensive one than you originally expected.
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Mar 2021, 8:50 pm

Lawrence said what I thought. Check case length. Often it varies a bit, perhaps just enough to allow some but not others to chamber.
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Mar 2021, 6:58 am

It may be possible that your old 22\250 has an oversized chamber and the brass has expanded to this size. When you size the brass it springs back and won't fit the Tikka. Why not keep this brass for your old rifle and treat the Tikka to some nice new brass?
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by JohnV » 18 Mar 2021, 8:04 am

You can get situations where the die is just to long for a certain chamber or the shell holder to thick . It's strange that some chamber and some don't . If you have the die down hard on the shell holder already and some still don't chamber then you will need to polish down the shell holder a bit at a time until the cases that don't fit chamber or try another shell holder. Before you do that just make sure you are getting the die down all the way in the press as some presses will have extra stretch . Get your cases extra clean with steel wool and lube properly and then size one , keep the handle down and look down at the shell holder and see if a gap exists . Also check that some case necks are not hitting the end of the chamber . If it's down hard then the shell holder needs lapping down . It's better to lap the shell holder than alter the die and just keep that shell holder separate for that gun .
Another situation can be diameter not length . If the Tikka chamber is tight and the die large in diameter then it's also possible that you need a small base die . A bit of testing with chambering cases blackened with a texta might show you where it's not fitting and then apply the appropriate solution . If it turns out you need a small base die I recommend you buy a Redding small base body die if you can and a separate neck sizer die .
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by Paul » 20 Mar 2021, 9:37 am

Thanks for the replies folks, much appreciated.

Lawrence - I am running Redding Delux die set.
- yes I checked the case length, and all are at recommended trim length or shorter (1.902 +-.0.003). Two that chambered were 1.9055 & 1.9045 and these were the longest. One that - didn't - was 1.895. So I don't not think length is the issue, and perhaps suggests that the chamber is OK, and not particularly 'tight' as suggested. Though this could still be the case on another dimension.

I have FL resized quite a few other sets of cases (Remmington, Win Super X, Federal) for the same reason - fire formed in the old rifle, and needed to resize for the T3 x, and overall these other cases chambered well, and perhaps only 2 or 3 needed a second run through the die, then they were fine. By fine I mean no struggle or pressure required to close the bolt. All these with similar case length specs to the current batch of recalcitrants.

I will try shimming out the case in the shell holder and see if that makes any difference.

SCJ49 - yes, I have thought of that, might still happen just for a fresh start. What brand cases then?
Wm.Traynor - yes, will give that a try too. Thanks.

Keep the ideas coming. Oh, and what is a 'small base die'?

Kind regards,
Paul
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by Paul » 20 Mar 2021, 11:16 am

I seem to have gotten on top of this issue, thanks to suggestions from you folks. I screwed the die down a bit more as suggested (thanks Wm), and that seems to have done the trick. Thankfully no need to adjust the shell holder, and relieved that it wasn't any new thing to do with cartridge length.

Once again thank you all for the successful assistance.

Champions :-)

Kind regards,

Paul
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by SCJ429 » 22 Mar 2021, 8:10 am

I use Lapua cases but they are pretty expensive. Not sure if ADI make cases for you, but if you are hunting with it, any of the major brass suppliers will be fine.
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Re: FL resized Hornady brass not chambering.....

Post by SCJ429 » 22 Mar 2021, 8:33 am

A small base body die is a way to size brass without touching the neck. It is made to tight specs and is great for pushing on the web area of the brass. It cannot resize grossly oversized brass to fit in tight chambers. I recommend that you use new brass for any custom chambered barrels or even factory rifles with decent tolerances.
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