projectile spinning in shell

[allthegearandnoidea]

Gday all

New to reloading - bought a Lee Challenger kit.How can i crimp the projectile so it doesnt spin in the shell. I have the Lee Factory Crimp Die and am loading Interlocks with a cannelure.

Cheers

Steve

[Gwion]

Mate.... Go back and read the 'how to' in your reloading manuals. Sounds as though you haven't sized your brass correctly.

Is it new brass or is it brass you have fired in that rifle?
Neck tension after resizing should be such that it will not spin.

[allthegearandnoidea]

Hi Gwion

Yes once fired in rifle. Will go back and re neck em

Cheers

Steve

[Oldbloke]

Yep. Need to resize.

[MattyP]

I agree with Gwion.
Definitely have another look at your initial set up. Lee dies work a little different to most conventional dies like RCBS and so on. Neck size is created by pushing the outer case neck hard agents a mandrel as opposed to most others that first compress the neck under sized and then open the internal neck size once the the case is extracted.

[sandgroperbill]

Here ya go:

https://youtu.be/jQEhttKR7Ig

And

https://youtu.be/FmeLD8BFm-w

[bladeracer]

Gday all

New to reloading - bought a Lee Challenger kit.How can i crimp the projectile so it doesnt spin in the shell. I have the Lee Factory Crimp Die and am loading Interlocks with a cannelure.

Cheers

Steve

Are you using a collet die?
A collet die requires you to give it a little extra press after the shell holder contacts the die, that last pressure is what squeezes the neck collet down.
I've forgotten it occasionally myself. Remove the decapping rod from the die before you run the cases through again otherwise you'll pop out the primers as well.
I don't crimp anything, not even cast bullets.

[bladeracer]

I agree with Gwion.
Definitely have another look at your initial set up. Lee dies work a little different to most conventional dies like RCBS and so on. Neck size is created by pushing the outer case neck hard agents a mandrel as opposed to most others that first compress the neck under sized and then open the internal neck size once the the case is extracted.

I think you're on the right track, but it's not Lee dies specifically. Any collet die operates that way. Standard dies force the shell into a smaller "chamber" to squeeze them down. Standard dies also require lubricant.

[MattyP]

Gday all

New to reloading - bought a Lee Challenger kit.How can i crimp the projectile so it doesnt spin in the shell. I have the Lee Factory Crimp Die and am loading Interlocks with a cannelure.

Cheers

Steve

Are you using a collet die?
A collet die requires you to give it a little extra press after the shell contacts the die, that last pressure is what squeezes the neck collet down.
I've forgotten it occasionally myself. Remove the decapping rod from the die before you run the cases through again otherwise you'll pop out the primers as well.
I don't crimp anything, not even cast bullets.

I got court out myself on my first press trying to keep pressure consistent at the top of the ram. It removes a lot of the guess work when you have a press that cams over at top of the stroke such as Hornady press. Just another thing you don't have to think about and free up a little brain space.

[juststarting]

Like others pointed out, you are probably not resizing correctly. I am guessing you are resizing somehow or projectiles would just drop into the case...

Guessing, from 'projectile spinning' that you are using Lee Collet die, sounds like you are (guessing here). If this is the case, back to the manual... You need to set it up correctly and then resize and chamber few cases, to make sure you did it correctly.

[headspace]

Another vote for the Lee Collet Die, I have one for every cartridge I load and never crimp. If you set up your collet die correctly your necks won't get worked as much as if you used a standard type sizing die. They also do a far better job of keeping the case neck from stretching and maintain better concentricity.

[allthegearandnoidea]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone

I went back and resized properly. My press was mounted poorly on a piece of timber clamped to my workbench and there was a lot of give and I dont think I was getting enough pressure from the press. All good now. BTW max overall length for 308 quoted in reloading guide is 71.37mm. Is it OK to produce finished rounds @70.00mm? Its a bolt action rifle.

[headspace]

The CAOL is a guide only, you are only really limited by the length of the throat and/or magazine length. Seating depth always varies.

[chacka]

Tikka is a good example, most of their mags dictate shorter COAL than the chamber allows.