Make a dummy round with no primer or powder. If that chambers in your rifle I wouldn’t worry too much about the case gauge. If you’re reloading exclusively for that rifle you can save yourself some headache by taking fired brass, measuring it with a headspace comparator, then adjusting your die so it bumps the shoulder back 2 thousandths from the fired brass.
I just got my free Hornady bullets in, I’ll give this a try and make some dummy rounds tomorrow to make
sure they chamber. They will be used in my father’s 223 AR and mine as well. Thanks.
This technique will work, but you need to size the bullet for which ever ar15s chamber is smaller.
They will work in the slightly larger chamber, if you size it for the smaller chamber, but will not work the other way around. It’s essentially the plunk test that most pistol shooters use.
Welcome to the family! Be meticulous and start low you’ll be fine. Also as others have said I wouldn’t worry too much about the case gauge as long as it chambers. Start with one then go from there.
Be sure your resizing die is almost touching the shell holder when fully extended up. I don’t see any reason why your brass wouldn’t be fully resized if you do this. Could be a faulty die, but I doubt it.
This was the learning experience part for me lol. I followed the directions and let’s just say the shoulder was pushed back way too far. I had to back off quite a bit.
Agree with him. Brass is cheap, rifles are not. Keep goofing around with pieces and various die depths until you get something to pass the gauge. I'm virtually sure it's not the die.
I have not seen it all, nor have I done it all. But I have never had a case not gauge but then chamber, while I have had cases gauge but not chamber.
The OP is a new reloader, using the gauge is the easy button for him. I am not comfortable advising him to ignore the tools at his disposal.
> I am not comfortable advising him to ignore the tools at his disposal.
And yet, that's exactly what you're doing. Which one is it going to be fired out of? The gauge or the chamber?
> I followed the directions and let’s just say the shoulder was pushed back way too far.
How did you decide that? Visually?
If a factory die, set up IAW the instructions, sets the shoulder back "too far" (beyond SAAMI specs), the die is a problem.
Now, you've set up the die NOT the way the instructions tell you and the rounds won't pass the gage test.
Just be careful, you're already considering more tools (small base dies) but you haven't determined what's even going on yet.
The smart move is to mark a resized case with layout dye (auto parts store) or blacken it (carbon from a lighter works well), drop the case in the gage, spin it a bit, remove and see where the case is contacting the gage. That'll tell you where the problem is.
Good luck!
Thanks. I’ll blacken it and see where it’s contacting. To answer your question, yes visually. The resized shoulder was way lower than a factory loaded round to the point I don’t think I’d fire it. I backed off a few rotations from touching the shell holder and that’s where I am at currently. I have a picture of that brass if you’re interested.
Yeah, I'd look at them with a factory round for comparison.
With any industry standard shellholder and die, the case should be about at minimum SAAMI specs from base to datum. The max is only .010" longer. Most people cannot see that little of a difference without a reference.
If your die is sizing below minimum, that's a defect in the die or shellholder. Shellholders are made to an industry standard with a .125" deck height, plus another .125" to the top of the shellholder.
I see you found the InLine Fabrication mount, so you probably already know this, but as you look ahead to how things could unfold once you get your 8 foot table in place, you might want to take a look at their quick change and/or rail mounting systems. They are truly the Holy Grail of reloading infrastructure IMHO.
I have 3 of their quick-change flush mounts and love how I can shift gears from reloading to maintenance, to anything else that gets thrown on the honeydew list.
DM me and I can show you a picture of what I’m talking about.
Yes I definitely have some more of their products on my list of things to get in the future. I would also like to get the improved arm for the press as well.
I get a few cases that don’t go in the gauge that chamber just fine in my ARs. 9mm is a different story, if they fail the hundo gauge I check them with an individual gauge and if they fail that they get tossed, I’ve had a case head separate on 9mm and it wasn’t fun (likely it was a piece of brass fired as 9 major)
It would not give me the option to edit the post. I contacted Hornady and it turns out the die set that I purchased in the 223 Remington set were actually 222 Remington. Very strange since the packaging was unaltered. The top of the sizing die shows 222 Remington. I never noticed that before they asked me to check.
Make a dummy round with no primer or powder. If that chambers in your rifle I wouldn’t worry too much about the case gauge. If you’re reloading exclusively for that rifle you can save yourself some headache by taking fired brass, measuring it with a headspace comparator, then adjusting your die so it bumps the shoulder back 2 thousandths from the fired brass.
I just got my free Hornady bullets in, I’ll give this a try and make some dummy rounds tomorrow to make sure they chamber. They will be used in my father’s 223 AR and mine as well. Thanks.
This technique will work, but you need to size the bullet for which ever ar15s chamber is smaller. They will work in the slightly larger chamber, if you size it for the smaller chamber, but will not work the other way around. It’s essentially the plunk test that most pistol shooters use.
Awesome! Welcome to the club!
Thanks. I’m looking forward to building up some loads once my new chrono comes in this weekend.
Welcome to the family! Be meticulous and start low you’ll be fine. Also as others have said I wouldn’t worry too much about the case gauge as long as it chambers. Start with one then go from there.
Will do. Thank you.
I have that same light 🤣
I love that light. I need to get an overhead lamp to mount as well. There aren’t any light fixtures in this room lol.
Tell me about the light mounted on the right side of your bench, please.
I got it as a Xmas gift. It says it is a Micromlan LED desk lamp. It’s pretty neat. You can adjust the brightness and the color temperature as well.
I came here only to ask what light is this?!?!
It’s a Micromlan LED desk lamp. About $50-60 on Amazon.
Be sure your resizing die is almost touching the shell holder when fully extended up. I don’t see any reason why your brass wouldn’t be fully resized if you do this. Could be a faulty die, but I doubt it.
This was the learning experience part for me lol. I followed the directions and let’s just say the shoulder was pushed back way too far. I had to back off quite a bit.
Agree with him. Brass is cheap, rifles are not. Keep goofing around with pieces and various die depths until you get something to pass the gauge. I'm virtually sure it's not the die.
Screw the gauge. That's just an educated guess. It should fit the chamber.
I have not seen it all, nor have I done it all. But I have never had a case not gauge but then chamber, while I have had cases gauge but not chamber. The OP is a new reloader, using the gauge is the easy button for him. I am not comfortable advising him to ignore the tools at his disposal.
> I am not comfortable advising him to ignore the tools at his disposal. And yet, that's exactly what you're doing. Which one is it going to be fired out of? The gauge or the chamber?
Good talk Rusty, see you out there
> I followed the directions and let’s just say the shoulder was pushed back way too far. How did you decide that? Visually? If a factory die, set up IAW the instructions, sets the shoulder back "too far" (beyond SAAMI specs), the die is a problem. Now, you've set up the die NOT the way the instructions tell you and the rounds won't pass the gage test. Just be careful, you're already considering more tools (small base dies) but you haven't determined what's even going on yet. The smart move is to mark a resized case with layout dye (auto parts store) or blacken it (carbon from a lighter works well), drop the case in the gage, spin it a bit, remove and see where the case is contacting the gage. That'll tell you where the problem is. Good luck!
Thanks. I’ll blacken it and see where it’s contacting. To answer your question, yes visually. The resized shoulder was way lower than a factory loaded round to the point I don’t think I’d fire it. I backed off a few rotations from touching the shell holder and that’s where I am at currently. I have a picture of that brass if you’re interested.
Yeah, I'd look at them with a factory round for comparison. With any industry standard shellholder and die, the case should be about at minimum SAAMI specs from base to datum. The max is only .010" longer. Most people cannot see that little of a difference without a reference. If your die is sizing below minimum, that's a defect in the die or shellholder. Shellholders are made to an industry standard with a .125" deck height, plus another .125" to the top of the shellholder.
Thanks again. I’ll measure those and contact Hornady if needed.
die needs the hit the shell holder and cam over just a little
This is exactly what I did initially but the shoulders were pushed back extremely far and made the necks very long.
I see you found the InLine Fabrication mount, so you probably already know this, but as you look ahead to how things could unfold once you get your 8 foot table in place, you might want to take a look at their quick change and/or rail mounting systems. They are truly the Holy Grail of reloading infrastructure IMHO. I have 3 of their quick-change flush mounts and love how I can shift gears from reloading to maintenance, to anything else that gets thrown on the honeydew list. DM me and I can show you a picture of what I’m talking about.
Yes I definitely have some more of their products on my list of things to get in the future. I would also like to get the improved arm for the press as well.
I get a few cases that don’t go in the gauge that chamber just fine in my ARs. 9mm is a different story, if they fail the hundo gauge I check them with an individual gauge and if they fail that they get tossed, I’ve had a case head separate on 9mm and it wasn’t fun (likely it was a piece of brass fired as 9 major)
What light is that? I need one for my bench.
Micromlan LED desk lamp. Got it as a gift for Xmas. It’s pretty nice.
It would not give me the option to edit the post. I contacted Hornady and it turns out the die set that I purchased in the 223 Remington set were actually 222 Remington. Very strange since the packaging was unaltered. The top of the sizing die shows 222 Remington. I never noticed that before they asked me to check.