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What Did I do Wrong?
buddyb
Member Posts: 5,249 ✭✭✭✭
Sized about 100 223 cases,primed,dropped powder but when I tried to seat the bullets the case necks were too big for the bullets.If I turned the die in enough to crimp the bullet,it would collapse the case neck.The dies were well used,probably 35 year old Lee that I have loaded thousands of rounds with.I resized the cases with a set of newer RCBS dies and it fixed the problem.I am trying to decide if it was something I did wrong or are the Lee dies worn out,but I cant remember ever seeing a set of dies worn out.
Comments
Expander ball too big??
The initial problem you are saying is the case necks were sized too large? If so its not a problem with the dies being worn or the bullets would be a tighter fit not looser. When you ran the die down its crushing the case because you took away the proper length spacing. I have no clue why the neck would be too big. Take the sizer out and check it with calipers and see if maybe something got jammed up in the die. I am also assuming you are doing a full length resize and not just a neck size.
Measure your bullets.
take dies apart and clean and check them just to be sure the reset them to brass and bullets you are using now.
take them back apart and mic the expander ball. It should be several .001"s smaller than .224". If not, the expander ball needs to be replaced or eliminated all together. If it does mic out correctly, I would assume possible use over time may have worn the internal dimensions of the die body itself in the neck area.
also, dies need only be turned in enough to set the shoulder back .001-.002", any further than that just overworks the brass.