Case prep

Z

Zundel257

Guest
Some of my 6mm ppc cases go into the gun and the bolt closes easily, and others you really have to push down hard to close the bolt. It is not the case overall length, and i have tried using a redding body die. I got them to go in and the bolt close easier on some and then on others it would close easily and then pulling the bolt back up would either be hard or te shell would stay in the gun and not be extracted by the bolt unless you dry fired the gun. It is a remington 40x chamber with a shilen barrell. What do i need to do to get them all to go in and come out easily.
 
Are we talking about Factory Norma new cases or fireformed 220 Russian, Also, how many times have you fired them.

A body die has nothing to do with the overall length of the case, as it is specifically designed to size the body and bump the shoulder without disturbing the neck.

If these cases have numerous firings, remember that some cases just get tighter quicker than others. Even though you have had the die set for .001 bump, they just dont do it.

It also sounds like you are too tight in the web area. There are so many reamer dimensions floating around, some are simply too tight at the web.

The dry fire thing is a little confusing, maybe the vibration is shocking things enough so that the extractor finally closes over the case rim.

Once again, the info we have is a tad vague. Do you have the proper tools to actually measure how much you are sizing your cases? Do you have a sizing die that is matched to your fired cases?

Give us a little more info, and also, a little more into your general knowledge of these things.........jackie
 
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these are fireformed 220 russian cases. most of them have only been fired once or twice. I dont think that i have the proper tool to measuer what is wrong and i need someone to tell me what tools I need to get. I dont have a die that is matched to my fired cases as well. I do not have hardly any knowledge of how to do any of the case prep work. I bought 100 lapua 220 russian brass that already had the neck turned for a .263 neck from Hoen Sales and fireformed them. Some of the cases went in easy with the bolt closing like it should and some i had to push down really hard to move the bolt up and down.
 
Jeff,

Take three cases that have been fired 3-4 times and send them to Harrell's Precision (BRC advertisor) with a check for 70-80 dollars. They will send you a die that will work. You will also have to order some bushings. Do you know what the outside neck diameter of a loaded round is? You will need a bushing that is .003-.004 less than that measurement. Also, what are you using for a seater?

Now if you want the top of the line dies....send them cases to JLC and get his sizer and seater....for both, you had better send a check for 260.00 to 280.00 but they are better. IMHO.

Hovis
 
I am using a redding Competition series die set for my seater. It also has a body die in it that i tried to use but did not have much luck.
 
Did you get teh competition set for a small base ppc or the ppc usa? The PPC USA won't work.

Hovis
 
Mine is the PPC USA... Does that mean I should not use any of them or just not use the body die? It seemed to load the rounds just fine using the seater and the expander dies.
 
That's The Problem

A 6PPC USA Die is too large at the base to size the web area of the vast majority of 6PPC's made from the Lapua 220 Russian.

I would suggest you get a small base Redding body die, or send some cases to a custom die maker and get a proper die........jackie
 
that would explain my most recent bolt problem. I am going to send 4 of my best working brass to have a proper die made for me.
 
Send the brass that is tight and put a note in that says how tight it is. That's what they need to go by. Also, your going to have to have a different seater. Do you have a arbor press?

Hovis
 
I have an RCBS Press. I think the redding seater die i have does what it needs to. It has the seating depth adjustment dial on top and it is the cases that wont fit. the cases that fint fine when they are empty also fit fine when they are loaded by my current seater.
 
Zundel, regardless of what you end up doing for a die, you need some way to measure the case head to datum line to know how much you're setting the shoulder back when you resize the cases.

The Hornady/Stoney Point tool (pictured) does a nice job..you change the insert to measure a particular family of cartridges.

anneal53161.jpg


If you end up with a Harrel's die, they include a little brass gizmo that does the same thing.

Without knowing this measurement, it's possible your problem may be that you're not setting the shoulder back and/or the shoulders on some aren't staying back after being pushed back.

Good shootin'. -Al
 
Thanks Al. I orders one of those from sinclair and I do have a die coming from Harrell's so if it come with one too then i should have two of them.
 
One other item: make sure and knock the fired primers out before measuring. The small ridge around the firing pin indent can skew the measurement by .002-.003.

Good shootin'...and let us know how it turns out, okay? -Al
 
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