Neck Bulging on Once Fired Hornady 308 Match Brass

M

mountainman308

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 20, 2012
496
326
WV, USA
#1
While reloading for my new 308 I noticed that I am getting a small bulge in the case neck, directly behind where the bullet sits. I reset all of my dies, figuring my sizing die had slipped forward a bit, but the bulge was still produced. The rounds will not chamber in my new barrel (Krieger medium palma) but will chamber in my old barrel. I am at a loss as to how to fix this problem. Any help would be apreciated.

Load Data and Set Up
RCBS Rockchucker press
RCBS 308 full die set
Hornady Match Brass once fired (in my old barrel)
175 smk
46 gns of Varget
BR2 primers
 
#4
I attempted to take a picture of the problem, but the bulge was imperceptable in the picture. The bulge is small enough that it will head space properly in my old 700, but not in the new Krieger.
 
#9
I don't think it is the brass. I have sized several hundred 1x fired Hornady .308 Match brass myself and it comes out perfect I. The neck & shoulder area. I have 1500 1x Hornady .308 brass.

I use a dillon 550 B that is 30 years old. My sizing die is a Forster FL die and my .308 barrel is a JP Supermatch on my LR-308. Probably not as tight a chamber as your krieger I dunno.
The seater die is the Forster Ultra and it is a great seater die. I would look at your dies. Take them apart and inspect them internally, clean them. Or just buy new dies, Forster or Redding.
Hmmmm, maybe you should inspect your new chamber closely too? You never know....
 
#15
Jasin, I think he is using standard RCBS full length dies and you can't adjust neck tension on them as far as I now. Unless you change out the expander ball but I've never heard of anyone doing this.
 
#17
Aimsmall55 said:
I experience the same thing with every damn hornady case i deprime and resize. Just chamfer and deburr and you should be ok.. P.s. I'd switch to win, or lapua.. just a thought
Click to expand...

Really? Every one? Have reloaded thousands and never had this issue. Nothing at all wrong with Hornady brass.

It's sounding like brass going from a factory chamber to a custom and the dies needing to be set up right to size down enough. Pictures would help though.
 
#18
Rob01 said:
It's sounding like brass going from a factory chamber to a custom and the dies needing to be set up right to size down enough. Pictures would help though.
Click to expand...

I'd be careful here, turn the die in far enough and you could bump your shoulders into oblivion, setting yourself up for case head seperation.
 
#19
milo 2.0 said:
I'd be careful here, turn the die in far enough and you could bump your shoulders into oblivion, setting yourself up for case head seperation.
Click to expand...

Of course. Setting the die up should consist of knowing how far back your bumping shoulders as well but I am guessing with the Dillon and the way it is set up with the tool heads that it's a die set up issue.

OP have you measured just above the rim at the base of the case to see if it is being sized down enough going from a factory to a custom chamber?
 
#21
Rob01 said:
Really? Every one? Have reloaded thousands and never had this issue. Nothing at all wrong with Hornady brass.

It's sounding like brass going from a factory chamber to a custom and the dies needing to be set up right to size down enough. Pictures would help though.
Click to expand...

Yes. Every single one. All 200
 
#22
You get ahold of Hornady? Sounds like there must be a problem as I have never heard of 200 pieces of brass being bad no matter what the brand.
 
#23
Originally posted: Jasin, maybe I missed something in my reloading bible, but how would one do that?

Originally Posted: Jasin, I think he is using standard RCBS full length dies and you can't adjust neck tension on them as far as I now. Unless you change out the expander ball but I've never heard of anyone doing this.[/QUOTE]


Ok I know some of the guys using redding neck dies talk ab adjusting the neck tension they say you can switch sizing bushings. I was just asking if you could. This is off of the redding website.
TYPE S – NECK BUSHING DIE
The Type S - Bushing Style Dies, Competition Seating and Neck Sizing Dies, Body Dies and our New Competition Shellholders are all products of Benchrest and 1000 yard Competition.
The new Type S - Bushing Style Neck Sizing Die provides reloaders with a simple means to precisely control case neck size and tension.
Uses interchangeable sizing bushings available in .001" increments.
 
#25
ok so the bulge is being produced after seating the bullet correct? i experienced this as a new reloader when i adjusted my die down to far. it was crimping to early which bulged the case right where your talking about. i had to back off my die and then re-adjust the seater to get the taper where it needed to be. hope tht helps.
 
#26
gixxer822 said:
ok so the bulge is being produced after seating the bullet correct? i experienced this as a new reloader when i adjusted my die down to far. it was crimping to early which bulged the case right where your talking about. i had to back off my die and then re-adjust the seater to get the taper where it needed to be. hope tht helps.
Click to expand...
I'd think it would cave the shoulder in before making a donut on a straight wall.
 
#27
Rob01 said:
You get ahold of Hornady? Sounds like there must be a problem as I have never heard of 200 pieces of brass being bad no matter what the brand.
Click to expand...

In all honesty Rob, I really didn't have my fl die "tweaked" to that specific brass. And it was just some brass that I got from 10 boxes of their superformance stuff. I just resized them to "have around for a buddy" as I run lapua mostly and win when the situation calls for it.
 
#28
Sorry for the absence.
Rob. I took a measurement and I was a couple thou off. I bought a Redding body die and a titanium neck bushing to help me get both the body and neck back into spec. Now what I need is that RCBS headspace caliper, but I can't find one in stock to save my life.
Gixxer882, I thought that might be the case at first, pardon the pun, but I backed off and reset the dies and still have the same results.
As I said in the a post, the bump is so small that it is imperceptible through my rather crapy camera lens. I had never heard of Hornady Match brass generating this problem before, my Grandpa loaded them all his life. My guess is that my smith cut the chamber damn tight, which is a good thing. I just need to up my reloading standards and practices to maximize the rifle's potential.
Thanks for the advice ya'll.
 
#29
mountainman308 said:
Sorry for the absence.
Rob. I took a measurement and I was a couple thou off. I bought a Redding body die and a titanium neck bushing to help me get both the body and neck back into spec. Now what I need is that RCBS headspace caliper, but I can't find one in stock to save my life.
Gixxer882, I thought that might be the case at first, pardon the pun, but I backed off and reset the dies and still have the same results.
As I said in the a post, the bump is so small that it is imperceptible through my rather crapy camera lens. I had never heard of Hornady Match brass generating this problem before, my Grandpa loaded them all his life. My guess is that my smith cut the chamber damn tight, which is a good thing. I just need to up my reloading standards and practices to maximize the rifle's potential.
Thanks for the advice ya'll.
Click to expand...
Now that you mention you've used a bushing die to size, that's it, The bushing is chamfered, not sizing to the shoulder, go back to the standard fl die and see if you can make it go away. The old chamber neck was oversized, new one tighter, it's more common than one would think.
Anymore, if I'm going to rebarrel a gun, I"m gonna have new brass on hand.
 
#30
mountainman308 said:
I attempted to take a picture of the problem, but the bulge was imperceptable in the picture. The bulge is small enough that it will head space properly in my old 700, but not in the new Krieger.
Click to expand...

Get a L.E Wilson Case Length Headspace Gage and see if your loaded ammo fits. If not, then you have a relaod problem, if so then you have a gun problem.
look at it here http://www.midwayusa.com/product/880646/le-wilson-case-length-headspace-gage-308-winchester
 
#31
milo 2.0 said:
Now that you mention you've used a bushing die to size, that's it, The bushing is chamfered, not sizing to the shoulder, go back to the standard fl die and see if you can make it go away. The old chamber neck was oversized, new one tighter, it's more common than one would think.
Anymore, if I'm going to rebarrel a gun, I"m gonna have new brass on hand.
Click to expand...

Yep, good reccomendation. Neck sizing only works if the brass was previously fired in the intended chamber.
 
#32
The bulge is created after seating. I reset the FL sizer die as you recommended MNTNCREEK, but the bulge was still created. Milo, I only just bought a bushing and body die to fix the problem, it hasn't shipped from Sinclair yet. Stu2, thanks for the link, its going on my wish list.
 
#33
mountainman308 said:
The bulge is created after seating. I reset the FL sizer die as you recommended MNTNCREEK, but the bulge was still created. Milo, I only just bought a bushing and body die to fix the problem, it hasn't shipped from Sinclair yet. Stu2, thanks for the link, its going on my wish list.
Click to expand...

MM, Now I'm sorry for even posting here. Never in my mind could the ring or donut be caused by seating, considering the neck is somewhat supported during the process.
I can gaurentee you the bushing die, whether Fl or neck will not fix your problem, maybe a standard neck die might, I've just never owned anything but bushing neck dies, and I'm about ready to sell them. I really just keep them around for when I bounce a case off my garage floor, I can straighten the ding.
 
#34
I keep reading "below the seated bullet" and yet lots of talk about setting up F/L sizing dies.

In every case where this has happened to me it's been a case of the seating die body being screwed down too far and the crimp feature is installing this bulge while seating the bullet. I would try backing off the seating die body about 1 full turn and then seat a couple of bullets. My guess is that the problem will go away.

If one desires, or needs, a crimped round I'm a major fan of the Lee Factory Crimp die and crimp as a totally separate process. I had this "lesson" taught to me after loading 1k rounds of .223 and then finding out I had a problem at the range.

Pics sure would help zero in on a good recommendation though.
 
#35
Deadshot2 said:
If one desires, or needs, a crimped round I'm a major fan of the Lee Factory Crimp die and crimp as a totally separate process. I had this "lesson" taught to me after loading 1k rounds of .223 and then finding out I had a problem at the range.
Click to expand...

Diddo on the Lee Factory Crimp die.

What happeded with your .223 loads that you had to crimp? Just curious because I don't crimp .223 only .308.
 
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