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  • Texan79423

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    Flatlands
    For safety l
    reloading.jpg
    ock the children out
    Hurley's Gold
     

    Txmark

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    I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this or not, are you using small base dies? Or standard .223? I have found that some of the lesser cost barrels are cut with a “different” reamer and the brass needs a s/b sizing die. The brass that is fired in my S & W AR needs a small base die, or it won’t chamber in my Remington model 7.


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    MrRobot

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    Sep 28, 2021
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    Hello all,

    Well, I'm finally back from working so much and getting time for myself to finally test the rounds I created. The good news is that I didn't screw up my AR or blow up my hand. But I do have some questions now..

    I started out slow plus I place my gun on a gun mount so I could zero it in or see where the bullet hit. I started with the first one, and noticed right off the bat the charging handle left weird and rough. When I went to fire it got stuck.

    The charging handle was really stuck. could not move it or anything. The fire ranger placed it on the bench and force it out. I had 3 rounds like this, and some feeding issues as well. Bullets were trying to double-feed and getting stuck.

    I don't know if it was my AR that needed to be cleaned or the bullets I created. I am going to clean my gun this weekend and see if I could reload some new ones this week.

    One thing I'm happy about even with all these issues is that after doing so much research on reloading and watching videos I got to fire something I made and didn't get hurt or blow my gun up. Still need more practice on reloading and maybe signing up to watch some videos from realoadingallday site.

    Just need to find a promo code for his site.

    Any feedback or clues on what might of happen please let me know.

    Thank you,
     

    MrRobot

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    Sizing correct. I even bought a bullet gauge to make sure it would load in my gun. I will have to do some more research plus next time I will have a clean AR.
     

    Wiliamr

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    When you say "bullet gauge" exactly what are you refering to? A cartridge case gauge? or a chamber checker? case gauge essentially only measures proper headspace of the brass and length. Chamber checker measures how the case will chamber. IF you did not use small base sizing die, you may not be sizing the head area of the case enough to get a good fit. While not abolutly necessary, small base sizing dies are more preferable to semi- automatic guns than standard dies.
     

    MrRobot

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    Sep 28, 2021
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    Hello all,

    Well I'm back after a break dealing with life. I have some good news plus some questions regarding my reloading. My goal was to find the right load for my AR.

    I did 5 different load so in total 25 rounds. I arrived at the range nervous and I was more careful since it was my first time reloading. Made sure no one was around me in case something happened.

    I started with only 1 round shot and ejected fine. I then went with the rest 4. Now that I felt it was okay I started with the rest of the rounds. I notice the charging handle was very tight when closing. At one point I had to get the fire ranger to help me eject a round out.

    Now my question... Was it because I didn't resize the head space ? Some users mention that I didn't have to resize the brass since it was 223 and it was just for plinking only. The brass I was using was range brass I picked up threw out the years.

    Any feedback would be great on this issue.
     

    hornetguy

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    Using range brass, you should full length resize all of them.
    This way, you are starting at "zero".
    It sounds like you might need to invest in small base dies.... your rifle may have a tight chamber.
    But first, full length size some, load them, and see how they cycle.
    I'm a big believer in always full length sizing for auto-loaders.
     

    rotor

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    Agree with above. Full length resize, put in your case gauge, trim if needed. You are not fire forming to use in one specific rifle.
     

    MrRobot

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    Sep 28, 2021
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    thank you for the feedback. I a full resize primer die that I bought. I even invested in a .223 case gauge. I checked everything brass I did and I even bought a "go no gauge" as well. Everything look normal didn't see anything wrong. I must of missed something with the 223 case gauge.

    I started watching videos on next resizing and seems simple to do. From my understanding but if I'm wrong please correct me.

    Get brass that you only shot once from your AR. I bought Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Gauge 5 when I first started.

    Then measure the fire case and zero it out.

    Then de-prim and resize .

    Measure the case and having it between 0.0020 to 0.0030 correct?

    I was watching this video on how to adjust the die would this work for an AR?



    Please let me know if I'm over thinking this or not.

    Thank you once again for the help.
     

    hornetguy

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    thank you for the feedback. I a full resize primer die that I bought. I even invested in a .223 case gauge. I checked everything brass I did and I even bought a "go no gauge" as well. Everything look normal didn't see anything wrong. I must of missed something with the 223 case gauge.

    I started watching videos on next resizing and seems simple to do. From my understanding but if I'm wrong please correct me.

    Get brass that you only shot once from your AR. I bought Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Gauge 5 when I first started.

    Then measure the fire case and zero it out.

    Then de-prim and resize .

    Measure the case and having it between 0.0020 to 0.0030 correct?

    I was watching this video on how to adjust the die would this work for an AR?



    Please let me know if I'm over thinking this or not.

    Thank you once again for the help.

    Personally, it sounds to me as if you are way overthinking this.
    Full length size them. Reloading dies are made to put the cases back to the size that should fit any SAAMI spec chamber. Don't worry about measuring cases, unless you suspect your reloading die is not correct. They are almost never out of spec. I've never heard of one.

    What make of dies do you have? There should be a full length sizing/depriming die and a die for bullet seating.

    If you want to measure the length, ok, but unless the cases are fired a bunch of times, they are likely still within spec.
     

    MrRobot

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    Thank you for the update. Then it's the user that made a mistake at some point. Like I mention earlier after releasing the bold it didn't feel right. it felt tight and the charging hand felt very lose. Plus 2 rounds didn't eject correct. I needed help from the ranger to eject them out. I must of screw up at some point.

    Since it was my first time reloading anything the overthinking might of cause an issue and I must of missed something.

    I'm going to do a dumb round and see if that works like you mention. The dies I bought was
    Lee Pacesetter 3-Die Set
     

    hornetguy

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    I am curious, what load were you using when the rounds stuck in the chamber? Powder charge, bullet weight, etc.....

    The reason I ask is because military brass is thicker than commercial brass, so a load that is close to the top for a .223 in commercial brass will be too much for the same bullet in military brass.
    I just went through that with my AR 10 in .308.... the load I used was a couple of grains below the upper limit for .308, but in the 7.62 thicker brass, it was over-pressure.... I had flattened primers, and even 3 or 4 pierced primers. I pulled the bullets and dropped the powder charge by about 4 grains, and had no more issues.
     

    MrRobot

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    Sep 28, 2021
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    That's one thing I notice about brass some felt very light and some other felt very thick. I need to figure out the difference between regular brass and military one.

    Well after working in the garage and watching a lot of head space videos here's what I learn and I'm trying.

    I found brass that was fired from my AR only one time.

    I took the primer off without resizing it and measure the headspace.

    1.4625 - once fired. Now I was thinking of doing a couple different headspace brass

    1.4590 / 1.4580 / 1.4570

    see which headspace works for my AR. I also thought why not measure a round that I bought from the store. The head space on that is set 1.4580.
     
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