I just reloaded a few 556 rounds and when I tested 30 of them out on my stag arms ar I noticed that when I would rack the charging handle to see if they feed correctly some of the rounds would stick and I had to really pull back the charging handle with some force. was this a cause of me not setting my full length sizing die deep enough. would this be a major problem id hate to junk some rounds or go through all of them, I loaded 1000. the rifle will go into battery but is there some danger when firing.... I guess what im tying to say is can I still use these rounds and not worry about failure to fire or anything worse. you guys think that the bolt will cycle after it will fire or just stay stuck....
case headspace
- Thread starter colscar
- Start date
Are you saying that when you chamber a round, you have trouble ejecting it? How did the 30 rounds you tested work? Did you feed them sequentially from 1 mag and had no problems? If you didn't bump the shoulders back enough, then the bolt wouldn't close. I only have a hard time ripping the bolt open when my AR gets dirty or is dry.
If it goes into battery, they are probably ok to shoot. Next time just bump the shoulder then test it to see if the bolt will cycle fine. Just keep bumping back 1/16 of a turn at a time until it cycles with no issues.
I actually use my bolt gun to check case headspace by seeing how easily the bolt closes, and I bump until it just closes with a tiny bit of resistance. Some people use case gauges, or always bump .003 or some arbitrary number like that. I check to make sure it's as close to .000 as possible in a gun that's properly headspaced and go from there.
I actually use my bolt gun to check case headspace by seeing how easily the bolt closes, and I bump until it just closes with a tiny bit of resistance. Some people use case gauges, or always bump .003 or some arbitrary number like that. I check to make sure it's as close to .000 as possible in a gun that's properly headspaced and go from there.
This x4. Or a headspace gauge kit to measure the base to datum line on fired cartridges against your sized cartridges so you know how much you're pushing the shoulder back.
I recently got Hornady's headspace gauge kit and realized that I was *WAY* over-sizing my brass.
As to your current predicament with 1k pieces of ammo that seem like they didn't get sized quite enough, I don't have a knowledgable opinion to offer, other than to spend a few bucks on a set of gauges before loading your next batch.
I just cycled the bolt I didn't shoot them I also tested them on another rifle that I know Is clean.... the rifle did go into battery as far as I know is just that when I racked the handle back it was stuck ...... im getting a the hornady head space guage and the bullet comparator kit.... I set my dies to where the full length die would touch the shell holder and then turned it a quarter more as per lee instructions... so far its only a few rounds that this happens too
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"I recently got Hornady's headspace gauge kit and realized that I was *WAY* over-sizing my brass."
Maybe not...all brass stretches when fired. Some more than others, for example any semi auto rifle will stretch brass more than a bolt gun. In example, my Model 70 30-06 with a Krieger barrel and minimum headspace chamber only stretches the brass about .003 at the most. My M1 Garand typically will stretch the cases more than .008". If I just used the old "turn the sizer die until it chambers" method I might be sizing the Model 70 brass to plus .002 over headspace. The bolt would still close and I would believe I had it "right". The Garand, on the other hand does not have a minimum length chamber but the cases would still need a significant bump to get the bolt to close and the cases could still be out of spec. If you don't have the proper measuring equipment so you know: 1. The exact chamber headspace dimension of the rifle, and 2. The exact length of the resized case you could easily believe {because it makes perfect sense} that you might be sizing the cases too far when in fact they are really still a few thousandths too long. Not all semi's stretch brass the same either...742 Remington's seem to stretch cases a little less than the Garand. While no where near as violent of an action as the Garand the Ar platform isn't exactly easy on brass either. Bottomline is that without the stuff to measure chamber and brass you don't really know what is stretch and what is being "blown out" to the over minimum headspace in the rifle.
All that said...I have a M4 that is very hard to open the bolt on, even if it is empty. But only when the hammer is not cocked. It opens normally {and shoots fine} if the hammer is already cocked.
Maybe not...all brass stretches when fired. Some more than others, for example any semi auto rifle will stretch brass more than a bolt gun. In example, my Model 70 30-06 with a Krieger barrel and minimum headspace chamber only stretches the brass about .003 at the most. My M1 Garand typically will stretch the cases more than .008". If I just used the old "turn the sizer die until it chambers" method I might be sizing the Model 70 brass to plus .002 over headspace. The bolt would still close and I would believe I had it "right". The Garand, on the other hand does not have a minimum length chamber but the cases would still need a significant bump to get the bolt to close and the cases could still be out of spec. If you don't have the proper measuring equipment so you know: 1. The exact chamber headspace dimension of the rifle, and 2. The exact length of the resized case you could easily believe {because it makes perfect sense} that you might be sizing the cases too far when in fact they are really still a few thousandths too long. Not all semi's stretch brass the same either...742 Remington's seem to stretch cases a little less than the Garand. While no where near as violent of an action as the Garand the Ar platform isn't exactly easy on brass either. Bottomline is that without the stuff to measure chamber and brass you don't really know what is stretch and what is being "blown out" to the over minimum headspace in the rifle.
All that said...I have a M4 that is very hard to open the bolt on, even if it is empty. But only when the hammer is not cocked. It opens normally {and shoots fine} if the hammer is already cocked.
You need to get a case gage and size the brass to fit it. If it fits the gage then it fits the gun
when using the hornady headspace guage, what measurement are you looking for, i looked at my reloading book and i know there is case over all length but there is also a measurement from the base to the shoulder and one from the base to where the neck starts...
0.004" less than a case fired from the semi-auto rifle you are loading for, OR 0.002" less than a case fired from a bolt gun you are loading for.
quick question im using once fired brass from a le range... what if some of the measurements are diffrent as they were fired from diffrent rifles, is there a specific number i should look for or just average them out..... this is all speer brass with a few winchester and federal in there .... should i just go with a comercial round and load to that spec...
Get 10 cases that were fired from your rifle and measure them with the headspace gauge. Take the average of the 10 and bump it back .003 to .005. That will be the measurement you want to size to.
