I recently purchased some processed military brass, mostly Lake City. My problem is I can't get to chamber in my rifle. Rifle is a Larue OBR, I have full length realized it with a small base die. Oal is good it,just won't go into the chamber it is sticking out about a 16th of a inch or so. I don't have a gage to measure the headspace but commercial 308 cases work just fine. Any ideas?
- Thread starter skolz
- Start date
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
Are you using RCBS dies? I have had issues with my 308 RCBS small base dies, and went out and bought a set of hornady dies one friday night back in September, and resized a dozen and made dummy rounds and they all worked in a SCAR 17 as well as my bolt action gun.
Make sure your dies are tightened down all the way to meet the ram, then down another 1/4 turn, then screw lock them into place with the ram down. You should feel contact before the press arm has traveled all the way down. Some brass seems to be elastic, so I keep my ram (brass) in the FL sizer in the locked position for at least 1 second before I remove. Get yourself a case gauge, because I believe your issue is at the shoulder. The OBR's have a fairly tight chamber, and just a FYI - the small base dies may actually reduce the life of your brass in the OBR chamber.
Are you using RCBS dies? I have had issues with my 308 RCBS small base dies, and went out and bought a set of hornady dies one friday night back in September, and resized a dozen and made dummy rounds and they all worked in a SCAR 17 as well as my bolt action gun.
Make sure your dies are tightened down all the way to meet the ram, then down another 1/4 turn, then screw lock them into place with the ram down. You should feel contact before the press arm has traveled all the way down. Some brass seems to be elastic, so I keep my ram (brass) in the FL sizer in the locked position for at least 1 second before I remove. Get yourself a case gauge, because I believe your issue is at the shoulder. The OBR's have a fairly tight chamber, and just a FYI - the small base dies may actually reduce the life of your brass in the OBR chamber.
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
280nosler, thanks for responding. Yes I an using RCBS dies. I agree that it is the shoulder holding me up just don't how to fix it. I normally do not use a small base die but it was another thing to check off my list of possible fixes.
280nosler, thanks for responding. Yes I an using RCBS dies. I agree that it is the shoulder holding me up just don't how to fix it. I normally do not use a small base die but it was another thing to check off my list of possible fixes.
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
If camming over does not work, you may need to polish the base of the die to allow the case to enter the die farther, but I don't recommend this unless you have the proper tools. Another option is to pick up another set of dies. If the problem persists it is probably in the adjustment of the dies. If the problem goes away then I would call RCBS and see what they can do for the problematic dies.
If camming over does not work, you may need to polish the base of the die to allow the case to enter the die farther, but I don't recommend this unless you have the proper tools. Another option is to pick up another set of dies. If the problem persists it is probably in the adjustment of the dies. If the problem goes away then I would call RCBS and see what they can do for the problematic dies.
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
You essentially have 2 options - change the dies, or change the shell holder. Unfortunately the sting is roughly the same either way you go. I got these before I ultimately gave up on my RCBS dies. BTW their CS was rude and essentially told me I don't know what I'm doing...right, because 6500 rounds of rifle and 8000 rounds of pistol a year made me stupid>OK.
I have found that Hornady dies and Dillon dies (as well as Forster), are all .001 tighter than spec, whereas the RCBS is .0025-.003 (too loose imho). I also do not like the roll crimp it puts on the bullets. If you have proper dies, the neck tension will hold your bullet for proper release.
You essentially have 2 options - change the dies, or change the shell holder. Unfortunately the sting is roughly the same either way you go. I got these before I ultimately gave up on my RCBS dies. BTW their CS was rude and essentially told me I don't know what I'm doing...right, because 6500 rounds of rifle and 8000 rounds of pistol a year made me stupid>OK.
I have found that Hornady dies and Dillon dies (as well as Forster), are all .001 tighter than spec, whereas the RCBS is .0025-.003 (too loose imho). I also do not like the roll crimp it puts on the bullets. If you have proper dies, the neck tension will hold your bullet for proper release.
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
The Redding shell holders work excellently for fine tuning shoulder bump without adjusting the die, I use them for every caliber load for. If you really want to upgrade, I recommend the redding bushing die. But, any new resizing die would fix the problem.
The Redding shell holders work excellently for fine tuning shoulder bump without adjusting the die, I use them for every caliber load for. If you really want to upgrade, I recommend the redding bushing die. But, any new resizing die would fix the problem.
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
I <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cacciatore</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Redding shell holders work excellently for fine tuning shoulder bump without adjusting the die, I use them for every caliber load for. If you really want to upgrade, I recommend the redding bushing die. But, any new resizing die would fix the problem. </div></div>
I am quickly beginning to believe that Redding has great CS and some of the best products available on the wide-scale market today.
I <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cacciatore</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Redding shell holders work excellently for fine tuning shoulder bump without adjusting the die, I use them for every caliber load for. If you really want to upgrade, I recommend the redding bushing die. But, any new resizing die would fix the problem. </div></div>
I am quickly beginning to believe that Redding has great CS and some of the best products available on the wide-scale market today.
Re: Having trouble with 7.62
Also remember, lots of 1x fired 7.62 brass has been fired from full auto weapons that have very generous chambers. Also that your resizing for 308 win. Look up differences in 7.62x51 NATO and 308 Win chambers. NATO brass has relatively thicker wall thickness and may require more than one trip through FL size die to headspace properly going from 7.62 to 308 win chamber. Make sure to check your overall brass length after proper FL sizing as the necks can stretch out with 1st resizing. Working the brass pretty hard. After initial proper resizing (may also require trimming) and loading, I think your brass will behave better. That has been my experience with this situation. Good luck!
Also remember, lots of 1x fired 7.62 brass has been fired from full auto weapons that have very generous chambers. Also that your resizing for 308 win. Look up differences in 7.62x51 NATO and 308 Win chambers. NATO brass has relatively thicker wall thickness and may require more than one trip through FL size die to headspace properly going from 7.62 to 308 win chamber. Make sure to check your overall brass length after proper FL sizing as the necks can stretch out with 1st resizing. Working the brass pretty hard. After initial proper resizing (may also require trimming) and loading, I think your brass will behave better. That has been my experience with this situation. Good luck!
