Lake City NATO brass resizing issues.

[58blackflag]

I have 300 pieces of lake city "11" headstamped NATO 7.62 brass that I have fired thru my socom m1a. I deprimed it, cleaned it in stainless media, full length resized in a RCBS .308 die, trimmed it to 2.005, chamfered, and deburred the necks. After all this I tried clambering a few pieces in two different .308 bolt actions, both I believe were chambered with a match/tactical reamer by different smiths and it doesn't want to chamber in either gun.

After, I took a few of the pieces and body sized it with a redding .308 body die with it bottomed out against the shell holder and they still won't chamber.

Do I need a small base FL resizing die or is something else wrong?

I have some Lapua brass that I resized with the same die and it chambers just fine. I did not fire the Lapua brass thru the m1a. Is the brass just over expanded from firing thru the socom's roomier chamber so much so that a regular sizing die won't properly return it to spec?

Thanks for any info or suggestions!

 

[BLDTYLRY]

Are you camming over -- quarter to half turn more once you've bottomed out?

 

[Rprecision]

7.62 brass fired out of a Semi or worse yet a MG can be a real bugger to get back to .308 match specs.

Make sure when the case is fully in the die that your shellholder is contacting the die. Alot of time when I have a over sized case, more often a full auto 5.56, I will turn the case a quarter turn and size it again. I had alot of trouble making small base dies work, and this usually works.

I have a S/A M1A Scout and have never found it produces oversized brass even shooting fairly fast strings. You may want to check the headspace and make sure your not overgassed which opens the bolt premature. Those 16" socoms had some difficulties early on getting the gas right. I recall one of the first that ran through a local store, era 2004 ish, came back with a bent op-rod. At any rate, that is a little abnormal from my expirence

 

[elfster1234]

you mentioned all of this, but you didn't say a word about what you bumped your headspace back to? what is the headspace on the brass that is fired out of your rifle, and what is the headspace after you full length resized it & bumped the shoulder back? if you can't answer these questions, then that might be your issue.

you got to remember, 1f lake city brass (if it is once fired purchased) will usually have HUGE headspace measurements! and will sometimes need to be run through the sizing die not only twice, but sometimes three times until you bump your shoulder back to the correct measurement when you first get it.

I've purchased once fired lake city with datum measurements well over 1.640 !!! brass out of my LMT MWS is damn near all the time 1.631, and I usually bump the shoulder back to about 1.627 !!

are you using a hornady headspace tool to check your purchased lake city brass headspace ? fired brass headspace ejected out of your rifle & bumped brass after sizing?

http://www.snipershide.com/[email protected]

if that doesn't fix your issue, then yes.... you might need a small base die.

I have 300 pieces of lake city "11" headstamped NATO 7.62 brass that I have fired thru my socom m1a. I deprimed it, cleaned it in stainless media, full length resized in a RCBS .308 die, trimmed it to 2.005, chamfered, and deburred the necks. After all this I tried clambering a few pieces in two different .308 bolt actions, both I believe were chambered with a match/tactical reamer by different smiths and it doesn't want to chamber in either gun.

After, I took a few of the pieces and body sized it with a redding .308 body die with it bottomed out against the shell holder and they still won't chamber.

Do I need a small base FL resizing die or is something else wrong?

I have some Lapua brass that I resized with the same die and it chambers just fine. I did not fire the Lapua brass thru the m1a. Is the brass just over expanded from firing thru the socom's roomier chamber so much so that a regular sizing die won't properly return it to spec?

Thanks for any info or suggestions!

 

[Scooter64]

Why not just make a measurement comparing your sized lapua brass and the lc brass to see if you are sizing the lc brass enough.
Different make brass might have different seating depth of your body die because case springback

 

[58blackflag]

The brass was all purchased new in XM80 ball ammo that I fired thru my M1A. As far as I know, it was new production brass used the make the XM80 ammo.

I have an adjustable gas plug on the socom and all the pieces of brass were fired thru the gun while suppressed. I don't know how this exactly effects the brass except that it makes it extra dirty...

My question is, would a small base die allow me to run it thru the resizing die once only, or am I just looking at a lot of work to get this brass shootable in a precision bolt gun after shooting it in my M1A first?

 

[sinister]

My question is, would a small base die allow me to run it thru the resizing die once only, or am I just looking at a lot of work to get this brass shootable in a precision bolt gun after shooting it in my M1A first?

Get your SOCOM-fired case dimensions off your calipers and compare them to the fired case dimensions from cases out of your bolt guns.

The M1A is extremely rude to cases, probably more so with the shorter barrel and abbreviated gas and cycle time. Knowledgeable M14 shooters will fire five times and toss the cases due to case stretching and thinning.

Full-length (and alternatively small-base) sizing usually works, but you need to know the delta between gas gun and bolt gun chambers to know for sure whether they'll fit.

 

[Scooter64]

fwiw you should just separate your brass fired from bolt and m1a and size the brass just enough for each rifle. More likely the chamber in your m1a will be closer to max spec and your bolt gun would closer to min spec. If small base die is not needed for either of your rifle, you would be needlessly working the brass to much and shortening the life of your brass.