Me and my dad both got a SR556. I have not shot mine yet, but have shot his some. I bought some once fired military brass and loaded them. Some of them will chamber, and some will not, but they will all chamber in my friends Colt. I believe my dads chamber may be a little on the small size. Is there any way I can solve this problem using this brass?
Sizing .223 for SR556
- Thread starter flhr62
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Steve in PA
Bearcat
Get a small based die.
wixedmords
Blackhawk
Yep, make sure they are all trimmed to the same length and give a small base die a try. The RCBS SBD is a winner imo. 
That may not completely alleviate the problem. The issue with once fire brass is that it may have been fired in some really loose chambers like in machine guns and that will allow the base of the case to expand more than you can put it back, even with small base dies. (Been there, done that.)
The issue is not so much that you may not be able to resize enough, but more likely you would like to know if this case will work or not.
My suggestion is to get a cartridge guage from Lyman, Frankfort Arsenal, Wilson, whatever. They cost around $20.
Next, you will only need to process the once fire mil stuff once. Deprime and size (sure, use a small base die.) Check the case in the guage. If it does not fit, toss it. If it fits nicely, the complete the processing; remove the primer crimp, pop the flashhole burr, trim the case, chamfer and deburr.
Once you have done this to the brass, you can safely reload it knowing it will fit in your rifle. DO NOT MIX the processed brass with new-to-you once fired mil stuff. If you are paranoid, use the guage just before it's time to load powder and seat the bullet.
Another way is to forego once fired mil brass and use something like Winchester virgin brass.
Either way, get a guage.
(Edited for a typo.)
The issue is not so much that you may not be able to resize enough, but more likely you would like to know if this case will work or not.
My suggestion is to get a cartridge guage from Lyman, Frankfort Arsenal, Wilson, whatever. They cost around $20.
Next, you will only need to process the once fire mil stuff once. Deprime and size (sure, use a small base die.) Check the case in the guage. If it does not fit, toss it. If it fits nicely, the complete the processing; remove the primer crimp, pop the flashhole burr, trim the case, chamfer and deburr.
Once you have done this to the brass, you can safely reload it knowing it will fit in your rifle. DO NOT MIX the processed brass with new-to-you once fired mil stuff. If you are paranoid, use the guage just before it's time to load powder and seat the bullet.
Another way is to forego once fired mil brass and use something like Winchester virgin brass.
Either way, get a guage.
(Edited for a typo.)
Thanks for the help guys. I will try the small base sizer die and get the cartridge gauge. I also have 3 22-250's A Ruger #1, a Ruger 77, and a Sako. The #1 also has a tight chamber, and I have to keep the brass seperated for that particular gun, but it's not as big of deal as all of this surplus mil brass. My question, most out of curiosity, I looked up the small base sizer die, and it said it was not not recomended for bolt action rifles, why is that? Thanks again, Mark
That makes no sense. What a small base sizing die does is actually reduce the base of the cartridge, just above the extractor groove, to a little below specs, I think by .001 or .002. It changes nothing in the nect or the shoulder.
Since this is most likely your problem with the once-fired mil ammo, that may, repeat may, help you.
Now for bolt rifles, it will do the exact same thing. In fact, I use a small base die for my F-TR .308 rifle, because the chamber is very tight. So, when I resize it, there is very little work being done, it's more like a touch up and the ammo slips into the chamber prefectly, but without play.
For the vast majority of sizing operation, you do not need a small base die, I only use it for my two match rifles. Everything else gets a regular die, but I never mix the brass.
Some people believe it is better to simply neck size the bolt action ammo and bump the shoulder back a bit. They think they are getting more consistancy that way.
They are wrong.
At some point, the use a body die or an F/L sizing die "when the bolt gets difficult to lift." What they fail to understand is that the case has been changing with every firing and then they change it once again, big time, with the body or F/L die use. The next firing will be very different and they also overworked the brass stuffing it back.
By F/L sizing every time, one gets a consistent cartridge every time and if properly adjusted and with the use of bushing dies without the expander ball, the brass gets worked very little.
I would love to see where they recommend against using a small base die for a bolt action. I will say that in just about every case, it's not required, but it will not hurt anything to use one.
Since this is most likely your problem with the once-fired mil ammo, that may, repeat may, help you.
Now for bolt rifles, it will do the exact same thing. In fact, I use a small base die for my F-TR .308 rifle, because the chamber is very tight. So, when I resize it, there is very little work being done, it's more like a touch up and the ammo slips into the chamber prefectly, but without play.
For the vast majority of sizing operation, you do not need a small base die, I only use it for my two match rifles. Everything else gets a regular die, but I never mix the brass.
Some people believe it is better to simply neck size the bolt action ammo and bump the shoulder back a bit. They think they are getting more consistancy that way.
They are wrong.
At some point, the use a body die or an F/L sizing die "when the bolt gets difficult to lift." What they fail to understand is that the case has been changing with every firing and then they change it once again, big time, with the body or F/L die use. The next firing will be very different and they also overworked the brass stuffing it back.
By F/L sizing every time, one gets a consistent cartridge every time and if properly adjusted and with the use of bushing dies without the expander ball, the brass gets worked very little.
I would love to see where they recommend against using a small base die for a bolt action. I will say that in just about every case, it's not required, but it will not hurt anything to use one.
I found what you saw at the Midsouth web site, but it was only for the RCBS small body die (not Redding or others, I just looked at the .308 S/B). Here is the text:
Usually, these companies take the description from the manufacturers web sites and just plaster it on their site. The folks who do the web site simply do not know anything about the subject they are displaying. Maybe RCBS has something at their web site.
This is from the RCBS web site:
You can see the wording is very similar and it is a little confusing because the question is about SB dies and whether to use F/L or N/O dies. We see the switch from SB to the recommendation to not use F/L or N/O dies in auto, semi, pump and lever. And then we see F/L being recommended for Bolt Action.
I checked the detail page for the exact same die (.308 S/B) at the RCBS website and they do not have that dire warning about using this for a bolt action. So, I think someone at Midsouth got the memo, but didn't understand it.
Usually, these companies take the description from the manufacturers web sites and just plaster it on their site. The folks who do the web site simply do not know anything about the subject they are displaying. Maybe RCBS has something at their web site.
This is from the RCBS web site:
You can see the wording is very similar and it is a little confusing because the question is about SB dies and whether to use F/L or N/O dies. We see the switch from SB to the recommendation to not use F/L or N/O dies in auto, semi, pump and lever. And then we see F/L being recommended for Bolt Action.
I checked the detail page for the exact same die (.308 S/B) at the RCBS website and they do not have that dire warning about using this for a bolt action. So, I think someone at Midsouth got the memo, but didn't understand it.
Sig, Thanks again for all of the info. I know this is getting a little off the topic, but lets say you sized a case with the sb dies, so according to RCBS, the case will extract easily in a semi-auto, once you fired the shell, would it not expand to the I.D. of the chamber? I am either missing something or just do not understand that. It looks to me like, it does not matter what you size it down to, once shot its going to expand to the chamber that it's in. It's like I was saying about my #1, once the brass I have seperated for it is shot in one of the other two guns, it will not go back in the #1 because it has expanded to their chamber size.
It's your topic, so I don't see how your question can be off-topic.
But it is a great question.
When you fire the round, the case will expand to the ID of the chamber and actually stick to it. This is known as obturation. This effectively seals the chamber and prevents any gases from coming back in your face.
When the bullet exists the barrel and the pressure drops to normal, the brass springs back a little in size. However to make sure that the seal between the case and the chamber is broken, the case is rotated slightly by the unlocking of the bolt. With that, the extraction of the case is much smoother.
If the chamber is loose, the case will expand to get to the inside wall of the case, but it will not spring back enough to get back to specs; there is only so much "springiness" in the brass, especially in the ticker area at the base. When it's thin (neck) it is quite malleable and can be put back, but when it's thicker, it becomes very difficult or impossible to put back, even with an S/B die.
So, please use a lot of lube, good lube and go for it. I also hope you have a stuck case remover. Just in case.
But it is a great question.
When you fire the round, the case will expand to the ID of the chamber and actually stick to it. This is known as obturation. This effectively seals the chamber and prevents any gases from coming back in your face.
When the bullet exists the barrel and the pressure drops to normal, the brass springs back a little in size. However to make sure that the seal between the case and the chamber is broken, the case is rotated slightly by the unlocking of the bolt. With that, the extraction of the case is much smoother.
If the chamber is loose, the case will expand to get to the inside wall of the case, but it will not spring back enough to get back to specs; there is only so much "springiness" in the brass, especially in the ticker area at the base. When it's thin (neck) it is quite malleable and can be put back, but when it's thicker, it becomes very difficult or impossible to put back, even with an S/B die.
So, please use a lot of lube, good lube and go for it. I also hope you have a stuck case remover. Just in case.
wixedmords
Blackhawk
The down side to a small based die is it will work the brass harder mtivester.
I'd pay particular attention to all the measurements of the .223 and how what you have reloaded compares to what the round should be.
I start by trimming the cases to minimum and pay particular attention to the outside chamfer. I have seen the lack of an outside chamfer cause feeding issues.
The SBD will likely help with the issue, but I don't think it should be your first step. A cartridge guage or using a mic on your finished round should give you more insight when compare to the specs of what the loaded round should measure to be.
Make sure you have enough lube, but don't overlube. Overlubing in the neck area can cause dents.
I'd pay particular attention to all the measurements of the .223 and how what you have reloaded compares to what the round should be.
I start by trimming the cases to minimum and pay particular attention to the outside chamfer. I have seen the lack of an outside chamfer cause feeding issues.
The SBD will likely help with the issue, but I don't think it should be your first step. A cartridge guage or using a mic on your finished round should give you more insight when compare to the specs of what the loaded round should measure to be.
Make sure you have enough lube, but don't overlube. Overlubing in the neck area can cause dents.
Thanks wixedmords. My thought was to use the sb dies the first time, to get them sized down to work in the gun, then go back to the standard sizing die. I am assuming that would work. I do understand what you are saying about the cartridge gauge though, I will probably buy one of them also.
