hello...brass stretch's of course...my question in particular is about my 22-250 handi...i resized all my once shot brass & using a stoney point headspace guage as a tool set my resizing die to bump the shoulder's back a few thousand's anyway thing's were great then i noticed on my third resize my rifle started popping open again...after re-measuring my shoulder's it seem's the shoulder's are bumping themsleve's out ?? by a few thousand's..i think that reading caliper's it would be fairly easy to be a bit off ?? yet i would think that once my die is set it would continue to set the shoulder at the same spot everytime ?? perhap's there's slop in the chamber ?? who know's...my brass is not over suggested max case length...i may just need to f.l. resize...no biggie...the latch & shelf are clean...any input is appreciated !!!
Dave...
Normally once your dies are set..they usually stay put...but some..namely the Lee dies can move on ya when taking them in and out of the press...
As too the popping open...if the cases aren't sized correctly..this can cause you problems..and undersizing the brass will increase the head space and will cause problems in a Handi..If your loading your cases for different rifles...then you'll set them to work in all rifles with a little head space...but if just loading for 1 rifle..set them to be flush with the chamber edge or to your frame barrel gap on 1x fired brass..You will have to bump the shoulder back after a couple of firings with the latter....but this way you'll have the best fitting brass for your particular chamber..You can try a little experiment...and see which produces the best results..Do it with your fired brass..or with factory loaded ammo...Sort thru them and separate each into 3 groups..those that sit below the chamber mouth ( excessive head space) Those that sit flush ( normal head space) Those that are above the chamber mouth and fitted to your frame barrel gap ( zero head space )..When dealing with the latter...you have to make sure your primers are seated correctly...and not protruding above the case..Fire at least 5 rounds of each..dry brushing & patching out between each group..and measure your groups...and your brass...Those that are fitted correctly to your rifle..should produce the best groups...those that are below flush usually will produce the worst groups.. If your expander is too tight on your sizing die..it can distort your brass when you pull it out of the case..Make sure your case necks inside have a good lubricant on them to help during reloading..
All brass flows from the web..and will flow towards the shoulder and neck and the less it stretches rearward..the better the results will be..It is easier on your brass...and easier on your rifle...While some may feel the Handi's weak receiver will flex open on firing...I have only found improperly fitted barrels to cause this..I learned how to set up my dies from talking with Bob Merkure at Redding...He was a great help to me getting my Handis to shoot as good as they do...You might want to give him a call...Phone (607) 753-3331
Another route..is to have a set of custom dies built for your chamber...one I am going to be doing for a couple of different calibers I will be shooting a-lot...Hornady..makes some good ones...and are about the cheapest..others...like Neil Jones..makes some that are probably the best you can get anywhere ..and will be trying when he gets back from Florida in April...He isn't cheap...but..does make some of the best..
http://www.neiljones.com/html/full_length_sizing_dies.htmlMac
