Stuck 5.56/.223 casing in chamber after reloading.

[Mauser KAR98K]

Hi everyone. I have been fighting this problem now coming on a year now. I have a M4 with a keyhole upper chamber in .223 Wylde (spelling), under a Spikes lower. This was not my build; traded some rifles for the whole M4. I've been reloading using both lee resizing die and lately a RCBS short-base resizing die, running them between my Rock-Chucker and Dillion presses. Once I chamber the rounds they generally go into battery, but I can't manually eject them. It takes a dead blow to eject the round. This does not happen with factory loads.

To also add, using these reloads, it does the same thing with my Bushmaster that is chamber for both .223 and 5.56.

Am I not getting a proper re-size? Or for the damn kicker, and possibly stupid question, do I need to trim all my 1,000+ 5.56/.223 brass casings:sad:? I do trim all my .30cal casings, but does .223 need to be done the same way?

I was hoping that the Dillion would make reloading 5.56 more economical and easier. Years past I used to reload everything through the rock chucker but had never experienced this.

Thanks everyone.

[mizer67]

A couple of issues could be the cause.

First one I think of is headspace. You'll need the Hornday tool to get a good measurement:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=479704

First, measure the headspace of a round fired from your chamber. Then, measure a factory round you know will chamber and extract. Then, measure your reloads. If it's a headspace issue, your reloads will be very close to the fired round meaning you didn't set your die down far enough to bump back the shoulder far enough to make the rounds chamber easily. If you don't want to spring for the headspace measurement tool, re-read your die instructions and make sure you're following them, particularly the part about turning them down to the ram, then give them another quarter turn (this will cause the press to cam-over and should give you at least a headspace that will chamber and extract).

Second issue I can think of is that you said you weren't trimming. You must trim .223/5.56, just like any other bottleneck case. It's possible that your OAL of the casings is too long at the neck not allowing them to fully chamber, or when they do chamber to not extract. Use your calipers to measure your fired rounds. The case length should be no longer than 1.76. Trim them to 1.75 if they're over.

Also, this is a very dangerous condition because the case neck can be compressed into the bullet causing a pressure spike, that if it's severe enough, will KB your weapon. You must trim, or you will have problems. If you want the easiest way to do it on a progressive press like the Dillon, buy the Dillon press mounted trimmer. I use a semi-progressive system where I trim off the press, but either way, there's no way around trimming.

[shootist~]

Some suggestions:

Setup your sizer die using a chamber check gauge. Also use the chamber check gauge to test your fully loaded ammo (at least a sample).

See if you have the same problem with resized brass from once fired factory ammo that was fired through your rifle. Even chamber some once fired brass without sizing and see if it ejects OK ("probably" it should).

Measure the O/L length of your resized older brass. Really excess length could be your problem, especially in a match or .223 chamber.

Make sure your chambers are clean.

ETA: I size in a single stage, trim, and then feed the progressive Dillon. I'm annal, but it might be worth a try.

Trim at least once. (I usually trim every time, but will sometimes skip on the second or third loading.)

[shootist~]

One more "possible" - it could just be that you are trying to get too many reloads out of your brass?

IMO 4 or maybe 5 reloads with good brass (LC or IMI) is tops *for me*. And I won't load Federal more than twice.

[Mauser KAR98K]

Shootist~,

These are one'see-two'see. I'm lubing the casings before running them through the resize. I'm gonna try to trim about 50+ tomorrow after the resize, then do the reload from there. If that does solve my problem, then I have my winter break trimming casings:big_boss:. Dear god the boredom. 700+...give or take a few hundred.

[shootist~]

Mauser -

The shell-plate on the Dillon has a little give in it - another reason I size in the single stage - for consistency. (In my case it's a Redding Turret press I've had for ~20 years.)

My RCBS SB sizer die will actually oversize the brass if I have it turned down x amount below making contact with the shell holder (per the factory instructions). Hence the importance of using a Case Gauge to set the sizer to between min and max. (I use an L.E. Wilson gauge that I've had forever.)

Is your die screwed down the half turn or so past making contact with the shell plate? If not, screw it down more per the RCBS instructions - and load some dummies for function testing.

Failure to remove the lube could be another issue.

My procedure - after a good polish in the tumbler and assuming primer pocket swaging is not necessary):

1). FL resize in the single stage.

2). While still lubed, feed into the Dillon electric trimmer. Deburr case mouths on first trimming only. (The Dillon Trimmer die, pre mounted in it's own Dillon tool head, is backed off a hair so it does not resize.

3). Back to the vibratory tumbler to remove the lube.

4). Prepped brass is fed to the progressive loader.

The extra steps are worth it *to me* to assure 100% reliability in multiple A/Rs.

[mutterranch]

I was having a similar problem a while back. After a lot of searching it turned out to be my crimp die. I was using a Lee Factory Crimp Die and was just a bit to agressive with it. It was buckeling the case very slightly just below the sholder and I was not able to see it with my eyes. Anyway.... I backed off the crimp die a tad and solved the problem.
You might want to load up a dummy round (no powder / no primer) and smoke it with a candle. After carefully chambering and extracting it you may be able to see rub marks where it binds in the chamber.

[Mike169]

I was having a similar problem a while back. After a lot of searching it turned out to be my crimp die. I was using a Lee Factory Crimp Die and was just a bit to agressive with it. It was buckeling the case very slightly just below the sholder and I was not able to see it with my eyes. Anyway.... I backed off the crimp die a tad and solved the problem.
You might want to load up a dummy round (no powder / no primer) and smoke it with a candle. After carefully chambering and extracting it you may be able to see rub marks where it binds in the chamber.

How did you find this buckle?

I ask because my Lee 223 dies are much more finicky to adjust than my 9mm dies. I have had an occasional case get stuck (only for manual pull, all fired and ejected just fine) that I had determined to be lube related.

[mutterranch]

I've loaded and fired literally thousands of rounds with my Dillon set up exactly the way it is. The problem showed up all of a sudden in one batch of newly loaded ammo. I was only getting maybe one round in fifty to a hundred that would jam and I'd never had this hapen before so I was cyceling the whole lot (1000 rds) by hand through a die to locate any "bad" ones. I finally found one that was exceptionally bad and the little light in my head finally went off. That's when I smoked a couple of the others I'd found and confirmed my finding.

[Mauser KAR98K]

I have to conclude that my problem stems from all the above: casings were a little long, the lube wasn't cleaned off thoroughly, and I was to aggressive with my factory crimp. After cleaning, finding cases that were of correct length, and easing up on the crimp, the reloads chamber and manually eject just fine.

Thanks everyone. Now I have to find a better trimmer set, replace a component, and start to get to work.

Oh, anyone have any good loads for .55gr FMJ from Remington? I'm using Hogdon 335. Is there also a cheaper way to by anything higher than .55 in mass? Say .62gr+?

[mizer67]

The "board std. load" I'm told it 24.5 grains of TAC over 55s. I've never tried that one.

I have shot 24.7 grains of X-Term over Hornady 55s and that load is good for 1.1-1.3 MOA to 200 for me if there is no wind for 10 round groups.

H335 I haven't shot any of in a while, but when I did, my load was 25.7 grains over Hornady 55s, which I think I pulled from Sierra data originally.

Not many cheap bullets in the higher weights. SS109 62 grain projectiles are 3-4 MOA at best, but they're available fairly cheap. Otherwise, the Privi 75s from Wideners are good for 1.5 MOA 10-shot groups out of my ARs at 100, and they're about the cheapest option out there that will shoot decent that I've found (~$.11 per round in bulk).

Overall though, I'd stick with Nosler, Hornady or Sierra bulk deals through PVI in the 68-69 grain range. They'll shoot sub MOA and they're cheaper than 75s at ~$.138 per round in bulk. Sierra I've found to be most consistent, but the other two are cheaper if your gun likes them.

[shootist~]

The "board std. load" I'm told it 24.5 grains of TAC over 55s. I've never tried that one.

It's definitely a very good 55gr practice load (and convenient for me since I use TAC for my 77gr SMKs). With 55gr Hornady FMJBTs it's also accurate *for me* - even in standard 1x7 barrels that tend not to like cheap 55 gr ammo.