I purchased a set of 7mm Rem. Mag. reloading dies recently. They are RCBS brand, and they look to be in perfect condition.

However, when I use the sizing die to reload for my 7MM Rem Mag rifle the cartridges will not chamber. I don't think its the chamber because other sets of reloading dies have worked just fine. And its not trimming, because I measure each case before and after trimming to specs, and those cases will easily chamber using another set of dies.

Maybe the person that sold this set of dies to me knew they were no good but didn't say. Maybe they worked in his chamber and he was confident they would work in mine. No problem.

The question is, what to do now. I have never sent anything into RCBS before. Is that an easy process. Is it worth it? i.e. what do they charge to service dies?

Maybe I could send two dies in. I have another die, .338 Win Mag that leaves a pretty significant mark on my cases. I bought that one brand new, but quite some time ago.

Send RCBS 3 fired cases from your rifle along with the die and a note explaining your problem. They will replace it no questions asked.

LIndy...try this. Screw the die right down into the press until the bottom of the die touches the top of your shellholder.

Don't worry these are steel dies as there's nothing that will be harmed. Now size three, four cases...lubed as usual of course.

See if these cases will chamber Ok. If they do than IMHO if loaded rounds don't chamber then you are overcrimping OR collapsing the shoulder when seating a bullet..

Either will cause a loaded cartridge not to chamber.

measure stuff.
if the cases come out of your gun, they should go back in it.
unless your changing something in the size process.
if they come from someone else's gun.. maybe the die will work, maybe not.

either case is not unusual, and the problem generally is right above the belt, or in the shoulder area.

quote:

try this. Screw the die right down into the press until the bottom of the die touches the top of your shellholder.

I do that as a matter of course.

These cases that I am reloading have come out of the same rifle.

There is no problem with the shoulders on the cases. You cannot see any difference between cases from either die. Just above the belt both cases measure .511.

Puzzling.

RCBS is a great company to deal with. Give them a call, explain the situation, they will take care of you.

If the cases were from the same rifle, something is happening in the sizing process.

You mentioned that the cases are trimmed to the right length, so that cannot be the problem.

Could the die possibly crushing the shoulder??

Try one case in your rifle before sizing it.

Make sure it chambers.

Unscrew the die a couple of turns, and run the case through it, then try it.

If this works, screw the die down in half turns, and try again.

Crushing the shoulder can be so minute that you cannot see it by the eye.

If the case chambers, continue screwing tbecdie down until it hits the shell holder.

I pretty much have all Redding dies so I cant help with the RCBS but I kept having a similar problem with my favorite Winchester 7 mag and my Redding die.

I called Redding and they said while it is probably your rifle send it in with 5 cases. I did.

One day a week or so later I got a call from Redding. They said something to the effect of hmmmm that die was not as good as it should be and we have it all right and coming back to you. It was all good afterward.

Probably a faulty die. Had a 25 06 that would not chamber rounds sized with RCBS dies. Bought Redding and they chambered fine. Took the decapper out of a 30 06 die and ran the RCBS loads through it and they worked fine. Every thing man makes has tolerances. Tight chamber, big die both in tolerance and they wont work!

Just took 3 cases fired in the gun and ran them through the RCBS die and they would not chamber. Then ran them through the Lyman die and they chambered right up!!!!!

Not just the ram touching the die; shell holder has to be forced onto the die with the ram "cammed" over hard. If that does not work, then you can shorten the die.
In your lathe.
Or get a new one. Tolerances are relatively huge between chambers and dies and it is a miracle that 99% of them work together.

Chamber and Die dimensions sometimes differ.
A Redding .270W Die was perfect for a Sako rifle. I shot out the original barrel and rebarrelled with a True Flite SS. The Redding Die would not resize my cases small enough to chamber in the new barrel. I complained to True Flite and they knew immediately what the issue was. They asked me to send the Die for them to trim off a little length, and voila, problem solved !

You using a Lee shell holder???

Had the same problem with a 270WSM.
Ground a smidgen off of the shell holder top and it worked 100% after that.

quote:

Originally posted by The Dane:
You using a Lee shell holder???

Had the same problem with a 270WSM.
Ground a smidgen off of the shell holder top and it worked 100% after that.

The OP is sizing belted cases is shaving the die or the top of the shell holder going to make any difference as the belt will stop the case going any further into the die?

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
Just took 3 cases fired in the gun and ran them through the RCBS die and they would not chamber. Then ran them through the Lyman die and they chambered right up!!!!!

Could you feel any resistance when you ran them through the Lyman die? You might want to blacken the cases after they have gone through the RCBS then run them through the LyMAN and see where they touch.
RCBS has one of the best warranties in the business. My friend Jay Postman used to run the returns department and they always warrantied anything and everything without question. Just send it in along with some before and after cases. They will fix your 338 die also although you can probably polish it out with a dowel and some 6-800 grit sandpaper.

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I appreciate it. I'm going to send both dies to RCBS and see what they have to say. However, I am not hopeful for the 7mm Rem. Mag. dies as I purchased them from another user. This is what they say on their websight.


Reloading Press, Die, Manual Case Trimmer or Bullet Mould

"Your reloading press, reloading die, manual case trimmer or bullet mould is warranted to be free from defects in material or workmanship for as long as the original owner owns it. This warranty is extended only to the original consumer purchaser."

dpcd

one of the things that I like about your posts is your dry sense of humor.

"then you can shorten the die.
In your lathe."

Yup, I will just go right out to my shop and get that die shortened up in my lathe!!!

Brass flows forward when being sized....the shoulder moves forward

It has to be pushed back.....you are not pushing it back far enough

Screw your die down farther.....I'd bet you'r problem will solve itselve in less then a half turn.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
Brass flows forward when being sized....the shoulder moves forward

It has to be pushed back.....you are not pushing it back far enough

Screw your die down farther.....I'd bet you'r problem will solve itselve in less then a half turn.

I have it as tight as it will go. As another gentleman stated, this is a belted magnum case. It will not go in any further than the belt will allow it to go. And it can't go in any further because the steel against steel is already there. No place for it to go.

I purchased a set of 7mm Rem. Mag. reloading dies recently. They are RCBS brand, and they look to be in perfect condition.

However, when I use the sizing die to reload for my 7MM Rem Mag rifle the cartridges will not chamber. I don't think its the chamber because other sets of reloading dies have worked just fine. And its not trimming, because I measure each case before and after trimming to specs, and those cases will easily chamber using another set of dies.

Maybe the person that sold this set of dies to me knew they were no good but didn't say. Maybe they worked in his chamber and he was confident they would work in mine. No problem.

.........................

Do the fired cases re-chamber in your rifle with no sizing at all? IMO they should and it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't chamber even if the RCBS die was sizing just a part of the neck. I think sizing dies are supposed to size the case back to minimum size. I think if RCBS would do anything they would trim the bottom off of the die until it sizes the case like it should. If the die "chamber" is too long it should not have a warranty limit IMO. So along with the die I would include one fired case as is. A case resized in the Lyman die and a case resized in the RCBS die.

Ok, the belt does not and can't touch the die; vertical movement is stopped by the shell holder to the die.
You never want to size the belt so there is clearance in the die for that.
For Antelope; your scenario goes like this; consider that when you size a case, it moves the shoulder forward because you are reducing the OD of it. Then as it goes to full depth the shoulder is pushed back. So, sometimes partial sizing is worse than no sizing at all. Depends.
Sizing dies are not made to bring the cases back to SAAMI min; there are generous tolerances used in the industry.
This is just a case of tolerance stackup; it happens.
Humor? This is serious stuff. (No, it is just a hobby)

Yes, the fired cases do chamber in the rifle. that is where they were fired from.

I can't adjust any tighter because the shellholder and the press ram are already squeezed together.

True that. I would also add that when resizing my cases for said individual rifle,I just neck size.

Yes, the fired cases do chamber in the rifle. that is where they were fired from.

.......................

But did you try to rechamber a fired case just to see if it would go back in? So after you run them into the RCBS die is the case diameter at the shoulder/body junction made larger? That would be one thing that might keep it from chambering. Maybe make a cast of the die and mike it against your fired cases. It's doing something to keep the cases from chambering. I have some old 6.5-.284 fireformed cases from Buzztail brass. If I full lenth size them in my Redding .25-.284 they will not chamber in my rifle whereas .25-.284 cases that I made myself will.

I'd still send them in anyway. Unless they are really old I doubt they ask you anything anyway. And even if so, I bet the charges are not a lot. Plus you get a working good die in the deal that you know ( should ) work.

quote:

Originally posted by TexKD:
I'd still send them in anyway. Unless they are really old I doubt they ask you anything anyway. And even if so, I bet the charges are not a lot. Plus you get a working good die in the deal that you know ( should ) work.

If there is clearance in the die for the case belt then yes you can easily shave the top of the shell holder which will enable the case to be pushed into the die further. I have had to do this with my 7mm-08 die, which didn't size cases quite enough. Don't attempt to grind the face of the die, a shell holder is cheap, turn it upside down on a sheet of wet and dry paper on a good flat surface (sheet of glass or plate steel) and give it a good sanding. I sanded until the Lyman lettering on the shell holder was reduced a bit, still legible, but much lighter. Worked a treat, no more tight cases.

Do bullets seat in the sized case 'normally' i.e. not too loose? Could have an oversized sizing button and lack of lube could see the case shoulders being pulled forward a few thou. as the sized case is pulled down out of the die on your press, worth checking this first as the scenario of unsized cases feeding back into the chamber okay but once resized won't. This indicates the shoulder (or neck too long) is being pulled forward.

Measure the centerline datum of the shoulder of a once fired case vs a sized case using a socket that sits nicely on said centerline datum.

The difference is how much you need to grind off the face of the die.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
Measure the centerline datum of the shoulder of a once fired case vs a sized case using a socket that sits nicely on said centerline datum.

The difference is how much you need to grind off the face of the die.

Ted,
I think you meant shellholder?
Also if you do this make sure you mark that shellholder to use only with that particular die.

Thanks everyone. I chucked it and am going to start over. No sense in spending $20 in postage on a $25.00 die.

Last try would be to try them matched to an RCBS shellholder. As it may be that you other makers shellholders are too "tall".

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
Thanks everyone. I chucked it and am going to start over. No sense in spending $20 in postage on a $25.00 die.

A small flat rate box is way less than $20. Did you mike the cases to see if the die is somehow putting a bulge on the case in which case it's a FUBAR anyway?

quote:

Originally posted by Blacktailer:

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
Measure the centerline datum of the shoulder of a once fired case vs a sized case using a socket that sits nicely on said centerline datum.

The difference is how much you need to grind off the face of the die.

Ted,
I think you meant shellholder?
Also if you do this make sure you mark that shellholder to use only with that particular die.

Nope....fix the die
It's a simple task to grind off the face

the shell holder might be touching the die.
but when a case is in there you will still have some room between the two.

look up in there while you have a shell in the die you'll see a gap and can turn the die down quite a bit more.

I wouldn't get all worked up about it if I had another die on the shelf that worked for me.

On some belted mags I have had similar results. I started modifying the sizing process by running the brass all the way into the die, backing it out just far enough to loosen it, and twisting the brass 120 degrees in one direction. Then I run it back into the die. Repeat this one more time and you have sized the brass about as evenly as possible all the way around. Do not withdraw the brass far enough to engage the neck sizing button. Never had a piece of brass fail to chamber after following this process!

It is strange that this has worked, but it has. Have never needed to do it with non-belted mag brass and only some of the belted stuff.

I will lathe turn off your die if you want. But postage to Hornady will be the same and they will send you a new die. So try that first. If that doesn't work, then we can fix it.
It happens.

quote:

I started modifying the sizing process by running the brass all the way into the die, backing it out just far enough to loosen it, and twisting the brass 120 degrees in one direction. Then I run it back into the die. Repeat this one more time and you have sized the brass about as evenly as possible all the way around. Do not withdraw the brass far enough to engage the neck sizing button.

I do that as a matter of course. doesn't work on this die.

dpcd

Thanks for the offer. Its an RCBS die. The good one is the one by Hornady.
I pitched it and its gone. Not worth anymore hassle.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS.

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:

quote:

I started modifying the sizing process by running the brass all the way into the die, backing it out just far enough to loosen it, and twisting the brass 120 degrees in one direction. Then I run it back into the die. Repeat this one more time and you have sized the brass about as evenly as possible all the way around. Do not withdraw the brass far enough to engage the neck sizing button.

I do that as a matter of course. doesn't work on this die.

dpcd

Thanks for the offer. Its an RCBS die. The good one is the one by Hornady.
I pitched it and its gone. Not worth anymore hassle.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS.

Then I would ship it off to RCBS. Cost of a SFRB would be a better route than modification of a shell holder or die to me.....your mileage may vary.

I had the same problem with RCBS 7mag die.I bought a rifle that had been rebarreled.Brass fit so tight,it would mark the headstamp when I closed the bolt.I couldn't adjust the die to get it any better.They worked just fine for other 7mags,just not this one rifle.I bought another set of RCBS dies and had no issues.I also have a set of Lee dies and no issues with those either,So the dies do make a difference.From what I've read about dies,the reamer used in cutting the die is cut at maximum tolerance and is used until it wears down to minimum tolerance,then discarded.

If one pairs a case fired in a minimum chamber with a sizing die of maximum size/length then it's clear that there probably isn't going to be any resizing of the case but the case should still chamber in the rifle in which it was fired. Since the OP said the cases would not chamber in his rifle after running them into the die, it's apparent that the die was doing something to the case.

I had a similar issue with a 270 WSM neck die. Put it in the lathe as dpcd suggested, cured the problem. I think I had to take off 3 thousandths.

To full length resize screw the die down to touch the shell holder them a bit more until you get a bump, like the directions say btw..then see if it fits your chamber, if not you can file the bullet seater down some and see if that works, usually it will unless the chamber is bad..

Don't file on a die, it ruins the guarantee and the die then probably won't full length resize in another rifle..Also a file by hand can give you a die that higher on one side than the other, if you must use a lathe..but I wouldn't.

If this doesn't work send the 3 cases fired from your rife back to RCBS, they will fix it at no charge..one of the reasons I only use RCBS..

As a side note more chance of a bad chamber than a bad die, but they will still modify the die to work in your gun.

My bet is the bump is the hang-up. that's the last sizing operation of the die, its been so in 99% of the cases Ive delt with in the past.