I set up my body die by removing the ejector button and firing pin assembly from my bolt. I ran the sizing die down until the bolt just falls closed with light finger pressure on a sized case. I measured a few cases with a Stoney Point Comparator afterward and found that I'm pushing the shoulder back .004".

Anyone out there think that I'm sizing the brass too much? How much do you guys typically resize?
I'm wondering if I could be creating too much headspace by oversizing. I don't have any factory ammo to compare my stuff to right now.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Mark

Mark,
Yes you can create to much headspace by oversizing your brass. If you want to full length size with minimum headspace you should adjust your die as stated in the instructions and then back it out one to two full turns. Then try it in your rifle and see how it fits. If it is to tight then screw the die down in small increments till your bolt closes with some resistance.

I would recommend that you buy a neck sizing die and neck size only.

I have some new factory never fired brass in .22-250 and I measured the cases in a Stoney Point comparator and they measure 1.560. That was an average of twenty cases. I don't know if that helps you any.

[ 01-28-2003, 01:07: Message edited by: Turkeyshooter ]

Mark,

It sounds like you're already doing essentially the smae thing that Turkeyshooter recommends, but coming from the "other way".

When I set up FL dies for a particular chamber, I do it pretty much as you described, except that I like the feel to be about one-half of a fired case. When you drop the (unassembled) bolt handle on an empty chamber, it should drop from its' own weight. A fired case will take some force to close the bolt handle, and I like the re-sized case to require around half of that effort to close. You really can't size it much "less", as you are just sizing enough to fit that chamber.

If I'm re-sizing for an autoloader, or a round meant for several guns, I like to use gages and adjust so that the resized case is about halfway between min and max on the gage. Dillon Precision has case gages for the more popular chamberings.

Regards and welcome to the forum, Bill

Mark, you're about 2 graduate degrees ahead of the garden-variety reloader already.

I like a little tighter fit than you are getting, but that's just my preference. The amount of set back you have is fairly minimal, and may actually contribute to better accuracy than a "crush" fit.

Thanks for the replies folks!

The 1X fired cases I have measured 1.593" to the "datum" line(subtracting 2 inches for the Stoney Point fixture). I guess I'm nowhere near oversizing my brass by the sound of Turkeyshooters' measurements! Thanks for the info Turkeyshooter!!

I've been pushing loads through this rifle fairly hard and am starting to wonder about the headspace. I guess I should pick up a "No-Go" gauge just to be sure.

Mark

I just neck-size my brass...and only 1/2 the length of the neck.

Mark in VA---

You're doing everything you can with what you've got.

The only thing I'd change is to have a little more "feel" to the (dissassembled) bolt handle.

I NEVER use a safety, but instead leave the bolt handle up but locked, (there's a way to make that happen), I use my thumb to close the bolt just before the shot. People that see it happen thinks it's weird, but I've done it for 40 years and it's natural.

If a case is too tight to close the bolt with my thumb it needs more sizing.

It's a really rough measure of "feel" but it works for me.