I've got once fired 270wsm brass being used in the same gun as fired. Before full length resizing my bolt closes with little effort. However, after full length resizing the bolt is much more difficult to close. I measured the cases before/after and they've gone from about 2095 before to 2105 in length after (2090 to 2100 is spec). I haven't got a chance to trim them yet.

Can being .005 over spec cause the bolt to be that much more difficult to close or am I doing something else wrong that I'm missing? I'm new to reloading so your help is much appreciated!

I am a relative rookie as well but you might try resizing one without the expander button to see if it increases in length then as well. Have you measured from the shoulder? If the shoulder is being pulled forward with the work from the expander button it would also cause this. Hopefully those in the know will come along shortly.

Ken....

heat is pretty much right on. I would use a little more lube inside the neck also make sure the expander is smooth -. you can remove it and chuck it in a drill and use some steel wool to polish. I also like to modify and put an angle on the top side of the expander button.
Dave

Screw the sizing die in a little at a time until the resistance is gone

The fired case is like an inflated balloon.

as you size it the body is squeezed in first causing the shoulder to creep forward making the case hard to chamber.
Remove the expander and screw the sizer die body down in small increments and size the case between each setting. Eventually you will just push the shoulder back and all of your sized case will chamber. You will probably notice improved accuracy from getting the head to should distance set just right.

Hornady's gauge set that clamps to caliper jaws allows you to measure this dimension and watch it change with each die setting until you push the should back to it's original as fired location.

Hey guys, thanks for your help. I will try these suggestions out and let you know what happens.

Be sure to check case length AFTER resizing. And then trim as needed

muck

Here is a good explaination by our buddy Hot Core on how to set up your FL dies.

Posted 25 March 2005 14:54 25 March 2005 15:54
Hey Ruttinbuck, Good for you. You are trying to Set-Up so you can Partial-Full Length Resize(P-FLR).1. Put the Shell Holder in the press and raise the ram.

2. Screw the Full Length(FL) Die into the press so it is about a "nickle's thickness" above the Shell Holder.

3. Lube a "Fired" case (walls and inside the neck) and squash it.

4. Remove the Lube and try closing the bolt on it in the chamber.5. If the bolt closes with no resistance, screw the FL Die into the press about 1/8-1/4 turn and repeat steps 3 & 4.

6. As you feel the resistance begin, slow down how much you screw the FL Die into the press so you are at about 1/16 of a turn, or "Fine Tuning". At some point you will not be able to close the bolt and you are extremely close to having the FL Die in the proper position.

NOTE: The reason for this is because the FL Die has begun Resizing the Case-walls down to the Pressure Ring. As it does so, the Case-body lengthens slightly which in turn moves the Case-shoulder slightly forward. Then as the "Fine Tuning" continues the Case-shoulder makes contact with the FL Die and is moved slightly reward(or slightly shortens the Case-head to Case-shoulder dimension).

7. Stop when there is a slight bit of resistance when closing the bolt on the empty case. You now have a "slight crush fit" for the case in that specific chamber, or Zero Headspace.

8. Once you get it where you want it, take some masking tape or a black marker and put a Witness Mark where the FL Die Lock Ring is positioned to hold the FL Die in this position. Loosen the FL Die and return the Lock Ring to align with the Witness Mark and sung up the Set-Screw.Screw the FL Die back into the press and try squashing another case. It should have the same resistance as the previous one. If not, you need to re-adjust the Lock Ring so it does. But you are extremely close to where you want it, so make very small changes at this point.

Occasionally check the fit of the cases in the chamber, say every 5th firing just to make sure nothing has slipped. Checking more often won't hurt anything and give you confidence that the Set-Up is still proper.You have now Set-Up the FL Die to P-FLR and will have the very best opportunity at having long case life and the very best accuracy possible.If you are hunting in Dangerous Game country, you should forget P-FLRing or Neck Sizing, and always Full Length Resize so the case chambers and extracts easily.Best of luck to

So I finally had a chance to try out your suggestions. Gradually screwed the die in until I got just a little bit of resistance closing the bolt. I think I didn't have die screwed in quite far enough the first time.

One more question. I had three cases out of 20 that were noticeably more difficult to close the bolt on after re-sizing. I cleaned all the cases before running them through my rifle and they are all from the same batch of winchester brass. They have only been fired once in this rifle. I went ahead and ran them through my press one more time and they were easier to close the bolt on after the second re-sizing. Is this normal or could it be something I did? I had the die screwed in securely and it didn't seem to be moving around. Any thoughts?

Wsm brass is tough and has some spring back. AS it gets shot more I think you'll find you have to screw the die in just a tad farther.
I DON'T LIKE having ammo that takes any bolt tension to close. Some people do and some people don't. I'd say the arguments go about 50-50.
I just got the Midway flyer and they have the Hornady headspace measuring tool with bushings on sale this month for about $32. I have one adn love it and know that you'll find it alot easier to set up all your dies once you own one.
I hightly recomend it....it's easy to use and will really help set up all your dies.

Thanks Kraky. I bought the Hornady bullet comparator this weekend, but they were out of the headspace bushings so will have to order one online.

I have read that annealing can also help produce more consistent headspacing, in addition to its other benefits. Any thoughts?

Annealing is one part of reloading I haven't dwelved into. I'm sure it works as advertised but for now....I'm spending too much time tinkering with the hobby without picking up another time consuming idea.

Your on the right track Zobo dude. I had the same problems as you did when I started reloaded WSM. I have to bump the shoulders back quite a bit on my 270 WSM when resizing. I pretty much did what Steve gave you advice on. I get just a touch a resistance on closing the bolt now which I can live with. If I go just a little further the rim of the shoulder start to buckle and dent. Which is ok, when shot the dent is gone but it flexes that much.

Call me crazy for making up theories. I have 2 die sets for wsms...a 300 and 7mm. Both are hornady and both overwork the brass like crazy. I can't help but wonder if this brass was made really thick to make up for the fact that alot of factory loads are loaded to the max ++ to get advertised performance. Then along comes die makers and rifle makers that are somewhat guessing at brass dimensions as they make their specs. I see so many posts on sizing trouble of this brass.
I can really see where if I ever get a gun chambered in one of the wsm's I would STRONGLY consider having my dies worked over to match the casings for a more custom fit. Seems like there has been "alot of guesswork" by alot of manufacturers in these casings.

Kraky, I had the same problem with my RCBS FL 300WSM die. It worked fine, it was just really working the brass. I switched to the Lee Collet die followed by the Redding "Body" die. I believe the Body die works the brass a liitle less than my standard RCBS FL die.

quote:

Originally posted by MyNameIsEarl:
I get just a touch a resistance on closing the bolt now which I can live with. If I go just a little further the rim of the shoulder start to buckle and dent. Which is ok, when shot the dent is gone but it flexes that much.

You sure you are not getting to much lube on the shoulder? Could also be a plugged vent hole.

What dies are you using? I love Forster dies, but if the expander button is set just a touch to high and you bump that shoulder down pretty far the case can dent and buckle at the shoulder. If you are using Forster FL dies, lower the expander a few thou and I'll bet it goes away.

Steve, No I use Hornady one shot. In fact I think sometimes I do not put enough on. I have been know to stick cases once in a while. I have also tried to lube the inside of the neck sometimes (not very often) because on the way back down they are very tight and squeal like crazy. Usually one or two cases with the inside lubed keeps enough on the expander to keep it from feeling so stiff. (That could be taken out of context )

If I back my die off another 1/2 turn I do not get the dimples or dents in the shoulder. So it is directly related to my half turn more. I have not tried a body die or bushing die. I just know when I tried to neck size only I had issues no matter how I set the die.

Brass is cheap and I have plenty on hand so I am not worried about FL resize always. If I get 8 or 10 firings out the set I am happy.

SR 4759 nailed it. It is just a fact with the short fat WSM cases that is more evident if you don't get the die in far enough the sizng of the body will push the shoulder forward enough that it is tough to chamber.

I like the WSM's and have fooled with them a lot. They are finicky in a lot of ways, but offer good performance with light to mid weight for caliber bullets. The lose their luster IMO with heavy for caliber bullets. One of the tricks for good accuracy I have found is mid range charges for best accuracy, which is against the grain for a lot of folks, but I have done a lot of work with them, own 6 of them, and can say that it is more common for the accuaracy to be achieved with low to mid charges than max charges for me. Two of my WSM's I have rebarreled with a heavier contour barrel, and was able to get really good accuracy with max charges--maybe showing the typical barrel the major mfgs. offer are just a little whippy for the type of accuracy I seek out of my rigs.....

I have disected the brass on 300, 7mm, and 270 WSM cases, and have not noticed that is any thicker than any other brass I have looked at which would include just about every 'standard' caliber you would think of.

I think the stronger springback of the shoulder some folks recount is due to the steepness of the shoulder--JMO.

If you have the die in enought to just skoot the shoulder back enough for a light crush fit, you are right on!

Good luck with your whiz-em!