I’m new to reloading but have reloaded 6.5x55 successfully before. Now the brass after sizing with hornady dies won’t chamber in my Swedish Mauser but does chamber before sizing. I’ve tried turning the brass and sizing a few times but still doesn’t chamber.Has anyone had this problem before? Any suggestions?

Your sizing die is moving some part of the case to where it shouldn't be. Try screwing the die in until it contacts the shell holder in the up position. Lower the ram and then turn the die in another 1/8th to 1/4 turn and try that. Also measure your brass length. Sizing will stretch and lengthen brass and it is possible the brass needs to be trimmed.

It might be the decapping pin (neck size)button who pulls a little on the way up through the neck.

quote:

Originally posted by Nordic2:
It might be the decapping pin (neck size)button who pulls a little on the way up through the neck.

This. I've seen exactly the same thing with the same caliber & the same die maker. Try removing the expander assy. & sizing a few cases. If the problem disappears you can try chucking the spindle in a drill & polishing some of the diameter/roughness away or just get another die. Unless they've improved in the last 20 years, the Hornady arrangement is kind of a pain to do this. I routinely round the upper edge of my expander balls & polish them in all die sets before use. A piece of 400 to 600 grit wet/dry paper will work well in most cases. A small fine file may be useful for shaping before the wet/dry in worst cases

As suggested I used a drill to smooth with 400 grit sandpaper. Now the rounds will chamber but with some resistance to get the bolt closed. Since the bolt does close can I fire these rounds safely? Maybe it’s time to get a new die.

Take a marker pen and blacken the entire case. Then resize it in your Hornady die and tell if there are any places the black is not smudged off. I'm looking for something in-particular.

When a fired case is sized it behaves like an inflated balloon.
The only unconstrained area is the shoulder which bulges upward as the body is squeezed in.
Some dies are not dimensioned small enough to easily push the shoulder back.
You may hace to do several things to push the shoulder back a little.
1. Size the case body several times without pulling it over the expander button. Pull the case down a little and spin it 120 degrees and size again. Repeat a third time.
2.Or use a little more lube when you size it a second or 3rd time
3. Size very slowly and dwell at the top of the stroke with the case forced all the way into the die. The dwell should be 3 to 4 seconds.
4. Using the Hornady case gage you can see the case shoulder bulge up by a few thousandths with your caliper.

What you describe is common and occurs when one of two things occurs; You are not making the shell holder meet the sizing die firmly enough; make it cam over at the top of the stroke. Most likely this is it.
What Ireload said is what is happening.
Or, less common but still occurs; the die is slightly longer than the chamber; in which case you cut off a few thousandths from the base of the die. Easy to do in a lathe and carbide.
Or try a different make of die. It is a wonder any chamber/die/brass/ammo combination works at all since the SAAMI tolerances are more than most realize.
Also, if you can close the bolt they are safe to fire. Might not come back out though.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
What you describe is common and occurs when one of two things occurs; You are not making the shell holder meet the sizing die firmly enough; make it cam over at the top of the stroke. Most likely this is it.
What Ireload said is what is happening.
Or, less common but still occurs; the die is slightly longer than the chamber; in which case you cut off a few thousandths from the base of the die. Easy to do in a lathe and carbide.
Or try a different make of die. It is a wonder any chamber/die/brass/ammo combination works at all since the SAAMI tolerances are more than most realize.
Also, if you can close the bolt they are safe to fire. Might not come back out though.

I have to disagree with you Tom. To set up your die it's best to blacken the shoulder slope and start with your dies screwed out and watch that blacken shoulder slope. Keep screw it in in small increments until the die just kisses that shoulder slope. I don't mean where it smudges the black all the way off. You will see what I mean when you do this. Now if it never touches the slope then you can cam over your press with the die screwed all the way down on top the shellholder. Now before you go and ruin your die, try different brand shellholders. Redding sells a set with different depth tops on them. Only then if that fails machine off some from the top of the shellholder. Shellholders are cheaper then the die.

Here's something I thought of and almost ashamed to say it...but I'm wondering if you size the case and dropped it in the chamber to see how it fit. Unless someone modified the face of the claw extractor the Swede bolt will not cam over the case rim. You have to have the case in the magazine so the rim slides up under the claw. Did you by any chance do this?

VZ, from his symptoms, it sounds like his brass is too long, base to shoulder. It will cost nothing to set the die so that it cams over against the shell holder. Like adjusting artillery fire, you make a bold adjustment first. You then come back if that works.
When he said that his fired brass fit back in, but sized brass didn't, that tells me that that is what is happening. Sizing pushes the shoulder forward.
Of course you don't do that with all chambers but he has a problem. Trouble shooting is done one step at a time.

Like I said easier to mill the shellholder and cheaper. Who knows which way you put the sized case into the chamber, directly in the chamber or via magazine???? He hasn't said.

I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying. If I put a round directly into the chamber and then close the bolt the Mauser fires even if the round wasn’t first put in the magazine.

quote:

Originally posted by Wolfbay:
I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying. If I put a round directly into the chamber and then close the bolt the Mauser fires even if the round wasn’t first put in the magazine.

Normally on Mauser if you look at the front of the claw extractor it isn't beveled much. So if you drop a cartridge in the chamber the claw extractor won't cam over the rim as the design was as a controlled feed where the cartridge rim slides up under the claw feeding from the magazine. Later commercial Mauser type rifles with the claw extractor had them beveled much to slip over the case rim. Still not a good practice as it ruins the extractor eventually. Sound like you're is beveled a lot, my Swede is not.

Notice little bevel on the Mauser on left and lots on the Winchester 70 on right.

Mausers with claw extractors (until 1893) were designed for magazine feed only as specified by the Army; they did not want soldiers loading single rounds. As stated, the bolt won't close on them (usually), will close hard, or can break the extractor if you try.
Contrary to US and British tactical doctrine which not only allowed but practiced single loading, saving the magazine for attacks or rapid fire.
Hence the inclusion of the magazine cutoff; retained on the Springfields through the entire production of 03 and 03A3s; the British SMLE was dropped in 1916 with the #1MK3*. I think it was 1916.
The 1917 and P14 Enfields, while having no cutoff, still allow single loading.

As I duly pointed out dcpd. I would be a shame if that is what the op did, but then again, a blessing that nothing major is wrong.