i just had my rifle rebarreled.went out and fireformed some brass and then sent some through the resizing die.trouble is they then measure out to 1.80-1.85.i think the trim to length is 1.891 so they are a hair short.am i doing something wrong
thanks

Joey: Is the caliber and make of the rifle and barrel some huge secret? Tom Purdom

oops!it is a mod 70 win.22-250.it was rebarrelled with a northwest prec.barrel.

oops again !sorry long day.it is an ackley improved

When you fireform the brass not only expands but pulls metal from the ends like the web and neck.

What die did you size them with the FL or neck die? They are not that short. Use them as they are as long as they are close to each other in length.

Joey,
When fireforming for Ackley calibers I find the brass is almost always short. I just find the shortest case in the bunch, set the trimmer to square the mouth and trim all the rest to this lenght. Sort by weight and start having some fun. The reason they're short is the factory usually makes the brass close to trim length and when the case is fireformed to the lesser body taper and sharper shoulder it needs to get the brass from somewhere. Hence the shorter brass. Headspace is what you want to watch for. Make sure you don't bump the shoulder back 'till the cases won't chamber anymore. Then they should only be set back enough to allow chambering again.

I have too much load notes on fire forming 257 Ackley Improved brass to post here, but I can some rattle off some generalizations.

The things to look out for:
1) extra headspace, I made a mistake and chambered the rifle with a 257 Roberts case as a gauge. This make the chamber .004" too long with the firing pin pushing the case forward. The cure for this is a lubed case. I use Imperial sizing wax.
2) Case failure, this happens just rear of the shoulder. The cure is to reduce powder charge.
3) Incomplete shoulder forming. The cure for this is to increase the powder charge or fire more than once.
4) Neck is short. The cure for this is to clean chamber neck, not lube case necks, and increase powder charge. Or fire form without a bullet and just use cream of wheat.
5) Lumpy looking brass. The cure for this is to clean the chamber of spilled cream of wheat.
6) Spilling cream of wheat. The cure for this is to cap the case with bar soap or load and shoot with the muzzle pointed upwards.
7) Loose primer pocket. The cure for this is to reduce powder charge.

Strategies I have used for big quantities:
1) Bullseye powder and cheap bullets: narrow margin between neck shortening and primer pocket loosening. If the necks is not lubed, a crack may form behind the shoulder.
2)Fire forming with Cream of Wheat: A fully formed shoulder may be hard to achieve. With 2400 powder neck growth of .009" can be done. Best compromise is small charge of Unique and accept 90% shoulder forming.

Oh, and I should add: The combination of bullet and Cream of Wheat cause burned lumps stuck inside the case.

[ 05-12-2003, 00:27: Message edited by: Clark ]