When I decamped my .308 brass this last time some of the brass got resized too big. The bullet simply falls out or is loose when loaded. Is there a way to shrink the casing? These brass are already primed as well. Any help would be nice! Thanks.

This darn Auto correct.....decapped brass!

Better check your sizing die. Sounds like the expander ball is too big - maybe you have a 338 ball. Were they hard to size on the out stroke? That can indicate that the expander ball is too large.
After that, your're going to have to resize them. Remove the decapping pin while you're measuring the expander ball. That way you won't have to worry about the primers.

I think Pancho has it right. Have these dies and brass been used before with the same result?
Take out the decapping stem with expander and gently chuck the stem in a drill chuck (you might want to wrap it with tape first). Then turn the drill on and either use a file or sandpaper to polish the expander down. It you have the ability to measure it polish down to .306 or so. If you can't measure just do trial and error until it feels right. That should give you plenty of neck tension.
Good Luck.

It is very easy to over-do it when you are buffing down an expander ball.

I have used this decapping die before and I think the decapping pin moved too high and the brass just was sized to wide. But my real question is whether or not I can use this brass since it is not expanded to much for the correct size of .308? Can I resize it down? It seams that when I decamped all of my 308 brass it all came out the same way. Thanks.

Perhaps it would be helpful if you would describe your reloading procedure step-by-step. That might make it easier to identify where your problem is occurring.

And yes, the brass can be successfully sized down to give proper neck tension to a .308" bullet, but let's first identify where your problem lies.

seems there are three possible causes

1. expanded ball is way too big....have someone with a micrometer check it....it should be around .306...if it's more than .308 then it needs to be replaced

2. The resizing die is worn out and not returning the neck to roughly .304 ID...remove the inside sizing ball and resizre a case and have someone check the case neck ID for diameter.

3. The brass has been neck turned so thin that the brass is not resizing to an ID that can hold a .308 bullet

You're in Houston...there are a lot of very savvy reloaders there that can help you out....find someone and get good advise from a local guy

you are welcome to send me some brass to work on. roger

Before you disassemble your sizing die measure your bullet diameter..

That was my first thought. Make sure you don't have the wrong bullets.

Ok, I know I have the right sizing die, and I know how to work it properly! I have used this die before and it worked just fine. The bullets I am using are the right size as well. So my questions still remains the same....... Can the brass that has been oversized, be resized to the proper smaller size? Is there a way to make the brass smaller in size? This is a newer die set that I have used before! And for the peeps that say a lot of savvy reloaders in the HOUSTON area...... No one likes to help anyone anymore! I have tried to get help around here and that is why I am on a FORUM! I understand what my problem is, I just want to fix the brass that I have and move on.... any help?

Oh and by the way, I have also just made 200 .308 rounds with the ones that didn't resize too big! I was able to find some brass that I decapped that didn't oversize. So with that said..... Can I make brass that is slightly too big, smaller so I don't have to throw out and start all over and waste primers and brass! I have made around 600 usable .308 rounds to date and I have used the same dies for all this! Thanks in advance for the help!

Sounds like the neck thickness on some of your brass is too thin for your sizing die. The die is simply not sizing the neck down far enough. You can measure the neck thickness with a tubing micrometer and compare the ones which will not hold a bullet with those which do. Or you can measure the resized diameter of a case neck which holds a bullet and compare it with one which won't

Is this brass you picked up on the range? Some people (including me) turn the case necks to achieve uniformity and then have to use dies with interchangeable inserts to size them down sufficiently.

quote:

Perhaps it would be helpful if you would describe your reloading procedure step-by-step. That might make it easier to identify where your problem is occurring.

And yes, the brass can be successfully sized down to give proper neck tension to a .308" bullet, but let's first identify where your problem lies.

FozzieBigBear:

It is not easy to help if you won't provide the information needed to help you. Again, describe your reloading procedure so that we might analyze what has caused the problem with the loose necks. All we know at this point is that you have loose necks and aren't happy with either your loose necks or the advice you've so far received. Unfortunately, the advice is only as good as the information on which it is predicated.

And once again, yes, the oversized necks can be sized smaller to make them usable.

Can you feel the neck drawing over the expander ball? If not, then the necks are too thin for the die to size them down properly

To answer your question --- yes it can. It's how people made 25/06 brass from 30/06 brass before the it became a standard round.

Neck the brass down to .284 (7mm) and then neck it back up.

However that doesn't explain what happened but I suspect the brass has become too hard -- if the brass has been reloaded more than 3 or 4 times I'd bite the bullet and get rid of them - after soaking them in oil to kill the primers.

Short answer is you can do it.

Long answer is what the brass is micing out in all dimensions is necessary information to tell you how to do it. You will also have to buy the right equipment depending on what is wrong.

If the neck is too thin, it is one answer.

If the die is not right it is another.

If the brass has been loaded a lot of times, it is different yet, although in that case its probably not worth the effort to get 1 more firing.

If this is range pick up brass, you may have someone's neck turned stuff in there. From what you are saying, I think you have some odd lot brass, but as others have said, you haven't given anyone enough info to tell.

quote:

Originally posted by FozzieBigBear:Can I make brass that is slightly too big, smaller

Remove the expander/decapping assembly, lub outside of case, resize.



308win? Brass is so plenty-full I would not bother do anything but throw it away; way waste time?

After reading all the above, sounds to me like the FozzieBigBear is attemptng reload brass that he thinks has been re-sized; although the Decapping Die he is using for this has accomplished nothing more than poked the spent primer out of the case .....

Yes you can size the cases down again. Just make sure that you die is correctly set up this time.

If you want to save the primers you should be able to remove the decapping pin (not the entire assmebly as that will remove the expander ball and give you very high neck tension) and you should be able to size the cases without popping out the primers. Remember that as you are lubing you want to be careful to keep all the lube off the primers and you will not be able to clean the cases afterwards with a wet process or tumbling. I would clean the case necks out with some sort of acceptable solvent on a jag after resizing, not wetting the entire case.

Try one and see how you go. Maybe post back after you've sized and before you load it up.

quote:

Originally posted by FozzieBigBear:
Oh and by the way, I have also just made 200 .308 rounds with the ones that didn't resize too big!

What do you mean by "Didnt resize too big"? After a round is fired, the brass has expanded at the neck and the whole point of using a "sizer die" is to return the brass back to its original, reloadable size. The only way you could "resize it too big" is to have an expander button that is oversized. I am wondering if your dies were somehow so far out of adjustment in the press that all you did was to pop the spent primers and the neck never got resized at all. ?? You could take a 308 case that has a neck for a 358 slug (358 Win brass), run it through a 308 sizer die and you have 308 brass sized for a 308 caliber slug. Your statement of resizing too big makes little to no sense.

quote:

Originally posted by FozzieBigBear:
I have used this decapping die before and I think the decapping pin moved too high and the brass just was sized to wide. But my real question is whether or not I can use this brass since it is not expanded to much for the correct size of .308? Can I resize it down? It seams that when I decamped all of my 308 brass it all came out the same way. Thanks.

Ill bet you are using a die that is just intended for decapping, period. They are mainly used for removing crimped primers in millsurp brass. If that is the case then you also need a .308 "sizer die".

Id bet dollars to donuts that Westernhunter called it...I bet another dollar to donuts nobody would admit they did that!

quote:

Originally posted by FozzieBigBear:
And for the peeps that say a lot of savvy reloaders in the HOUSTON area...... No one likes to help anyone anymore!

Maybe we can now see the reason for this!

I recognise that a lot of guys don't get to hop in front of a computer every day or even once a week, but I've seen quite a few guys who come on here and the first posts are about their question and they never get back to let anyone know what the outcome was, so no-one gets feedback on what suggestion worked or what the outcome was. That's how people learn here. These are the OP's only posts.

quote:

After reading all the above, sounds to me like the FozzieBigBear is attemptng reload brass that he thinks has been re-sized; although the Decapping Die he is using for this has accomplished nothing more than poked the spent primer out of the case .....

Yep!

I have reloaded .308 brass 10 or 12 times and never had a problem with the neck not sizing back down.....splitting yes. Primer pockets loose yes. Case head seperation yes.

Neck not sizing back down never.

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