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Posted: 10/8/2013 9:55:02 AM EDT
| How necessary is it to concern myself with headspace in my .223 rounds if my case length and COL is within limits? Using a Lyman headspace gauge, alot of my rounds the head protrudes ever so slightly to where a straight edge will not clear the cartridge head. I have talked to long time reloaders that say its not that big a deal. What do you guys think? BTW never had a problem with them yet. |
| Take the cases that will not fit into the Lyman gauge and see if they chamber and extract with ease in your rifle. If the bolt will not close with little to no effort, then you need to worry about "headspace" as you do not have your dies set correctly. If they do chamber and extract with ease, then you do not have to worry. |
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Headspace is as important as case length and more important than COAL.
Allowing case length to be too long is a safety issue. Too short is not a problem as long as case holds the bullet securely. Wrong headspace may mean failure to chamber and lock the bolt properly. Too short may limit case life or allow a case head separation. Super short may mean firing pin cannot hit primer properly. COAL too long may mean bullet gets stuffed into in the lands, usually raising pressure (although VLD bullets generally prefer this condition). COAL too short may adversely affect feeding. |
| OK thanks guys. My case length is good, as is the COAL. But when I place some of these rounds in a case gage, the head sticks out just a teeny bit. I've tried re-setting my sizing die by running the shell holder all the way up...then screwing down the die until it touches. Then I drop the ram and screw the die down 1/4 turn more and lock down. Does that sound correct? And also if I need to bump the shoulders back, what is the normal procedure? |
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Quoted:
OK thanks guys. My case length is good, as is the COAL. But when I place some of these rounds in a case gage, the head sticks out just a teeny bit. I've tried re-setting my sizing die by running the shell holder all the way up...then screwing down the die until it touches. Then I drop the ram and screw the die down 1/4 turn more and lock down. Does that sound correct? And also if I need to bump the shoulders back, what is the normal procedure? 1/4 turn should do it, but if it doesn't, keep screwing it in a little at a time until it fits. |
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Quoted:
1/4 turn should do it, but if it doesn't, keep screwing it in a little at a time until it fits. Quoted:
Quoted:
OK thanks guys. My case length is good, as is the COAL. But when I place some of these rounds in a case gage, the head sticks out just a teeny bit. I've tried re-setting my sizing die by running the shell holder all the way up...then screwing down the die until it touches. Then I drop the ram and screw the die down 1/4 turn more and lock down. Does that sound correct? And also if I need to bump the shoulders back, what is the normal procedure? 1/4 turn should do it, but if it doesn't, keep screwing it in a little at a time until it fits. OK I've just tried doing that. Still won't fit flush with the top of the case gauge. I tried another 1/8 turn...then another 1/8 turn until the tension became so much that I couldn't pull the handle down any farther. The bullet head still will not fit flush or below flush on the case gauge. Is this a situation where a small base sizing die is the only answer? Midway has the RCBS in stock. And is a small base die considered a full length die that could replace my current full size die, or does it have to work in conjunction with it? |
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Quoted:
OK I've just tried doing that. Still won't fit flush with the top of the case gauge. I tried another 1/8 turn...then another 1/8 turn until the tension became so much that I couldn't pull the handle down any farther. The bullet head still will not fit flush or below flush on the case gauge. Is this a situation where a small base sizing die is the only answer? Midway has the RCBS in stock. And is a small base die considered a full length die that could replace my current full size die, or does it have to work in conjunction with it? Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OK thanks guys. My case length is good, as is the COAL. But when I place some of these rounds in a case gage, the head sticks out just a teeny bit. I've tried re-setting my sizing die by running the shell holder all the way up...then screwing down the die until it touches. Then I drop the ram and screw the die down 1/4 turn more and lock down. Does that sound correct? And also if I need to bump the shoulders back, what is the normal procedure? 1/4 turn should do it, but if it doesn't, keep screwing it in a little at a time until it fits. OK I've just tried doing that. Still won't fit flush with the top of the case gauge. I tried another 1/8 turn...then another 1/8 turn until the tension became so much that I couldn't pull the handle down any farther. The bullet head still will not fit flush or below flush on the case gauge. Is this a situation where a small base sizing die is the only answer? Midway has the RCBS in stock. And is a small base die considered a full length die that could replace my current full size die, or does it have to work in conjunction with it? No, I doubt it. Check these sized cases and see if they chamber and extract with ease in your rifle. If not, then maybe a SB die is the answer, if they do chamber and extract with ease, load em and shoot em. I thought I read somewhere on here that there were some Lyman 223 case gauges that were out of spec or defective? Cut the shoulder off a piece of offending brass so it looks like a straight walled pistol case. Run it through your 223 sizing die and see if it fits your gauge. If not, then you know your shoulder bump/length is not the problem, it's most likely the gauge. |
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Quoted:
No, I doubt it. Check these sized cases and see if they chamber and extract with ease in your rifle. If not, then maybe a SB die is the answer, if they do chamber and extract with ease, load em and shoot em. I thought I read somewhere on here that there were some Lyman 223 case gauges that were out of spec or defective? Cut the shoulder off a piece of offending brass so it looks like a straight walled pistol case. Run it through your 223 sizing die and see if it fits your gauge. If not, then you know your shoulder bump/length is not the problem, it's most likely the gauge. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
OK thanks guys. My case length is good, as is the COAL. But when I place some of these rounds in a case gage, the head sticks out just a teeny bit. I've tried re-setting my sizing die by running the shell holder all the way up...then screwing down the die until it touches. Then I drop the ram and screw the die down 1/4 turn more and lock down. Does that sound correct? And also if I need to bump the shoulders back, what is the normal procedure? 1/4 turn should do it, but if it doesn't, keep screwing it in a little at a time until it fits. OK I've just tried doing that. Still won't fit flush with the top of the case gauge. I tried another 1/8 turn...then another 1/8 turn until the tension became so much that I couldn't pull the handle down any farther. The bullet head still will not fit flush or below flush on the case gauge. Is this a situation where a small base sizing die is the only answer? Midway has the RCBS in stock. And is a small base die considered a full length die that could replace my current full size die, or does it have to work in conjunction with it? No, I doubt it. Check these sized cases and see if they chamber and extract with ease in your rifle. If not, then maybe a SB die is the answer, if they do chamber and extract with ease, load em and shoot em. I thought I read somewhere on here that there were some Lyman 223 case gauges that were out of spec or defective? Cut the shoulder off a piece of offending brass so it looks like a straight walled pistol case. Run it through your 223 sizing die and see if it fits your gauge. If not, then you know your shoulder bump/length is not the problem, it's most likely the gauge. OK first I must apologize, in my OP I stated that my case gauge was a Lyman, when in fact I meant LE Wilson. Sorry about the confusion. I'll check those cases whos head doesn't fit flush with the top of gauge. |
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First thing to do with a Lyman gage when a case sticks out is to reverse the case to find out if the case head will fit.
Lyman gages are cut too small for .223 Rem cases that have rims that run 0.378 inches diameter, the high side of the dimension. The second thing to do with a Lyman gage is box it with a couple of cases that have measured to confirm the headspace is okay but the rims are large, and send them to Lyman with a note. They need to fix their gages. Both the Wilson and Lyman gages cause the sizer die to be set up to produce 0.008 inches of headspace. A case that protrudes two or three thousandths out of a Wilson gage will no doubt function just fine in guns that weren't custom chambered. Hence comments about the other reloaders, although I'd ask them if they know why the cases will be okay. |
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