I’m reloading .223 on a Dillon 550. A very easy load, 23.75gr of varget, CCI small rifle primer and mixed commercial brass (I also do this load in LC brass as well).
I’m very careful to measure trim all my brass and run it thru a Dillon case gauge. The resulting rounds are also rechecked in the case gauge, remeasured for OAL (2.230 per Dillon) and weighed to insure proper powder charge and inspected for bad primers, damage, etc.
The rounds load, feed and fire fine in my LMT with a Colt upper and in Heather’s Colt lower with a Sabre Defence upper. I’ve probably shot 2k or more of this load in those rifles with only a few hiccups (couple of bad primers, and a few crimps failing during chambering (FT Feed).
The second I try to run them in the PWS piston upper with a White Oak barrel (Wylde) chamber, I get either a bolt that won’t close completely (within a hair or so) and/or won’t extract. It’ll eat new XM193 all day, but the second I go over to these reloads, gag city.
I’m fairly sure its got something to do with that Wylde chamber of the White Oak barrel, and Ned and I talked about it (thanks Ned). But any additional input would be welcome.
Well if they run fine in your other rifles, maybe the throat of the barrel in question is a little smaller and thats why they won’t seat all the way when loaded. I had a similar problem with some Corbon 380 rounds. The bullet was a little out of spec and the rounds would not seat all the way. I sent them back to Corbon and sure enough the projectiles in the 380 rounds were out of spec just enough. It might be that the barrel in question was designed for varmint loads? I don’t know that brand of upper. The problem with the 380 rounds was the taper of the projectile. A little fat right at the case when seated in the brass. Things to take a look at in either case. Hope this helps.
Shooting those cases in a Colt or Sabre then trying to shoot them in a Wylde chamber you’re going to probably need a small-base body die rather than a full-length.
The MILSPEC chambers are oh-so-much fatter than the Wylde. If you try to shoot full-length sized brass from a MILSPEC into a tighter commercial .223 chamber without small-base sizing you may get a slam-fire (been there-done that).
The case is fatter just above the extractor ring (you’ll fail to lock forward), and if fed and chambered (with the inertia of the bolt carrier group) you risk a slam-fire (if it catches on the way in) or failure to extract (on the way out).
It may be really tough to extract and eject an unfired cartridge.
You can salvage/quick fix ammo you’ve already loaded by running it through a Redding Small-Base Body die. The instructions say to never do this.
I have a Wylde chamber in my national match and a NATO chamber in my carbine. I easily run the same hand loaded ammo through both rifles with no issues at all. I check them with a Wilson case gauge and they fit easily. I wonder if the real issue isn’t that the piston upper needs more pressure to function. The XM193 ammo is hotter than most things we can load (as consumers) so gas pressure at the port is definitely higher. Also, the XM ammo is magazine length, so I think that the throat might not be the issue (you should check it though). Failure to eject might mean not enough pressure, and a failure to feed might be the same problem (not enough “run” to get the round into the chamber. Clearly I’m guessing, but you might try a little more powder and see what happens.
Sorry, didn’t understand. FWIW, I use a redding type S full bushing die. I do bump the shoulder, full length size and tightly control the neck diameter all within this die. My loads have been ran in a variety of AR’s belonging to my buddies without a hiccup. Here are some chamber dimensions…I would check the shoulder dims. Good luck.
I had this same problem reloading for a Larue complete upper. I use a Dillon 3 die set for 223, and I had to set it back just a smidge. After that life was good
BTW: I use a 650 for all my 223 loading (bulk and match)
I am having the same issue as KellyTTE with my LMT Gas Piston rifle. I reloaded a few rounds as well as a few commercial rounds do not close the bolt all the way and when trying to extract the rounds I need to butt stroke the rifle on the ground with the side of my left hand on the charging handle extracting the round that way. Any help or suggestions are appreciated. I will try to keep tinkering with my ammo setting the shoulder back to see if that works. Would a small base body die help as well? What exactly does that do? Thanks.
Designed to full length resize the case body and bump the shoulder without disturbing the case neck. The Small Base Body Dies are for use with firearms with custom chamberings that are tighter than SAAMI Specifications.
What makes it useful is that it resizes near the base where Sinister correctly guessed my problem was. Even though other dies are ‘full length’, the small base dies seems to do ‘more’ of the case near the base.
Thanks for the help. I will try and look at getting the small base body die. Additionally, it was said I can salvage the ammo by running it through the small base body die instead of having to pull the bullet, recapture powder, etc. I assume not recommended cause something could go boom.
Well, lets just say if you get a case stuck your life just became miserable, so make sure that the ammo you need to ‘recycle’ is well lubed. Unlike a ‘regular’ die, getting a live round out is pretty unpleasant task that involve a vise, armor and all sorts of ear/eye pro.
