case neck size

[sparkz]

I am having trouble with sizing of a bottleneck case,223rem.Is there a size it should be opened to accept the bullet? I do not want toleave it too small,my fear is if it too tight it will make chamber pressure too great. sparkz are fun.
Kaboom very bad.

[WMG]

1st suggestion , find someone nearby who has been reloading for awhile and knows what they are doing to help guide you. Now how do I say this?
If you're bullet is in the neck of the case and you have not boogered up the bullet or case , it is not going to be too tight , actually you need/want a snug fit so it don't fall out or get pushed in and you need it for proper pressures. Now if you are crimping the bullet you can over crimp , however when you over crimp you will know it cause you will booger the case up and maybe the bullet also.
Why are you having troubles sizing the neck? Are you shaving the bullet as it gets seated? If so you hole is too small and probably have an undersized plug or you're using the wrong bullets.
But if you just think it is too tight and the case and bullet are not boogered up , you are fine , you shouldn't be pulling the bullets out by hand and when you have it to tight the case will bulge or you might even crush it some.

[secretbard]

Originally Posted by sparkz

I am having trouble with sizing of a bottleneck case,223rem.Is there a size it should be opened to accept the bullet? I do not want toleave it too small,my fear is if it too tight it will make chamber pressure too great. sparkz are fun.
Kaboom very bad.

Your biggest concern is for the bullet pushing itself into the case on chambering, which will cause dangerously high pressures. How tight the neck is to the bullet is not an issue. In a matter of fact, if you are shooting this bullet out of a semi-auto, you will want to have some kind of a crimp. I personally prefer a factory crimp as would be placed on the neck by say a Lee factory crimp die. As far as how small the neck is for the fitting of the bullet, if you use a chamfer tool after trimming, it will make the seating a bit easier. Also, if you seat boat-tail bullets, it will likewise be easier.

[sparkz]

Thanks for the advice. Well if there's anybody out there willing to go over the do's and don'ts on their press or mine please contact me,I'm near 611 and the turnpike in hatboro pa.

[Dave D.]

Sparkz,

You don't need to worry about excessive chamber pressure caused by the case neck gripping the bullet too tight; it just ain't gonna happen. And in any event, the expander ball in your sizing die should automatically give you the right neck size to hold the bullet firmly in place.

Just for reference, the .223 Rem Full Length Sizing Die in my RCBS Rockchucker gives me a neck I.D. of between 0.219" and 0.221", depending on the initial condition of the brass. At these sizes, bullets cannot be forced into the neck with finger pressure, nor can I pull them out with my fingers once seated; however, they can be seated and extracted easily via the press.

Are you actually having a problem operating your reloading setup (i.e., something not working right), or are you just worried or unsure about something? Kinda hard to tell which from your post.

Hope this helps a bit...

Dave D.

[sparkz]

Well i tried toseat a bullet and it slid in with slight finger pressure. It took 2 days of re-reading directions to get it worked out, but i did .Now i'm gonna try my
30-06,and adjust like I learned from the 223. thanks for the suggestions one and all