Quick question concerning a case guage

**luckyned7** · February 3rd, 2013, 09:32 PM

Hi, I have another post running about some AR trouble but I purchased a Dillon 223 case guage and was hoping to find the source of my troubles but it lead to a strange result. Should all my used brass fit nicely in the guage before I resized it!? Whats up with that? I assumed it would not fit after firing if it is set to test min specs.

**red dog** · February 3rd, 2013, 10:18 PM

fired cases from different guns or of different brands will show differently in your guage. i use case guages to set up my sizing dies. guages can be used as a diagnostic tool to check chamber and headspace issues. to answer your question, no. not all of your brass will fit the guage before reloading. i have several rifles that produce used brass that still fits in a guage, others will not.

**red dog** · February 3rd, 2013, 10:22 PM

i saw your other post. lets not beat around the bush. what issues exactly are you having with your ar? give us specifics. type/brand, factory built/homebuilt,caliber, barrel length, gas or piston ect. the more info you give the better the response.

**luckyned7** · February 3rd, 2013, 11:47 PM

Well..it is all over in the other post under rifles but the AR is used, appears to be in good shape, no piston, a plain-jane Dpms in 5.56 chamber that has handloads lock-up in the chamber..ie. fails to extract...but try hard enough to tear through the rim where the extractor was gripping it. The load is a standard load of H335 in once fired LC brass. I'm assuming I have a tight chamber but the case die from Dillon says the brass is in spec. I need more range trips in between but in the meantime I've found a gentlemen here that will go-nogo the chamber soon, replaced the great looking extractor and upgraded to the defender style washer, gently polished the chamber, and am beginning to suspect my Lee Factory Crimp setting if I have a super-tight chamber. Keep in mind that I have no burps on military ball ammo so far.

**Sheldon** · February 4th, 2013, 02:46 AM

What do the fired primers look like?? I would guess your reloads are too hot if milsurp ammo works fine......but the promers would show signs if that were the case.

**red dog** · February 4th, 2013, 05:34 AM

i would say the gun is not the problem. if factory mil spec doesn,t burp and the handloads do that says it all. check every aspect of your reloads, powder qty., rezero your scale, case guage your brass after resizing, imo full length resize not just neck, check oal after loading, check crimping. don,t forget to check your finished reloads in your guage if they don,t fit they will give you problems. follow the instruction using your guage. there is a correct way. as sheldon said check some of the loads that did not work, hows the primer look? flat and smashed looking indicates excessive pressure. if you are using anything close to max loads back off 10% and work up towards max slowly stop when you see signs of problems, back off several 10ths and stop. these are just a starting point. i,m not trying to bust on you, just want to be helpful. we have all had something we just can,t seem to wrap our thoughts around. my guess it is a little detail in the reload that is causing you problem. good luck red dog just had a brain fart. are yours loads after you complete them clean? don,t leave sizing lube on the cases. some of these lubes can be downright sticky. hence extraction issues.