Contender reloading question

O

onlybrowning

New member
I have been told to be careful resizing rimless cases for a Contender or Encore pistol. It was told that if the brass is sized too small (maybe even to "factory" or even slightly larger) that the headspacing will be too great and can cause light primer strikes. I am trying to use the method of sizing the brass until the action just closes, but the action closes just fine on not sized fired brass. What gives? :confused:
 
T

The Tourist

Moderator
I have heard every rumor and urban legend about headspacing and proper sizing since I started to handload in 1974. Much of it is "gun counter talk."

The assumption is that all chambers and leade space are equal in every firearm of that calibre, and additionally all brass is the same thickness when processed in dies of the same reaming diameter.

Here's an example. I had two Ruger rifles in .243 WIN.

One was a heavy-barreled 77 for varmints, and the other an old style Ruger Ultra light.

One evening I noticed that some sized brass made it hard to close the bolt.

Now, your assumption might be that the varmint rifle had "tighter tolerances." Incorrect. The heavier 77 was almost 'sloppy' in configuration. Just about any brass of any size fit the chamber.

The Ultra Light, however, forced me to full length size under tight procedures. That being, turn the sizing die down until it hit the shell holder, back the lever off a bit, and turn it down one more half turn.

In short, do some experimenting. Find the right combination of sizing procedures for your firearm.
 
S

Scorch

New member
When you get into some of the fire-breathing calibers, you do not want any headspace at all as it will shorten your brass life to 1 or 2 reloadings. I had a 357 Herrett, and it was very picky about brass sizing. If you sized the brass enough to touch the shoulder, it would separate cases on the next firing, if you sized just the neck area the cases would last 4-5 firings. If I pushed the shoulder back too far when forming the brass, it would separate on the first firing. Fired brass would chamber fine and the action would close snugly. I never had to worry about light strikes, my Contender always fired reliably.
 
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