Last weekend I loaded my once fired 43 Mauser brass without sizing since I had broken my lee shell holder and had a very stuck case in the lee sizing die. This actually worked pretty well since I could finger seat the bullets and ensure they were pressing up against the wad. I used the crimp die to lock the bullet in place but could still rotate it since I didn't have much neck tension.
This weekend I got my RCBS 43 mauser dies set and went about full length sizing and trimming my twice fired 43 mauser brass. I then used the neck expander die to apply a slight flare. I primed the brass and loaded with with 77gr of FFg Goex. I compressed it by about 1/10" using a 44 cal compression die. I still managed to finger seat the bullet but I had to press a lot harder. I then used the bullet seating die to apply a crimp.
When I got to the range I fired some cases and bout half of them cracked 2/3 of the way between the case head and shoulder. All of the cases which cracked, cracked at nearly the same point. Since I had trimmed the cases and knew the length they started at I measured them when I got home and they had grown by at most 0.010". Not sure if this is too much or just right. Either way I decided to scrap even the uncracked cases due to safety concerns, and ordered new Bertram brass which costs $3.50 per piece.
Due to the price I really don't want to ruin them this time. I think my biggest mistake was the FL sizing when the brass was already fire formed to the chamber. I would like to be able to just neck size so I can get some tension to hold the bullet but no one seems to make a neck sizing die. Someone recommended that I just do a partial FL sizing, but I have heard this can cause the case to elongate and not chamber. Any suggestions?
This weekend I got my RCBS 43 mauser dies set and went about full length sizing and trimming my twice fired 43 mauser brass. I then used the neck expander die to apply a slight flare. I primed the brass and loaded with with 77gr of FFg Goex. I compressed it by about 1/10" using a 44 cal compression die. I still managed to finger seat the bullet but I had to press a lot harder. I then used the bullet seating die to apply a crimp.
When I got to the range I fired some cases and bout half of them cracked 2/3 of the way between the case head and shoulder. All of the cases which cracked, cracked at nearly the same point. Since I had trimmed the cases and knew the length they started at I measured them when I got home and they had grown by at most 0.010". Not sure if this is too much or just right. Either way I decided to scrap even the uncracked cases due to safety concerns, and ordered new Bertram brass which costs $3.50 per piece.
Due to the price I really don't want to ruin them this time. I think my biggest mistake was the FL sizing when the brass was already fire formed to the chamber. I would like to be able to just neck size so I can get some tension to hold the bullet but no one seems to make a neck sizing die. Someone recommended that I just do a partial FL sizing, but I have heard this can cause the case to elongate and not chamber. Any suggestions?
Another 'and then', the firing pin did not drive the case shoulder forward to the the chamber shoulder