Reloads jamming in AR 15 Chamber

[Spazman137]

Hello Everyone and happy new year:

So here is my dilemma: I am not new to reloading however I have been reloading for about 5 years now. I recently started reloading 6 mm arc and ran into an issue with my live reloaded rounds jamming in the chamber and unable to manually extract that round. When I put a factory round in the chamber I can manually extract the with no issue. I took all the correct steps for reloading I believe: Annealed, deprimed and resized, trimmed my brass and all my measurements are within spec. However my Reloaded rounds do go into battery and they do cycle properly I just cannot manually extract my Reloads. so is it safe to say this is ok or not ?

 

[mehavey]

Your problem is likely (99%). . .
- Insufficient resizing. (Gas guns should fully-resized/slight cam-over to accommodate press spring) *
- Shoulder-swell from crimping while seating. (Crimp not req'd on 223/AR's. Is the seating die body set to crimp? or adjusted too far down?) *


* Diagnosis: Does a re-sized But_Not_Loaded case chamber and extract OK?

 

[olduser]

It is not OK. You need to find the problem and correct it. Is your OAL correct for the bullet you are using? I have seen rounds stick because the bullet is being jammed into the rifling. Try coating the bullet with a black magic marker and chamber it. Remove it and examine the bullet for signs of contact with the bore. If it is contacting to bore just seat a bullet a little deeper and see if that helps.
If it is not the bullet then it has to be a case sizing problem.

 

[ciwsguy]

Had a similar issue with 6.5 Grendel and .223 Remington

Reloaded 6.5 Grendel that had been fired in my AR-15. Reloaded (full-sized) and chamber checked in my Lyman chamber ammo checker and looked good. Took to the range with my CZ-527 6.5 Grendel and some reloads would not fully seat into the chamber. Took it home and pulled the bullets and dumped the powder in the affected reloads. Brass would still not fully chamber in my CZ. Turned out to the the shoulder did not bump enough in the full length sizing die. Bumped the shoulder down a bit and the case would then chamber easily.
Similar issues had occurred with .223 Remington fired from my AR that would not seat into my bolt .223 gun.
Bottom line is I now check the resized brass with both AR and bolt gun before I load with powder and bullets


Two bits.

 

[tangolima]

Reloaded 6.5 Grendel that had been fired in my AR-15. Reloaded (full-sized) and chamber checked in my Lyman chamber ammo checker and looked good. Took to the range with my CZ-527 6.5 Grendel and some reloads would not fully seat into the chamber.

Brass / ammo gauges are for entertainment only. Check with the only gauge that matters; the gun's chamber.

Bullet jamming into riflings is a possibility.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[mehavey]

Brass / ammo gauges are for entertainment only.

^^ THIS ^^
- In spades -

 

[olduser]

If a sized and not loaded case will chamber and eject properly you do not have a sizing problem, you have a bullet seating problem.

 

[603Country]

Get a Body Die. You can bump the shoulder on loaded rounds with that. I’ve done it when I had a couple hundred rounds that wouldn’t chamber in the new barrel. It isn’t expensive and is good to have in the ‘toolbox’. Or, get a Redding Bushing Die and remove the primer punch and the bushing. Then you have a good resizing die that you can use as a Body Die. And if the OP has bulged the case shoulder when crimping, the Body Die will smooth that out.

I had a bothersome chambering problem with the 223 and 64 gr Nosler bonded Solid Base bullets. That particular issue was solved by seating the bullet a bit deeper. Only that bullet (or bullet shape) was a problem.

 

[mehavey]

- edited -

 

[44 AMP]

Since the OP has not yet come back ....

He only joined the forum yesterday, give him a little time to respond.

 

[mehavey]

No impatience/offense intended... only that we (the immaculate cognoscenti)
needed to have his feedback before getting too fur afield.

op cit edited to that effect.

 

[Spazman137]

Thank you everyone for responses: so I took a fired case resized it, trimmed it placed it in the chamber. goes into battery but cannot manually eject. so i believe i need bump the shoulder back .002. will let you know what happens.

 

[mehavey]

`Glad you got the problem isolated.

- However -

I strongly recommend you not play shoulder-bump with a gas gun.
Go ahead and Full Length re-size (w/some Press cam-over) that case.

 

[Nathan]

I strongly recommend you not play shoulder-bump with a gas gun.
Go ahead and Full Length re-size (w/some Press cam-over) that case.

What does that mean to you? Measuring bump and 0.200” line diameter will likely show him his issue.

IME, some AR brass gets so hammered in the firing process, it gets too oversized and too hard to reload. When I’m loading, I find these and toss them. The feel harder to FL size.

 

[mehavey]

I believe the OP's already identified the issue on his own (mucho kudos)

That accomplished, I suggest not trying to finesse shoulder bumping where
a gas gun is involved.

and . . .

If FL resizing becomes impractical over time as the brass is increasingly beat up,
I agree w/ you to toss it.

 

[HiBC]

A question for the OP.

When you install your SEATER die in the press, do you screw it in until it contacts the shellholder, with the ram up? If you do, we need to talk. Thats incorrect.

Regarding "Finessing shoulder bump" for a gas gun....Refer to Zoedecker's book on Reloading for Competition Shooters or the Precision Shooting manual on the same topic. Sizing your ammo to a known head clearance is critical to both safety and brass life.
There are multiple ways to measure brass fired in a particular gun before and after full length sizing to note the change.

A " Cartridge Headspace Bushing Gauge" * (Yes,I know. Cartridges do not have headspace.) such as a Wilson is a useful tool to measure the brass before and after sizing. It also has a High/Low limit step to indicate the brass head to shoulder length is within SAAMI spec



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Different topic: Bushing gauges,

I've noticed there is some confusion about their use. There are two distinct types.
One is used to determine if the resizing process restores the case head to shoulder length back to SAAMI spec,
It is designed to measure length,not diameter. The diameters are cut oversize.

These are typically referred to as "Cartridge Headspace Bushing Gauges" Wilson is a popular brand.

These gauges are WRONG to use for a plunk gauge to quality check ammo for chamber fit. If you use them for a plunk gauge A) You will be disappointed and B) You do not understand the use of the tool.

There is a different type of gauge that is cut to approx SAAMI minimum chamber dimensions (Max Material Condition)

This gauge will tell you if the ammo will fit into any SAAMI chamber. It IS correct to use for a plunk gauge.

 

[mehavey]

Regarding "Finessing shoulder bump" for a gas gun....Refer to Zoedecker's book on Reloading
for Competition Shooters or the Precision Shooting manual on the same topic. Sizing your ammo
to a known head clearance is critical to both safety and brass life.

Granted it's M-14/M1A guidance, but I still recommend Full-length resize and toss after a half-dozen reloads for everyday gas guns.
Increased brass life? Leave the sizing lube on the cases. But by that time (5-6 reloads), 223/5.56 primer pockets are likely starting to loosen up anyway.

.

 

[Unclenick]

Spazman137,

I think you will find that if you take one of your fired cases and wipe it off, that it will chamber. Only after resizing will it fail to chamber. This is because, as you push a case into the resizing die, the sides of the case make contact with the sides of the die before the shoulder of the case reaches the shoulder in the die. That side contact squeezes the case, making it narrower but also making it longer from head to shoulder because the squeezed brass has to go somewhere, and the shoulder isn't yet blocking length growth. By the time the case shoulder reaches the die shoulder, the case is longer at the shoulder than as-fired, and the shoulder has to be formed back more than it would have needed if the sides of the die didn't make contact first. That's why your cases haven't been fitting.

Incidentally, because your cases get longer before you form the shoulder back where it needs to be, that last forming also has extra brass that needs to go somewhere, and that somewhere is up into the neck. This is what grows the head-to-mouth overall length of resized cases until they need trimming and is normal for bottleneck cases.

 

[Metal god]

The OP says he's been reloading for 5 years but did not say if he has been reloading bottle neck cases that long . I suspect this is his first tries at the more advanced reloading requirements of bottle neck resizing . Had he done this before he would have already worked this out .

It's almost always a shoulder bump/placement issue in these cases . Why there is an issue could be multiple reasons .

I will add that I did see the OP state he annealed the cases ...... I'd like to know why he annealed ( could have good reason ) I'd also like to hear more about the method and annealing temp he achieved or attempted to achieve and why that temp was chosen ? I ask because if he went to dead soft on the neck and shoulder , that messes with sizing as it relates to spring back as well as possible seating issues especially if seating and crimping in the same step . Neck and shoulder may be to soft causing deformation/buckling during the seat and crimp process .

 

[ciwsguy]

Brass / ammo gauges are for entertainment only. Check with the only gauge that matters; the gun's chamber.

Bullet jamming into riflings is a possibility.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Brass / ammo gauges are for entertainment only. Check with the only gauge that matters; the gun's chamber.
Answer: did you not read what I wrote? I said that.

Bullet jamming into riflings is a possibility.
Answer: did you not read what I wrote? Duh - when you pull the bullet and dump the powder and it still won't seat, then the bullet is NOT the issue.