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Headspace

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daniel.phelps.56

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So I'm new to reloading and I'm learning as I go as I have no one to show me.
I'm starting to learn about headspace and how it affects my handloads. On the ones I've done so far the bolt of my rifle is hard to close/open when cycling rounds. As I understand this should mean I dont have enough headspace and need to screw my die in small turns to.achieve the right amount. Am I right?
 
could be several things.

case overall length too long( needs trimming)

case shoulder not set back enough.. Screw your FL seating die in a bit more

Too long COAL forcing the bullet into the rifling.


we need more information.

what is your equipment and how did you setup your sizing die

COAL of your loaded rounds(what caliber)

did you check the overall length of the brass after sizing
 
jglenn is right.

1.) Resize a case and measure the OAL. Is that in spec? (If it is, then it's probably not the case neck being too long.)
2.) Try chambering that case-- with no bullet. What happens? (We're ruling out the bullet hitting the lands.)

Really though, it's likely you aren't resizing the cases enough. Put the ram up all the way in your press. The resizing die should be touching the caseholder. In fact, you should feel the ram jamming the caseholder into the base of the die, as the handle "cams over". If you don't do this, you won't resize the base of the cases. Which won't matter at all-- right up until it does. : )

You should START OUT with the die set up like this, then back it out only when know you have a reason to do so. Some resistance when "camming over" is where you start... I'll bet this is the issue.

Besides that-- what caliber, and what press? If you are new to reloading, I hope you haven't jumped straight into doing rifle cartridges on a progressive press, with no one to help you... there's a lot to doing that right.

What is your goal? Cheaper ammo? Specialized ammo? More accurate ammo?

If you are new, making cartridges that feed and function is a lot more important than headspace. Tweaking HS matters for maximizing case life and accuracy, but most folks won't ever know the difference. It depends on your goals, but "bumping back the shoulder", "neck sizing", and so forth are advanced techniques. If you're shooting $3/case brass, it becomes a more urgent issue than if you are loading .223, for example. I never gave it any thought until I had rifle headspace gauges, case neck gauges, cartridge headspace gauges etc. Without those tools, you aren't really improving your process. At least not in a controlled way.
 
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You can check your rifle by using an unloaded case with the projectile at greater than max oal and chambering it slowly. No primer of course. slowly pull the bolt back and remove the round. Check the length.
If its more than the published max overall length then you will be ok loading to max published oal or less. BTW make sure case length is within specs before trying this.
 
Sorry for the lack of info in the first post. I.checked the coal after resizing and they were spot on and the OL is spot on as well. They're 22-250 and I'm using Hornady FL dies and a Lee single stage. I set the die up as instructed screwing it in until it touched the shell holder.
 
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