.38 Special.

[RoninDelaware]

I have a 158 gr. RNFP,Cowboy I'm loading with 3.1 gr of Bullseye powder, I have sized these down to. 358. Smith and Wesson model 64-5. K frame.
I am hit and miss, on sliding these into the cylinder. Shoots fine. But i have to ram these tight into the gun. I shoukdnt have to do that. Even when my rounds are the same off the reload. I have tweeked em out lower and tighter. No effect. Looking into the cylinder, I see rust ??? Its not leading. Rust pockets? Throwing my full case seating off ? What the hell? Anyone understand what's happening here ?

[Tim357]

Any chance you are over crimping? This would cause a bulge just below the neck. Use a micrometer or calipers to measure the diameter of the case just below the bullet.

[Outpost75]

Lee Factory Crimp Die!

[Bzcraig]

Also measure your throats, sounds like they may be off. Member Dougguy has done throat work for several members.

[Motor]

I have "gotten away with" again "fixing" tight rounds by running them though the post sizing ring of a Lee FCD but it's not the best thing to do when using cast or plated boolits.

The FCD can swage the boolits down within the case reducing or even destroying your neck tension.

Op. You need to find out what is in your cylinder bores first. The over crimp possibility as posted above is also a good thing to look at.

In my case I was just too used to the generous dimensions of auto loaders. Once I started sizing my boolits. 358" my cylinder charging problems went away.

Motor

[skizzums]

I will also go with crimping. I jad the same issue first i loaded cast 38. Some of my bullets, i missed the crimp groove completly and the crimp made the mouth too fat to chamber. Good luck.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

There is no telling what that substance in the throats might be. It could even be the carbonized remains from some kind of lube. Try taking a case which has outlived its usefulness, making a slight outward bulge in one side, sharpening it up with a steel blade, and seeing if you can scrape any loose for examination.

[jeepyj]

Is your revolver a 38 or 357? Even though I agree that is probably over crimping recently a friend was loading some 358156 boolits for 357 and he had to seat his a bit deeper than mind because they would hit the inside of the cylinder throath but had no problems with 38s. If yours going in hard all the way it's likely the over crimping issue if it's sliding in good untill the last little bit it may be OAL
jeepyj

[Swede 45]

Whenever I have trouble feeding 38spl (or any straightwalled revolvercase) into the cylinder, I usually find the problem with not crimping enough and not beeing able to take the bell out of the casemouth. (Some bullets, I just tapercrimp, no rollcrimp)
Sometimes if the cases are of different length (mixed headstamps and different amount of usage) and rollcrimped, there is a slight bulge that causes the same feeding problem...
Compare and measure one case that feeds with one that dont..

[Petrol & Powder]

The first thing I would do is clean the chambers of that cylinder. If you have rust in the chambers that needs to be addressed immediately. When you force one of those cartridges into the chamber can you remove it without firing it and examine the round to see where it is binding? if the bullet is damaged after you remove the offending cartridge then the throat is likely where the problem is. It could be build up in the throat or it could be a poorly cut throat.
In any event the first thing you need to do is get those chambers completely clean.

[Blackwater]

If you have rust in the chambers, THAT needs to be fixed PRONTO! Take a .38 cal. bronze brush and screw it onto a short section of a cleaning rod with no handle on it. Wrap some 0000 steel wool around it, being careful to keep it thin enough to get into the cylinder, and put some oil of whatever kind you normally use on it. Then chuck it in an electric drill, stick it in the chambers one by one, and spin it with the drill, moving it back and forth so it covers all the cylinder's full length. Repeat a couple of times, but don't overdo this. The rust should come out completely if done well. How to keep it from RE-rusting? That's the harder part. Just keep it well oiled, but chambers can't have much oil or grease in them, or it will keep the brass cases from sticking to the sides of the chamber when fired, thus increasing the backthrust against the frame, so when you oil them, you have to use clean patches to get just about all the oil out of them, leaving only a very light coat of oil behind. This means that since it's lost its bluing, you'll have to be very careful where and how you store it when it's not in use. Keep it away from heat and humidity as much as you possibly can. That always helps.

If this doesn't cure your problem, it's likely a crimping problem.

[Blammer]

http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/880x660/Primary/645/645976.jpg

I'd get one of these and eliminate your cartridge problem.

I suspect you're not taking all the bell out of the mouth of the case when seating the bullet.

I'd then get busy cleaning the revolver.

[Blammer]

pictures help if you can post some.

[rondog]

Any chance you're shooting .38's in a .357, and the fronts of the chambers are carboned up? Common issue.

[runfiverun]

all helpful answers above and are the common cures...
except that LEE thingy.
we didn't need it for the first hundred years of the 38 specials existence and I doubt
we will need it for the next 100.

[rintinglen]

Lee Factory Crimp Die!
+1 There are plenty of folks who will decry this suggestion, deeming the FCD a tool of the devil that will lead your pistol's barrel, ruin the groups and cause your children to be born with gapped teeth and male pattern baldness. In some pistols, perhaps, the 9 mm is frequently held up as an example, but in straight sided cases, I have used them with complete satisfaction.
The problem stems from the lack of uniformity in 38 brass these days. The case lengths vary by as much as .025 and none seem to be any where near SAAMI spec length. About three years ago, I ordered 500 new, nickel 38 cases from Starline. The longest was shorter than the recommended trim length of 1.150! The shortest was 1.130. If you can get this much variance from one lot by one manufacture, think what you can get if you are loading up a batch of mixed head range pickups. If I had at random grabbed the shortest one, I'd have set my crimp way short for the long ones. This will bulge the case and cause difficult chambering. An FCD irons out the bulge and insures proper chambering without the necessity of hours of measuring and trimming cases.

[Char-Gar]

I have a 158 gr. Cowboy I'm loading with 3.1 gr of Bullseye. I have sized these down to. 358.
I am hit and miss, on sliding these into the cylinder. Shoots fine. But i have to ram these tight into the gun. I shoukdnt have to do that. Even when my rounds are the same off the reload. I have tweeked em out lower and tighter. No effect. Looking into the cylinder, I see rust ??? Its not leading. Rust pockets? Throwing my full case seating off ? What the hell? Anyone understand what's happening here ?

A properly loaded .358 bullet in the 38 Special round will slip in any charge hole with ease. As I see it there are one of three possibilities;

1. The first on has already been mentioned and that is excessive crimp that is bulging the case mouth. The fix for this is to run the loaded rounds in a full length sizing die far enough to take out the bulge. The accuracy will be lousy as you will size down the bullet, but at least you can fire the rounds and get the cases to reload. You could always break the loaded ammo down, but that is a PITA.

2. The second is you have not full length sized the cases and they were fired in a different revolver.

3. The third is you need to clean that cylinder. I clean bore and cylinder of my revolvers every time they are fired.

Of course the Martians might have jacked with your ammo, but that is unlikely.

[Char-Gar]

+1 There are plenty of folks who will decry this suggestion, deeming the FCD a tool of the devil that will lead your pistol's barrel, ruin the groups and cause your children to be born with gapped teeth and male pattern baldness. In some pistols, perhaps, the 9 mm is frequently held up as an example, but in straight sided cases, I have used them with complete satisfaction.
The problem stems from the lack of uniformity in 38 brass these days. The case lengths vary by as much as .025 and none seem to be any where near SAAMI spec length. About three years ago, I ordered 500 new, nickel 38 cases from Starline. The longest was shorter than the recommended trim length of 1.150! The shortest was 1.130. If you can get this much variance from one lot by one manufacture, think what you can get if you are loading up a batch of mixed head range pickups. If I had at random grabbed the shortest one, I'd have set my crimp way short for the long ones. This will bulge the case and cause difficult chambering. An FCD irons out the bulge and insures proper chambering without the necessity of hours of measuring and trimming cases.

I shoot ALLOT of 38 Specials using various GI and commercial brass cases. I trim ALL brass to the same length (1.132"). This is a smidge short of SAAMI but I have never found a case shorter than this. I don't get bulged cases and ragged crimps, hence no need for FCD. Therefore, I don't join in the pro vs. anti threads about the Lee FCD as I have never used one. I have never needed anything other that the roll or taper crimp dies in my shop.

I guess I am a weirdo, as I don't mind trimming cases. I keep all my revolvers cases trimmed to a uniform length for that one caliber.

[bangerjim]

I use the Lee FCD on all my rounds these days. They "plop test" in all the max case gauges I use and cycle/fit perfectly in ALL my several guns (semi's, revolvers, carbines, etc).

Roll and taper crimps just never solved my problems.

All my boolits are PC'd and I have never have had any shaving of the boolit (yes...... I have recovered some and pulled several), no leading (ever), and no grease smoke.

Some on here really slam the FCD, but if it used correctly, it is a God-send!!!!! Guess they have not either tried one or had difficulty adjusting it right.

It is a VERY inexpensive fix to a frustrating problem.

banger

[Cherokee]

I'm with char-gar, I trim all my 38 Special cases to 1.147-1.148. Anything shorter goes into the "short" bag. Eventually I may trim the "short" ones to a uniform length. Why ? To avoid variances in crimp and seating problems with short cases. A belled short case will not have the bell removed if the die is set for normal length. Clean the cylinders first, then check again.

[runfiverun]

hey I ain't for or against it, I just said we don't need it to make ammo correct for our guns.

and someone mentioned the cases being straight.
they are after they get sized in a carbide die, steel dies are tapered to match the cases original designation.

[dubber123]

Some may need it, but with about 20 .38 Spls in the house, and I don't know how many tens of thousands of cartridges loaded for them, (probably over 100K), I have never needed a special crimp die. If I boneheaded the crimp and bulged something badly, sure it won't fit. I'm guessing this will amount to an easy die adjustment. I have gotten bad dies though, it might be time to do some measuring, starting with a freshly sized case to make sure it is getting sized to spec. Good luck.

[376Steyr]

Are you using GI brass? Some lots came with extra thick case walls to hold undersized full metal jacketed bullets. I know some GI brass with .359 cast is an extra tight fit in some of my .38's.

[bedbugbilly]

What revolver are you using? (make/model) Is it 38 or 357?

What crimp are you using - I'm assuming a roll crimp on a 38 but?

Are you seating the boolit so the crimp is going into the crimp groove or is ti possibly "off" and crimping into one of the bands? (which would cause the throat of the casing to be too large). How much are you "belling" the mouth and are you getting it all out?

Try taking a "tight" cartridge - rub it with a black felt tip pen - casing and boolit - then insert it in to the cylinder carefully - apply pressure and then eject and see what's holding it up.

You mention "cowboy" - so are you shooting smokeless or BP? If you've been using BP and what you are seeing truly is "rust" in the cylinder . . that's a pretty easy one . . . you aren't getting your revolver clean.

A lot of folks don't like the Lee FCD but I use one all the time in loading 38s and 357s and all I load is lead - I've never had a problem with the "swaging" some claim they get.

A revolver can have tight cylinders - and as Rugers often do - tight throats as well. That very well may be the problem but I think I would try to eliminate the reloaded cartridge as the problem. Do your tight ones fit in other 38s?

I have around a dozen 38s/357s and I have one that has a tight chamber (and it's just one out of six) and my reloads still fit. If you don't have one . . . get a "cartridge gauge" and start checking your re-loads as they come off the press. yea . . a person can get along without one but it's a good "final check" on the loaded round so you won't have those problems when you get out to the range. If your reloaded cartridge is "out of spec" - the gauge is going to tell you . . and if your cartridge is tight going into the gauge . . . use the black felt pen again and see whee the "hang up" is . . . it should tell you what you need to change.

Good luck!

[Petrol & Powder]

all helpful answers above and are the common cures...
except that LEE thingy.
we didn't need it for the first hundred years of the 38 specials existence and I doubt
we will need it for the next 100.
I've never used a Lee FCD and I've never felt a need to use a FCD.
This thread has touched a nerve about the type of crimp used.

I don't know why the Lee FCD is alleged to be so great but I think that rhetoric is long on marketing and short on definitive results.


Getting back to the OP's situation, until you correct the rust in the chambers every thing else is just another variable or "red herring" if you wish. One variable at a time and the FIRST one that MUST be eliminated is the potential rust in the chambers. You could have perfect ammo and rusty chambers that prevented easy chambering of rounds. Until the rusty chambers are corrected, everything else is ancillary.

[RoninDelaware]

Copper Scrub brushed the dickens out of each cylinder today. Light oil after. Came back in and looked at dies, ( handed down from Father), Pacific Durachrome, 38 SPL #2 DIES. Not Lee. I have set the bell, to only accept the boolit. Anymore, and it will fall down the case wall. Loosened up the crimp a bit, boolit spins in case,after seating, but easier going into cylinder. I may mention, mixed cases. Some Nickle, some Brass. Still hit and miss. 4 cylinder drop in just fine, next 2 lodge in halfway. Or even 1/4 in. Possible resizer old and wore the hell out ? My father was Small Arm Instructor for USAF. I KNOW, he has used em, and used em A LOT. LOL

[RoninDelaware]

I've never used a Lee FCD and I've never felt a need to use a FCD.
This thread has touched a nerve about the type of crimp used.

I don't know why the Lee FCD is alleged to be so great but I think that rhetoric is long on marketing and short on definitive results.


Getting back to the OP's situation, until you correct the rust in the chambers every thing else is just another variable or "red herring" if you wish. One variable at a time and the FIRST one that MUST be eliminated is the potential rust in the chambers. You could have perfect ammo and rusty chambers that prevented easy chambering of rounds. Until the rusty chambers are corrected, everything else is ancillary.
No visible rust, looks smooth all the way down to 3/4 last end. Possible pitting. Best way to deal with it? Emory cloth on a drill, and spin it smooth? Like I said. Some cases slip on in, and others hang up. drag marks are evident on the case wall coming out. Leading me to believe, old die. Not resizing back down proper.

[Petrol & Powder]

You want to remove the rust and nothing more. Post #11 was spot on, go back and read that one. The chambers should be clean and dry when in use and lightly oiled during storage.

[warf73]

I ran into the same problem but with 357mag brass. I had a good crimp (no lee stuff) and tested the first 5 or so loaded rounds in my sp101 all fell right in. I ran 300 over the press (Dillon 550) and went shooting the next weekend. Had several that would only go part way in and was very puzzled.

Got home and looked over the 30ish rounds that wouldn't fall in all the way. I found they had a slight bulge in the case (like I over crimped them) did more looking and it was the same brand of brass S&B. I was using mixed brass bought off an auction site and never really thought about cases being different lengths (at least not enough to matter). They were over .020" over SAMMI max length which in turn made them bulge enough to not chamber.

Maybe this is your problem also?

[trapper9260]

I say what i found that it depends on the make and model of the gun.My 357 BH and rossi will take the same round and chamber with no problems and no FCD. But with my 44mag redhawk and marlin the one that chamber in the redhawk will not in the marlin usen the same round I got the FCD and no more problems.Same as 9mm in 2 that the same round will chamber with no problems but the other one that is a wheel gun it will not chamber with 356 but will with 355. But after I use the FCD I can chamber 356 in that one . There is a place for the FCD .If it is a tight chamber then if you want to shoot what your bore is I use the FCD to make it work. You can adjust the die to how much you want on it.I also found that the 30-30 marlin usen that die made things easyer also chamber.The OP need to give more info on the gun they are usen and more details like some posted.For what I do work for me maybe might help some else.

[725]

Taper crimp as your last step.

[Budzilla 19]

Hey, RoninDelaware, I'm sending you some nickel plated .38's along with those .35's I promised you.try them and see if it is your cases,that,along with the rest of the advice you have received here i hope it fixes the problem for you!!! Good luck to ya! (Had a sfrb that was not full,so why not fill it up?? Lol)

[Airman Basic]

Copper Scrub brushed the dickens out of each cylinder today. Light oil after. Came back in and looked at dies, ( handed down from Father), Pacific Durachrome, 38 SPL #2 DIES. Not Lee. I have set the bell, to only accept the boolit. Anymore, and it will fall down the case wall. Loosened up the crimp a bit, boolit spins in case,after seating, but easier going into cylinder. I may mention, mixed cases. Some Nickle, some Brass. Still hit and miss. 4 cylinder drop in just fine, next 2 lodge in halfway. Or even 1/4 in. Possible resizer old and wore the hell out ? My father was Small Arm Instructor for USAF. I KNOW, he has used em, and used em A LOT. LOL

If the boolit spins in the case, you definitely don't have enough case neck tension. Either your sizing die or your expanding ball is too big.

[Char-Gar]

You are using a mixed lot of what I called "junk cases". Problems can be expected with such cases. Use only cases of the same head stamp, don't mix plated and unplated brass, and trim to a uniform length and most of your problems will go away.

Bullets that spin in the case are symptoms of one or more of the following;

1. Undersized bullets
2. Oversize expander
3. Worn out brass that has lost it's elasticity.

Pacific makes good dies and while possible, I doubt if they are worn out over have an oversize expander. It is possible these dies have been modified or have improper parts in them, but unlikely.

[cainttype]

I'm curious how many dies you are using?
Not knowing your experience level, I'm wondering if a sizer die is being used. Unlike a rifle-type (bottle-neck cases) that use only 2 dies (the expander being inside the sizer die), a straight-walled casing will need separate dies to (1)size before (2)expanding. Bullet seater will be #3, and any optional crimp dies would bring the total to 4... But 3 dies should be the minimum.
If someone thought they might size and bell case mouths in one die, they would likely encounter exactly what you are describing.

[RoninDelaware]

Hey, RoninDelaware, I'm sending you some nickel plated .38's along with those .35's I promised you.try them and see if it is your cases,that,along with the rest of the advice you have received here i hope it fixes the problem for you!!! Good luck to ya! (Had a sfrb that was not full,so why not fill it up?? Lol)
You are the Man, Budzilla. Thank you

[RoninDelaware]

Deprime and resize die. Bell die. Seater die. 3 dies


I'm curious how many dies you are using?
Not knowing your experience level, I'm wondering if a sizer die is being used. Unlike a rifle-type (bottle-neck cases) that use only 2 dies (the expander being inside the sizer die), a straight-walled casing will need separate dies to (1)size before (2)expanding. Bullet seater will be #3, and any optional crimp dies would bring the total to 4... But 3 dies should be the minimum.
If someone thought they might size and bell case mouths in one die, they would likely encounter exactly what you are describing.[/QUOTE]

[jonp]

Lee Factory Crimp Die!
-1

If you need this with cast something else is most likely going on

[jonp]

No visible rust, looks smooth all the way down to 3/4 last end. Possible pitting. Best way to deal with it? Emory cloth on a drill, and spin it smooth? Like I said. Some cases slip on in, and others hang up. drag marks are evident on the case wall coming out. Leading me to believe, old die. Not resizing back down proper.
That leads me to think your gun is fussy on brass which does not strike me as unusual. I have a few like that. Win brass is the worst for me for some reason

[Petrol & Powder]

Probably not related to the OP's problem but I've never been a fan of seating & crimping in one operation. So while three dies are the minimum needed to load straight walled handgun cases, I always use four. It adds a step to the process if you're using a single stage press but it gives you a little more control over those two operations. It is a non-issue with a progressive press where those operations are generally divided anyway.

[Litl Red 3991]

.........
and someone mentioned the cases being straight.
they are after they get sized in a carbide die, steel dies are tapered to match the cases original designation.

This thread is about 38Spl, right?

SAAMI specs show case specs as ".379 Cylindrical". The original designation would not be tapered, right.

[Litl Red 3991]

Probably not related to the OP's problem but I've never been a fan of seating & crimping in one operation. So while three dies are the minimum needed to load straight walled handgun cases, I always use four. It adds a step to the process if you're using a single stage press but it gives you a little more control over those two operations. It is a non-issue with a progressive press where those operations are generally divided anyway.

Not a fan of seating & crimping in one either. When crimping into a crimp groove, unless your brass is recently trimmed to equal lengths, there are going to be differing crimp grips and some bulging with too long cases. When driving the crimp into lead, there is brass being pushed into moving lead. And it'll vary according to each case's length.

Never considered buying any progressive that was just 3 holes because of that.

[Char-Gar]

Not a fan of seating & crimping in one either. When crimping into a crimp groove, unless your brass is recently trimmed to equal lengths, there are going to be differing crimp grips and some bulging with too long cases. When driving the crimp into lead, there is brass being pushed into moving lead. And it'll vary according to each case's length.



Never considered buying any progressive that was just 3 holes because of that.

Seat and crimp in two different operations is often given advice and I have given it myself frequently. However, it should never become the mantra for the subject, as often the use of two dies are not needed.

The purpose of using two dies is not to scrape lead from the body of the bullet as that last little bit of seating is done to apply the crimp.

When seating a bullet with a generous crimp groove that last little bit of depth when crimping will only turn the case mouth into the groove and no lead scraping happens.

If you are using cases that vary in length and with some uneven case mouths, irregular crimping will occur whether you use one or two dies.

I am not case triming adverse and trim all cases of the same caliber, regardless of make, to the same length. This cures allot of problems associated with bullet seating and crimping. If takes some time, but it is time worth taking. Time after time, I read of folks on this board with problems that would not have occurred absent cases that vary in length and mouth squareness.

Precision handloads can be assembled with a wide variety of equipment from cheap to high end. The battle for precision is very often won or lost in the case prep stage.

[Char-Gar]

This thread is about 38Spl, right?

SAAMI specs show case specs as ".379 Cylindrical". The original designation would not be tapered, right.

I can't say much about SAAMI specs, but I can say something about the size of resized cases produced by different dies. Here are some numbers take from sized Lake City 77 38 Special brass.

Lyman Carbide sizing die;

There is a straight case .373 until the base which measures . 377. There is a very noticeable step between the straight portion and the larger base portion.

RCBS 1957 steel resizing die;

case mouth is .371. mid-point is .376. base is .377

Lyman late 60's Tru-Line Jr. FL sizing die

case mouth is .375. Mid point is .377. base is .377

So what a fellow might ask? Well the larger the case the better it centered in the cylinder charge hole and the longer the brass last because of less working.

The RCBS steel die will work the case mouth more than the Lyman Tru-Line and therefore will split sooner.

I don't have much 38 Special factory ammo around, what I do have measures a straight .376 from case mouth to base.

So while I don't know squat about SAAMI specs and feel them to be irrelevant for the handloader, I do know that older steel dies produce a tapered case to one degree or another.

[Ranger 7]

Blammer is correct, I have used Wilsons gauges for many years and NEVER had a round pass the Wilson gauge and fail in the gun.
(I Use: 38, 357, 9mm and 45acp gauges) Every round I load is gauged and inspected before it gets put in the box.

[Airman Basic]

Blammer is correct, I have used Wilsons gauges for many years and NEVER had a round pass the Wilson gauge and fail in the gun.
(I Use: 38, 357, 9mm and 45acp gauges) Every round I load is gauged and inspected before it gets put in the box.
I do the same but just use the cylinder or barrel in autos to perform the function.

[BLTsandwedge]

Are you using GI brass? Some lots came with extra thick case walls to hold undersized full metal jacketed bullets. I know some GI brass with .359 cast is an extra tight fit in some of my .38's.

Yep. W-W military brass will hurt your day, regardless if you are using .357 through .360.

[Budzilla 19]

RoninDelaware, your package in mail today! Hope you get your problems fixed,you have gotten years of reloading advice with just one question! Hey, these fellows know their stuff. (Heck, I even learned some things.) to all the posters, thank you. Good shooting to all.

[MtGun44]

FCD= a bandaid for a reloading issue unexplored, and one that has
caused many folks to ruin good ammo by resizing the boolit inside the case.
As r5r said, somehow we managed to live without it for about a century. . . . .

[Petrol & Powder]

FCD= a bandaid for a reloading issue unexplored, and one that has
caused many folks to ruin good ammo by resizing the boolit inside the case.
As r5r said, somehow we managed to live without it for about a century. . . . .

/\Ditto/\

[mark2935]

Could dirty dies be the culprit? I have noticed a lot of crude build up in my dies after heavy usage. I clean my dies every so often. He did state that they were his father's dies.

Mark2935

[Char-Gar]

Could dirty dies be the culprit? I have noticed a lot of crude build up in my dies after heavy usage. I clean my dies every so often. He did state that they were his father's dies.

Mark2935

Dirty dies can cause a number of problems. One would assume that a person would clean used dies before they are put into service and from time to time thereafter. However, such assumptions are often wrong.

"I don't know why they call it common sense, when it is not very common".

[RoninDelaware]

That's what I'm leaning on. Had some new cases sent in. Loaded them up. Slid in fine,round 1 of 6 shots. Round 2 of 6 shots, one was tight. Round 3 of 6, 3 were tight. I'm thinking my sizing die.

[RoninDelaware]

Got em. they rocked!!!. Loaded them up. Slid in fine,round 1 of 6 shots. Round 2 of 6 shots, one was tight. Round 3 of 6, 3 were tight. I'm thinking my sizing die.roll crimp below into boolit. Your cases are great, my resizer might not be doing its job. Very old.

[Char-Gar]

Why would a sizing die size be the culprit? All cases should be sized the same. If one case from the die fits, all should fit.

[Wayne Smith]

I haven't read that you have measured your cases for length or trimmed to a common length. Only a small difference in length will increase your crimp buldge to get just the results you are reporting.

[Char-Gar]

I haven't read that you have measured your cases for length or trimmed to a common length. Only a small difference in length will increase your crimp buldge to get just the results you are reporting.

Yes, that seems the most likely answer. The OP was using a mish-mash of cases. Folks don't seem to understand the need for uniform case length these days. These kinds of issues are very easy to solve, if the ABCs of reloading are understood. If they are not understood, folks flail about looking for some new hardware to solve their problems.

The basic question to ask is: If one rounds chambers and another does not, what is the difference in the two rounds?

If the same bullet was used, that is not the issue.
If the same sizing die was used, that is not the issue.
If the same expanding die was used, that is not the issue.
If the same seating die was used, that is not the issue.

That leaves the lowly case as the variable. If they are the same caliber, that leaves the length as the culprit. The solution is to trim your cases to a uniform length. Problem solved, unless you don't want to trim your cases, that means you get to chase your tail some more.

[Tallbald]

I agree about the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Inexpensive and a wonderful final touch. I myself don't reload without one. Don.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I once acquired a lot of mil-spec 38 special brass and have used it over the years. It is thicker than commercial brass and very sturdy stuff, but I have to size bullets to .356 or else they (bullets) produce ripples when seated (using H&G #251- a double ended WC. It shoots just as well in my pistols as the commercial cases in which the sizing is at .357. Never had any problems with case neck tension and have used the minimal crimping. LLS