Rats, process fail

[metricmonkeywrench]

Trying to figure out where I went wrong... I'm working up my loads for a 30-30. Normal post range process from the last outing, brass hit the tumbler, sized/decapped trimmed, de-burred and washed down to remove the case lube. So far normal stuff. Cases primed, powder measure, trickler and scale set up so time to load as usual. First three rounds of the test batch get powder and I move on to seat the bullets. That's where the train went off the rails. When I went to seat the first bullet the handle on the press had no resistance while seating... Uh oh. Picked up the second case and literally pushed the bullet into the case with my thumb. So bullets pulled powder back in the can, obviously loading tonight is out the window. I pulled the decapping stem/sizing ball assy from the size die, lubed up a case and ran it partway up into the die and sure enough it bottlenecked a bit on the neck. I pulled the decapping pin from the sizing ball to save the live primers and FL resized the remainder of the brass. A quick kiss across the trimmer and the brass is pretty much ready to load after I clean up the case lube.

Still not sure what went wrong, I don't have a universal decapping die so the only other thing that I can figure is that since I only load 2 .30 caliber rounds I must not have been paying proper attention and grabbed the 30-06 dies off the shelf and just deprimed the cases with the -06 size die.

[Hick]

I think you are right-- the only thing that makes sense to me is that you used the wrong decapping/sizing die. you're not the only experienced reloader to have ever done this.

[Rcmaveric]

Are you using a neck sizer or full length sizing die? I can't get a neck sizer to work right for me and i have that problem. There are directions with the dies that tell you how to properly set them up. Full length sizer i give it an extra full turn after it touches the shell holder.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Rcmaveric, it's 30-30 for a lever action, so no choice but to full length size only due to the weaker camming action of te rifle.

For the -06 I have a standard set of size dies set up to neck size only. I assume setting up a neck size only die is about the same. I took a piece of once fired brass from that rifle, colored in the case neck with a sharpie and worked the size die down bit by bit until the marked neck showed contact down to just touching the shoulder and no further. The idea is not to bump back the case shoulder to a standard dimension.

[crandall crank]

Sounds like the expanding die was not set correctly. I have the "older style", which are tapered, not the "ball". If this is the case, it could have come out of adjustment.