30-06 primers backing out.

[Adirondack]

Hi. New Member with a re-loading problem.

I am not sure if I have a bad FL sizing die or not. I have two 30-06 rifles, a Marlin XL7 and a newly added Savage 111LWH. I reload for 4 other cartridges and have not experienced this problem with them.

I loaded some rounds for my Marlin over the summer with H4350, about 55gr with 180gr BTSP Interlocks. This falls right in the middle on the Hodgdon website. I set the dies up according to the instructions, having the bottom of the die bump the shell holder. Note that if I set the die out an extra 1/8 of a turn, an empty casing in the chamber began to make the bolt hard to close. Loading closer to max, with 57 grains the primers were staying in, but were flattening the primers just a little.

Fast forward to last week when I wanted to load up some rounds for my new Savage, I was loading 150gr SP Interlocks with 49 grains of Varget which was a 1/2 grain less than max according to Hodgdon. Same deal, primers were backing out similar to with the Marlin. If I were to guess, I'd say they were backing out 1/4 of the way.

I shot some factory Winchester rounds to get some fresh cases for some testing and after sizing this gun showed the same thing as the Marlin. backing the die out 1/8 of a turn made the bolt hard to close on the first sizing, so I know I am where I need to be.

What do you think? This is the only set of Lyman Dies I own. Everything else is RCBS or Hornady. This is also the only dies I have had stuck cases with? Coincidence? Both guns shoot factory rounds fine. I seriously doubt I have excess headspace on two rifles. I usually have to add a lot of lube to make sure I don't have to pull another stuck case.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[earl39]

I would think it is the primers or the primer pockets. What brand primers are you using? I have found wolf and tula primers are a little larger than some American primers and fit tighter. I know different brands of American primers can vary in diameter.

[Adirondack]

I tried normal CCI and CCI BR2, and Federal 210's. Same thing with both brands. Brass is mostly Remington, but I have some Winchester too. These primers are used in all my other non-magnum loads with zero problems. I hand prime and they "feel" the same going in as my other calibers. Nice and snug.

[stangfish]

Adirondack, When you back off 1/8th of a turn on a 14 pitch thread, it moves the die up .009". Try half of that. (this is where a case headspace measuring tool comes in handy.) Small increments can mean the difference between primers pushed out, head seperation or no primer problems and brass that last forever. You have two headspaces to be concerned with. The chamber and the case. The case needs to be set very close to the chamber size. Setting up your dies to form your case to fit your chamber is important. With all that being said I think you need to have your chamber headspace checked just to be on the safe side.