reloading ammo for my AR10

[dlancello]

Hi everyone;

Ive been shooting my new AR10 a couple of times a week now and i'm impressed more and more each time I shoot it.

Ive also been trying to reload my own ammo using the spent, once shot brass, and havent been having a lot of luck.

I have been reloading my own Pistol ammo (approx 5000 rounds per year ) for over 40 years but havent really done anything with rifle ammo. The reloads I've tried have been getting stuck in the chamber. I have reloaded a few rounds for a bolt action and didn't have any problem. Does anyone know if there is somthing I need to know that applies to the AR10 that will help?

Thanks

[98Z5V]

Are you running the spent brass through a full-length sizing die?

[dlancello]

I am full length sizing. I ordered a RCBS AR die set. It is supposed to be made specificly for the ARs. I also ordered a case trimmer. I noticed the over all length is over Sspecs after sizing.

[bgc]

I wonder in the over length neck is getting jammed into the throat?

I would recommend following the reloading specifications to the letter. Lets face it our toys are too expensive to break due to an over pressurized case failure.

Be safe,

[survivalshop]

Always check case length after sizing your brass.

There is a max length for the case ,some chambers will have less & some will have more throat space( free bore to the rifling ). normally a 7.62 NATO chamber will have more than a .308.

The RCBS AR dies will probably be small base dies , not always needed as some will say ,but I use them for .223 &.308 because I just don't use my reloads in one 308/.223 rifle .

It also may be how you are setting up your sizing die .

You should look in the reloading section , it may have some answers there for you already.

[dlancello]

Thanks for the help. I just got my stuff from midway and will post my results. I also got a bag of new win brass to compare with the stuff I'm reworking.

Thanks again.

[sellmarkguy]

Hey Dlancello. I had the same problem.

Here it is...

Make certain that the full length die is SCREWED down far enough

to resize the entire brass case!

You may be leaving the bottom just above the case head unsized, which in turn results

in the brass being too big to chamber. I learned this the hard way, and had to sell off

about 100 pieces of brass because there was about 3/8s of an inch of the brass that was

not sized!

Screw the die all the way down to the shellplate, then screw it down about another 1/2 turn.

Then load a dummy round and attempt to chamber.

[dlancello]

Thanks Shellmark

You are exactly right. I received my RCBS AR dies and screwed the sizer down to the shell plate and then (as RCBS said in the setup instructions) another 1/2 turn. I then re ran some brass I had previously sized and sure enough it compressed about another 3/8th of an inch. I also bought a neck trimmer and trimmed all the cases to 2.010 and loaded bullets. The RCBS dies do a taper crimp instead of a roll crimp. This is supposed to be better for the semi autos. I ran a full mag by hand with no jams!

I got to thank everyone for all the great advice you've given me. OT saved me a lot of time and money.

Thanks again!

[sellmarkguy]

Excellent, Enjoy....