Belted Mag Reloaders - Case Separation?

[J.B.]

This weekend I had some hand loads separate above the belt on the case. The loads weren't particularly hot loads and I've had them work fine w/ no issues in the past.

Should I be using a neck sizing die exclusively on brass fired in my chamber (I had been FL sizing them bumping the should slightly)? I know belted mags head-space off the belt.

Any suggestions? Tips?

[Livin'2hunt]

1. What cartridge?

2. How many times has that brass been reloaded?

3. What brass are you using?

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[sierracharlie338]

There is a special collet that is made for belted mags that is supposed to help with base expansion. Let me see if I can track down the name of it but I know it runs about 100 bucks. I gave up on trying to get long life out of my 300WM cases. I generally expect about 3 firings before failures.

[Outbreaker]

1. What cartridge?

2. How many times has that brass been reloaded?

3. What brass are you using?

.

ADD to this. How old is the brass and how old are the reloads.

[Livin'2hunt]

ADD to this. How old is the brass and how old are the reloads.

Yes. I should not have presumed either.

I would recommend bump sizing. Set the shoulder back 2-4 thou and see what your rifle likes.


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[175gr7.62]

I run Norma brass in my 300 WM but I neck size and only bump the shoulder back enough to make sure everything chambers ok. Belted magnums were designed to headspace off the belt but if you are reloading you don't have to do that. I normally get about 5/6 firings out of my brass before I chunk them. Never had one split though....I run pretty hot and it's primer pockets that start opening up on mine first.

The only thing I run FL is stuff that needs to feed out of an autoloader.

[J.B.]

ANSWERS:

257 WBY
5x Hornady Brass that had been FL sized 5 times

[SabreKiller]

I've used either Remington or Winchester brass for my 7 mag, but haven't loaded for it in a long time. Its a single shot and I found a factory load that shoots really well in it so I haven't needed to load. However, I just purchased some Hornady brass to work with.

I've never had a case split on my 7 mag or anything else for that matter. Methinks they've been reloaded too many times.

[J.B.]

ttt

[Livin'2hunt]

As stated, shoulder bump instead of FLR. It will solve your issue. You will still only get about 5-8 reloadings out of each case. Keep them trimmed as well.

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[Mike D]

John get you some Redding competition dies. Size the neck only and full length resize only when they have problems chambering.


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[Horitexan]

Belted Mag Reloaders - Case Separation?

I use the Willis collet FL sizing die and I on my 6th reloads of Bertram brass on my 300wm. You can feel the thinning above the belt by taking a piece of wire and running it up and down the inside of the case, just above the belt, after 2-3 firings without that die. It’s a real problem solver for belted magnums.

https://www.LarryWillis.com

Also, get away from that soft Hornady junk. Get some quality brass like Norma or Weatherby.


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[kmon]

Like said above you can feel with a piece of wire (paperclip straightened with a small 90 degree bend at one end) works well. I throw them in the bucket when they reach that point after a tap with the hammer on the anvil to flatten so they are not used again,

I use almost always full length sizing dies screwed in just enough to size the brass so it chambers in my rifle. On lubing the cases make sure you lube the inside of the case neck as well. Some of the case stretching comes from pulling the expander ball through the neck to get it to the diameter to hold the bullet firmly.

if you sectioned some of the other brass from that batch that split cases above the belt I bet you will see where the brass is thin where brass has been flowing from and where case head separation occurs.

As brass is sized and fired repeatedly it grows in length and needs to be trimmed Ackley Improved and Weatherby magnums grow less in length than other brass in my experience but still grow some. The hotter you run the loads the more the brass grows to fit the chamber. Brass expands to fill the chamber then shrinks a little so we can extract it. The more it grows and gets resized down the faster it will wear thin above the case head or belt in the instance of a belted case.

Factory belted ammo headspaces off the belt like rimmed cartridges headspace off the rim and case life can be extended for both if they are sized to headspace off the shoulder. H&H developed the belt as a means of head spacing long sloping shoulders found on their 300 and 357 magnum cases, it is not about the cases being stronger. The weak point over time is in the same place above the web in the side walls of the case.