Case neck bulge

[Zellhouse]

Have noticed I'm starting to get a slight bulge at the base of my case necks on reloaded 25-06 brass. Am using Nosler 100 Partition bullets, with 50.5 grains of H4350 powder. Am getting 3200 FPS with this load & have OACL set at 3.18". Pretty much staying with the reccomended formulas from Nosler 8 reloading manual. What is the best way to address this, hard to toss brass after 3 times of use?

 

[Addicting]

Is it 25-06 brass or did you neck it down? It sounds like the dreaded donut you get from resizing. Which is easily fixed by turning them.

 

[std7mag]

When you say "bulge" do you mean inside the neck, or outside?

The "donut" is usually inside the neck from necking down. Say 30-06 to 25-06.
While most people run a mandrel inside, the remove the material on the outside (neck turning) i prefer to inside ream for this.

 

[Zellhouse]

May have incorrectly used ther term "doughnut" in describing this. Am using factory 25-06 brass & am noticing some of the brass is bulging slightlly on the outside of the neck. Am not seeing any signs of higher pressure problems, & am not seeing alot of this. Have been going thru & discarding to be on the safe side. Will continue monitoring. Thanks for the input.

 

[OntarioHunter]

What gun? Try loading an empty donuted case. If it binds, perhaps a chamber issue?

 

[44hunter45]

What brand and type of dies are you using? Neck sizing or full length?
There are dies like the Redding sleeved dies that are designed to prevent this during the sizing step.

Also, are you seeing this before you seat and crimp, or only after?

This can be from too much crimping force. When the case mouth is pushed tight against the bullet and you are still applying force, the only place the brass can move is backward into the shoulder area. It also presents sometimes as a ring in the neck behind the crimp.

Case length trimming is important in preventing this as well.

Dies like the Redding micrometer crimp dies or the Lee Factory Crimp die will prevent this if its happening in the crimp step. These dies only squeeze in, they do not apply downward force on the round.

Google "Case bulge after seating/crimping"

 

[p_ham]

Pictures man!

Have you checked the length on your brass? Have you been trimming brass? You could have stretched your cases enough that they're getting too much crimp.

 

[std7mag]

Why in the world would you crimp 25-06??!!!

 

[Zellhouse]

Pictures man!

Have you checked the length on your brass? Have you been trimming brass? You could have stretched your cases enough that they're getting too much crimp.

Checked pix no; trimming yes; crimping no. Going to check into this more & may have a gunsmith check the chamber out in the rifle. Thanks... appreciate the feedback.

 

[Zellhouse]

What brand and type of dies are you using? Neck sizing or full length?
There are dies like the Redding sleeved dies that are designed to prevent this during the sizing step.

Also, are you seeing this before you seat and crimp, or only after?

This can be from too much crimping force. When the case mouth is pushed tight against the bullet and you are still applying force, the only place the brass can move is backward into the shoulder area. It also presents sometimes as a ring in the neck behind the crimp.

Case length trimming is important in preventing this as well.

Dies like the Redding micrometer crimp dies or the Lee Factory Crimp die will prevent this if its happening in the crimp step. These dies only squeeze in, they do not apply downward force on the round.

Google "Case bulge after seating/crimping"

Dies: Lee Factory Full length; no crimp possibly after seating. Will search for seating issue. Thanks... Am learning alot here running this issue down.

 

[Zellhouse]

What gun? Try loading an empty donuted case. If it binds, perhaps a chamber issue?

Rifle is a Remington 700 BDL w/24" fluted factory barrel from mid 90's. Will try this the next time I come across one. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Addicting]

Mark up one of your cases with a sharpie when you resize it. Also do the same when you seat a bullet. I bet that will show you where your problem lies.

If it was your chamber a new case would have the bulge after the first firing.

 

[ImBillT]

Post some pictures.

 

[std7mag]

Yes, pictures are worth thousands of words on an open forum!!
And could possibly help us to diagnose the issue.

 

[Zellhouse]

Agreed, don't have any pics or cases that currently have this issue. Will post down the road as available. Appreciate the feedback.