[goodgrouper]

Hello Fishry.
Great pics and your explanation of your questions helps tremendously to diagnose the problem.

I hate to tell you, but you have a grossly oversized chamber and undersized case heads (normal in every way for Winchester brass) and that is what is making that big bulge ahead of the web. It is not a big deal for the most part, just unsightly. The only areas where it might be detrimental to your enjoyment are these:

A badly oversized chamber will allow the thick side of your brass (which is found in every brand from Lapua down to Lake city) to grow in it's direction every time it is fireformed and can stretch the brass to the point where it can "pull" the bullet release to one side. Then the next time you fire it, the fat side might not be in the same position in relation to your chamber and it will fireform to that side and pull the bullet in another direction. The only way to get around this is to "index" the cases. I found the best way to do this is to file a small notch in the case head on the thick side of the case and make sure to put it in the chamber with that mark up or out. It doesn't really matter where the mark is just as long as it is in the same place every time you chamber the round.

I had to do this on one of my own guns and it shot fine as long as I paid attention to the mark. But after awhile, I decided to just have a reamer made to my specs for a specific kind of brass in which there would be no "bulge" or "belly out". This solved the problem entirely and was less hassle. Or, you could measure several different brands of brass and pick the one with the largest case head dimension. Each brand has a different dimension despite SAAMI specs that say they should be .473" or whatever.

Doing this will help make up the slack if you don't want to spend $200 having a reamer made and then having a good smith rechamber.


One other problem that might arise from a "bulge out" is when you go to resize. If your particular dies are on the small side in the web area and your gun is in the big side in the web, then you might have Full length resizing problems down the road. This can be remedied by having a machinist "open up" the arse end of your die to a bigger diameter. THis can usually be done for $20.



As for your q's, here we go:

Q1 answer: Doubtful. Headspace is probably ok, just the diameter of the back end of the chamber is big. Headspace mainly deals with the length of the chamber from the bolt face to the datum line. And thinning will be minimal.

Q2: answer: They are definetly not mild but appear to be ok given the details you mentioned. One thing to remember is that BH uses ball powder which is sensitive to ambient air temperature and thus must be closely watched for pressure in changing environments. If those pics are of ammo shot in January, it may be too hot for your gun in July. Watch it closely from month to month.

Q3: answer: It is up to you. It can be made to work doing what I have detailed, but you might just choose to rechamber or use bigger brass.


Q4: answer: It's flattening but not terrible.


Q5: answer: I wouldn't recommend forcing the primer in. Use a good pocket uniforming tool and everything will be perfect.


Q6: answer: If you leave the primer above flush, it will slam back against the bolt face, and if there is enough pressure present, it will open up the pocket by force. All primers actually "pop" out of the pocket under firing and are in effect re-seated into the pocket but the ammo shouldn't be overloaded too bad or pocket enlarging will result. Leaving the primer above flush is to some degree is technically safe, but has terrible effects on accuracy. I would strongly recommend seating them flush or just below flush. Make room with the uniformer.


Q7: answer: Yes and no. Just be aware of what is going on. Everything is notable even if it may appear insignificant.

Q8: answer: none that I can think of at this time. You are doing good! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]