7mm rem mag question

Sheephuntr

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Live in a small town south of Boise Idaho called M
This is my first year reloading for a 7mag an I've got a question. Am I seeing case head separation??? The load is 66grains of RL26 behind a 168 Berger vld hunting. Winchester brass an federal 215 mag primers.
 

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Like Herringbone, I run 68.5 grains of RL 26 with168 Bergers 215 match primers and Norma brass. No problems and 3085 fps velocity. I have only had one case head separation in 45 years of reloading and it was a Winchester case.( 375 H&H and hot load of WW760 30 yr ago and I probably over-bumped the neck of the reload not knowing any better). I always try to use Lapua or Norma brass. Peterson and ADG seem to get great reviews but I don't have any experience with them. Your photos don't show anything out of the ordinary except maybe your chamber isn't highly polished.

7Bean:RL26.jpeg
 
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How do I go about checking headspace? What I am seeing on the cases in the picture is exactly what I'm seeing on the 68grain load
If your not up to speed on headspace, don't shoot any reloads in this lot you may currently have.
Go borrow or buy a headspace comparator. Hornady makes one, there are others.
Attach this to your caliper and measure fully fire-formed brass according to
directions. Then measure brass you have full length sized.
Ideally, you should only bump the shoulders back in your brass by .002-.003. Make sure you use the correct number bushing for the 7mm Remington mag chamber you have.
Ton of info online for this.
All your other empty brass you have full length sized, or if loaded, should probably be unloaded.
Use a straightened paper clip to feel for a groove forming near the head where they are separating on the others.
You don't have a pressure issue if case heads are separating due to over bumping the shoulders.
 
When you have case head separation its because the case has stretched in the same place too many times. This is almost always because the shoulder is sized way to far back leaving more head space then when you fire it again, it stretches again in the same place(it doesn't stretch at the shoulder).... eventually you have case head separation. Sometimes it doesn't take but just a few firings for it to happen.
 
Take the plunger out of your bolt and keep sizing it in very small increments until your bolt closes with very little resistance at the end of bolt cycle.
 
You can have case head separations running 20,000 psi, has very very little to do with pressure. It's sizing, as others have said. Get a good reloading manual and read up on setting your die for proper head space, it will make a world of difference, especially with a belted case.
 
If you are having case head separations with a belted case you are probably sizing the brass to much. Back off a little on your sizing die. Case head separation is NOT a to much powder indication.

+1
Deffinetly not a case problem, method of loading issue.
Adjust sizing to suit chamber dimensions, do not over work the cases.
bb
 
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