Hard turning bolt.

[aglass1987]

I have been using reloads in my 243 wssm for over a year now. I usually shoot 85gr sierra but I got my buddy to load me up some 55gr sierras( 44.5grs of 4895) this time. I went shooting the following day, I had one neck to split( which I figured it was due to being a hot load) But my concern is when I was chambering a round, some of the ammo made the bolt hard to turn . The brass was only on its second reload, so I dont know what could have caused it. Any ideas would be helpful.

 

[ejones338]

I would have to say that the brass needs to be full length sized in order to chamber in your rifle. Were these brass once fired in your rifle?

 

[aglass1987]

yeah i bought brand new brass. I shot every one in my rifle. Thats what I do not understand???

 

[vintec]

The bolt lugs will flex some. Repaeted firing of the brass with out bumoing the shoulder back will add up. Not sure about the neck spilting.

 

[Michael Eichele]

Improper sizing and/or you need to trim the necks.

 

[gray wolf]

I have been using reloads in my 243 wssm for over a year now. I usually shoot 85gr sierra but I got my buddy to load me up some 55gr sierras( 44.5grs of 4895) this time. I went shooting the following day, I had one neck to split( which I figured it was due to being a hot load) But my concern is when I was chambering a round, some of the ammo made the bolt hard to turn . The brass was only on its second reload, so I dont know what could have caused it. Any ideas would be helpful.

How good of a friend is this ? what do you know of his reloading talents ?
Just asking.
Hot load? well how hot ? Did they extract hard or only go in hard ?
Split neck on a second reload?
Did the cases extract hard after you fired them the first time?.
You say it was the second reload--was it new brass when you loaded it for the first time?
Did you question him on how he sized the cases? f/l --neck--shoulder bump--
seating? were the bullets seated to far out? to deep in the neck?

some of the ammo made the bolt hard to turn . Why only some?
Do you have any of the ammo left ? If so I would pull a bullet and check the powder weight--also COL.
how many things would cause a hard to chamber round. ?
Case not sized enough--shoulder needs to be bumped--bullets out to far--
Brass not from your rifle and only neck sized.
I would think if the first time around were not hot loads they should have chambered in your rifle even lightly f/l sized and even just neck sized.


I went shooting the following day, I had one neck to split( which I figured it was due to being a hot load) If i didn't ask for a hot load I would have quit at that point, and started asking questions.
We all talk about consistency when hand loading--how consistent can it be when someone else is doing it for us?

Hey I don't want to be a pain in the *** here but we need to know a little more, and I am just trying to help.

GW.

 

[aglass1987]

My buddy has been reloading for almost 30 years. He reloads alot of my rifles and a bunch of others where I live. The brass was brand new. It was on its second reload when I was shooting. The bolt has hard when chambering and ejecting. I trust this guy with every rifle I have. But out of 20 rounds, I think only 4 was a problem. Im not sure how he sizes or what not. I havent had the chance to talk to him about the problem yet. The reputation he has for knowledge of rifles and reloading is very very good! I heard that the brass could expand, are they any truth to that?

 

[Michael Eichele]

For the best results a resizing die really needs to be set for each indavidual chamber. Has your friend set the die so that it bumps the shoulder back slightly? or did he just set the die and start resizing? If measure the shoulder from the base it should be set back .0005 to .001" from its fired condition. If he is not measuring the shoulder from the base before and after he sets the die in the press it is not being done right. If he is not getting enough of the case in the die, the shoulder can actually get even farther from the base causing a hard to chamber round. If they are set too far back this can and most likely will lead to a sticky extraction. I do not know why this is but is happens. The shoulder needs to be set back a tiny bit for easy chambering and not so much that it increases pressure.

I know you trust him but ask him if he used YOUR chamber to set the die. You may be suprised.

 

[boomtube]

Cases expand at each firing, max loads or not. That's why it gets resized as a first step in reloading. How well it chambers later is a function of how well, and how consistant, it was resized. AND/OR how long the case is OR how consistant the bullets are seated.

Split necks are the most common type case failure but it usually doesn't happen until after several cycles. Exceptions are usually stray pieces that were not annealed properly by the maker.

 

[aglass1987]

I dont understand, the brass has only been shot in my rifle. It never did anything like that the first time. How often do you have to bump the shoulder back? Just trying to learn myself.

 

[aglass1987]

nevermind, I figured out the answer.

 

[Michael Eichele]

nevermind, I figured out the answer.

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[aglass1987]

I meant that I figured out the answer to the question about how often to bump the necks. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[LongBomber]

I may be able to help you with the neck splitting. Out of every bag of brass I buy for the 223wssm, I discard about 5-6. If you examine the shoulder of the new brass you can see a split line, running from the neck to the case body. At the first firing usually it will look like a little scratch, after the second or third firing the case will split at this location... I also had trouble with hard chambering of sized cases...I was using a standard rcbs #4 seat in my press, which the brass will fit in, but it will not resize the brass fully for me, so I picked up the right seat and presto no more problem.