300 WSM Question

[tweek1142]

Hello,

I recently ran into something that puzzles me. But first here is what i have for a rifle.

Remington 700 SPS Stainless w/ Hart Muzzle Break
Mcmillian A3 Sporter pillar/glass bedded
Bushnell 4.5-30X50 Elite Tactical

Pet Load: 66 gr. RL 17 behind a 168 NBT

Ok i have been shooting this load for some time now with great accuracy out to 800 yds. I haven't shot further than that so this is my max range i am comfortable with. Anyways, i have wondered lately if my pressure is high. I do get slightly flattened primers but this may be due to my head spacing being .004 longer or so i think because i get the same results with flattened primers even with factory ammo. my bolt lift has no hard lift what so ever. but this is what bothers me. Last weekend i was shooting and i took an already fired brass and chambered it. The bolt was hard to close. I thought that was weird so i shot another round. The bolt was easy to lift, i took out the empty brass and put it back in and again the bolt was hard to close. I did this a couple of times with the same result.

Now i do bump back the shoulder of the case .002 every time i resize. this happened on the 2nd firing of the brass. I checked the primer pockets when i got home and they are still snug. Can anyone please tell me what i am experiencing? Do i need to FL size? i trim my brass to 2.88 and after they are fired they do stretch to 2.95 and i always trim them back to 2.88. Is this too much stretch and should i be trimming every firing like i am?

thanks in advance for the help

 

[winmag]

Chamber out of round?
Bolt face not squared to action?
Running too high pressure with soft brass to get that much flow?
I dunno. Could be a lot of things.

I shoot 65gr RL-17 with 180 Accubonds, Nosler brass, & Fed 215 primer. I've loaded up to 66 gr, but backed off.
From what I've seen, RL-17 has a pressure curve that goes from flat to vertical in a Very short swing. Most folks that I've talked to agree that RL-17/300WSM combo likes the "warmer" loads for accuracy, but it'll let you know without a doubt when your on the edge of having a come apart if you're paying attention.
I don't know what the recommended loads are for 165's, but my guess is you've got something going on with your rifle, considering your previous posts on the subject

 

[tweek1142]

ive wondered about the chamber being out of round. as far as bolt face not being square to the action i don't think that is it because i had Hart's do their Accuracy package which includes lapping recoil lugs. When they did the package that's how i found out about my head spacing being .004 longer. What ill do next time i go out is fire one unload it and chamber it turning it every time i chamber to see if it is out of round. Then ill check them with the micro. If it is out of round what are my options? i doubt i will get Remington to look at it after the work i had done.

I appreciate your reply and considering my other posts. thanks again for the help. the rifle does shoot awesome. and the max load for 165 is 68 gr RL17. thats i why i used the 66 gr. as max for the 168 being the 180 is 66 gr max and they are bout the same length. I have never gone over this weight. i can also try some load with 61-63 gr to see if i get the same effect with the brass.

 

[tweek1142]

ok i tried the 61 gr. of RL 17. This load one holed at 100 yds. i was quite impressed. and the empty brass was easy to chamber. Same with 63 and 65gr. just not the same accuracy. So just for fun i tried some of my 66gr loads and only 2 out of the 5 were difficult to chamber after being fired.

 

[TOM H]

ive wondered about the chamber being out of round. as far as bolt face not being square to the action i don't think that is it because i had Hart's do their Accuracy package which includes lapping recoil lugs. When they did the package that's how i found out about my head spacing being .004 longer. What ill do next time i go out is fire one unload it and chamber it turning it every time i chamber to see if it is out of round. Then ill check them with the micro. If it is out of round what are my options? i doubt i will get Remington to look at it after the work i had done.

I appreciate your reply and considering my other posts. thanks again for the help. the rifle does shoot awesome. and the max load for 165 is 68 gr RL17. thats i why i used the 66 gr. as max for the 168 being the 180 is 66 gr max and they are bout the same length. I have never gone over this weight. i can also try some load with 61-63 gr to see if i get the same effect with the brass.

Have you run any loads over a chronograph? The max load of 68gr/R17 with 165gr Speer bullet @ 3217fps and max load of 66gr/R-17 with 180gr Speer bullet @ 3082fps.

I've shot some R-17 in my 300WSM with 165/168gr bullets be interest to compare data.

 

[tweek1142]

i have not ran it through a chrono. But what i have done is the G7 Ballistic Calculator with trajectory validation. I use this drop chart that it gives you. its telling me im running 3205 fps. and the drop chart is right on out to 800 and everywhere in between. i shoot at a caldwell gong

 

[Renoshooter]

Currently using 64.6 grains of RL17 with 168tsx bullets. I have found a decent node here but have not put it over a chrono.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

My max load out of a Sako M85, 24 3/8" barrel is 67.5 gr of 17 pushing 180 E-Tips to 3200 fps. that is a warm load but the Norma brass is holding up just fine.

My guess is your brass just needs to be sized back a couple of thou each firing. I'm a FL sizer guy myself and size my brass exactly the same way each time...consistency...

Cheers