7mm STW Cases Stuck After Firing

[General RE LEE]

I had another thread a while back about the cases getting stuck in my Rem 700 Sendero 7mm STW. Many suggested primary extraction issues. It has really bothered me that I have this issue with the rifle and I've been brainstorming.

I think the issue is case bulge above the belt. I resize with a $50 Hornady full length resizing die. I measured with calipers above the belt of factory Remington Core Lokt 7mm STW ammo and it was 0.50 and above the belt. My resized cases measure 0.512 above the belt. I don't think my die is sizing all the way to the case belt and the diameter is larger than never fired factory brass.

After 3 firings and subsequent reloadings, the brass will get stuck when I go to pull the bolt back. I have to bang on the bolt to extract the spent case.

The only solution I have found is to load lighter loads. The light loads will start to stick if chamber and bore start to get hot. If the load is anything above medium the case is stuck everytime.

Anyone get stuck cases from a belted magnum?

 

[Reelamin]

99 percent of my dies are just basic sets of RCBS REDDING and HORNADY. Only belted mag issue was a 7RM pre internet days. Called RCBS and was told I needed to tighten the die in farther and it worked fine. I have a stock 7stw sendero happy to measure some of my cases if you think it will help.

 

[Carlos88]

Yes but the problem wasn't the case it was the extractor. 700s have spring steel extractors that weaken over time. The solution is an M16 or mini-M16 extractor. If it gets stuck with that type you've ripped the rim off the case.

Karl just did one for my 7mm Weatherby (700). He charges $130 round trip. Takes about 2 weeks. All you have to do is send the bolt. He is a superb machinist. I highly recommend his work.

Kampfeld Custom - Custom Rifles, Custom Gunsmithing

You might consider the following die as well. It will take care of the bulge on all your manglems.

Innovative Technologies - Reloading Equipment

Our patented resizing die can reload Winchester, Remington and Weatherby belted magnums up to 20 times, instead of just 2 or 3 times and the top of the die is a chamber width gauge.

www.larrywillis.com

 

[WildRose]

I had another thread a while back about the cases getting stuck in my Rem 700 Sendero 7mm STW. Many suggested primary extraction issues. It has really bothered me that I have this issue with the rifle and I've been brainstorming.

I think the issue is case bulge above the belt. I resize with a $50 Hornady full length resizing die. I measured with calipers above the belt of factory Remington Core Lokt 7mm STW ammo and it was 0.50 and above the belt. My resized cases measure 0.512 above the belt. I don't think my die is sizing all the way to the case belt and the diameter is larger than never fired factory brass.

After 3 firings and subsequent reloadings, the brass will get stuck when I go to pull the bolt back. I have to bang on the bolt to extract the spent case.

The only solution I have found is to load lighter loads. The light loads will start to stick if chamber and bore start to get hot. If the load is anything above medium the case is stuck everytime.

Anyone get stuck cases from a belted magnum?

You could always put an empty, once fired case, a resized case, and a "dummy round" using a resized case together with your die and send it to Hornady for them to check out. They are very good about finding such issues and if the die itself is the problem would certainly replace it.

The Hornady Custom die set might be worth considering along with these.

The Lee Collet Die.

Lee Precision, Inc.. Rifle Die Sets

Rifle Die Sets

leeprecision.com

Or the Redding Type S Bushing Dies.

 

[Reelamin]

I'm confused I guess. From his post the case was stuck and he has to beat the bolt back to extract the case. I didn't read where the bolt was not pulling the case out.

Yes if the bolt or extractor is not holding the case rim it is flawed. Remington have brand new bolts with bad extractors leaving the case in the chamber (I had one) and they said it was fine. 700 is a insane weld process to remove install a factory one. Sent bolt to Karl for a mini 16 and it works perfectly.
I have not purchased a new firearm from Remington since 2002 for that reason

 

[Bob Wright]

The only wildcard for me was a 7RM that I bought and was a closet queen kept in a soft case. It had a brown patina in the chamber. I used JB bore polish and it went away. Definitely hung up 5 rounds.
Other than that, there are dies to resize all the way to the belt in a second operation as above...

 

[WildRose]

I'm confused I guess. From his post the case was stuck and he has to beat the bolt back to extract the case. I didn't read where the bolt was not pulling the case out.

Yes if the bolt or extractor is not holding the case rim it is flawed. Remington have brand new bolts with bad extractors leaving the case in the chamber (I had one) and they said it was fine. 700 is a insane weld process to remove install a factory one. Sent bolt to Karl for a mini 16 and it works perfectly.
I have not purchased a new firearm from Remington since 2002 for that reason

The bolt face on my old 700bdl 7RM was slightly undercut. It would grab the brass and then just tear the outer rim off frequently leaving the case stuck.

That gun went back to Remington 5 different times and they never did get all the bugs worked out. Too bad, it turned me completely off of the 700's for 20 plus years.

 

[MagnumManiac]

The case is supposed to be .512" above the belt….new brass is undersize.
If it were caused by a bulge, there would be witness marks of the brass being scrubbed off as the bolt is rotated.
If the bolt timing is off, your symptom is exactly what happens because the primary extraction is not pulling the case out far enough to break the seal. With the bolt closed, look to see how much gap there is between the action body and the bolt handle. If it is larger than .020" you have a problem.

Cheers.

 

[General RE LEE]

The case is supposed to be .512" above the belt….new brass is undersize.
If it were caused by a bulge, there would be witness marks of the brass being scrubbed off as the bolt is rotated.
If the bolt timing is off, your symptom is exactly what happens because the primary extraction is not pulling the case out far enough to break the seal. With the bolt closed, look to see how much gap there is between the action body and the bolt handle. If it is larger than .020" you have a problem.

Cheers.

If primary extraction was the issue would the problem always be present regardless of powder charge? Cases get stuck with warmer loads so down charging them the bolt will extract case.

 

[WapitiBob]

If primary extraction was the issue would the problem always be present regardless of powder charge? Cases get stuck with warmer loads so down charging them the bolt will extract case.

Not in my experience. I had a rem 700 accurized for a 2nd time and lost some extraction. Low charge rounds would extract, full charge would not. You can look at the bolt like mentioned above and see if there is a problem. Also, you can inadvertently bend those cheap factory extractors and you're hosed at that point. I've built up the bolt handle with devcon to get my extraction back but it's a short term fix. Permanent fix was a Defiance Anti.

 

[MagnumManiac]

If primary extraction was the issue would the problem always be present regardless of powder charge? Cases get stuck with warmer loads so down charging them the bolt will extract case.

Exactly correct. As powder charge is increased the case grips the chamber walls tighter, therefore making primary extraction more important and critical.
You can have the issue fixed, they sweat off the bolt handle and put it back on in the correct place.
There is a fellow mentioned on this forum quite often but I forget his name, sorry.

Cheers.

 

[WildRose]

If primary extraction was the issue would the problem always be present regardless of powder charge? Cases get stuck with warmer loads so down charging them the bolt will extract case.

Not necessarily particularly if there's a burr in the chamber or a head space issue.

 

[baldhunter]

I had an extraction issue with not one,but two Remington 700 7mags.I had been shooting a Ruger #1 7mag,full length resized the brass and reloaded the cases using the same loads and dies that I have used with my other Remington 7mags.I took three rifles to the range one morning,all 7mags,all shooting brass that had been fired once in the Ruger #1.I had extraction problems with both of my Remington 700's.I had to try several times to get the brass to extract before it would.I never could figure that one out.Maybe there was a tiny bulge ahead of the case causing it to stick.I never had another extraction issue with other brass,only with brass that had been fired once in the Ruger #1.The Ruger has it's own brass now,my Remmy's don't like to share.

 

[WildRose]

I had an extraction issue with not one,but two Remington 700 7mags.I had been shooting a Ruger #1 7mag,full length resized the brass and reloaded the cases using the same loads and dies that I have used with my other Remington 7mags.I took three rifles to the range one morning,all 7mags,all shooting brass that had been fired once in the Ruger #1.I had extraction problems with both of my Remington 700's.I had to try several times to get the brass to extract before it would.I never could figure that one out.Maybe there was a tiny bulge ahead of the case causing it to stick.I never had another extraction issue with other brass,only with brass that had been fired once in the Ruger #1.The Ruger has it's own brass now,my Remmy's don't like to share.

Always a good idea not to swap brass between rifles because of eccentricities in each chamber.