Empty brass will not chamber- question.

[BergerBoy]

I have a problem that I have never encountered before.... Normally if I feel some resistence when I push my bolt handle down in the loaded position it's has always been bc my shoulder was not sized correctly due to my dies being set too deep or not deep enough.
However now I have had a new barrel put on my 300 and about 1/3 of the brass will not fit in the chamber when the case is empty without pushing down harder on the bolt handle than I feel comfortable with. It seems like to I need to trim my OAL of my brass, which I have never had to do, but I wanted some other opinions from you guys.

Thank you for your time.

 

[257ackleyhunter]

have you checked your OAL with a dial caliper? I check all my new brass before and after fireing (i have a wildcat) as long as the OAL is within spec theyre good. Also try full length sizeing your brass that could cause your issue as well. Is your brass new your previously fired? what brand of brass is it?

 

[450hunter]

I am having kind of the same problem with some Remington 338 RUM brass. I bought some once fired brass from here on the forum and it will not chamber even after running through my full length dies. If you try and close the bolt with your hand, you will need a dowel to knock the brass back out. The bolt comes no where near closing with this brass and is the same length as my other Remington brass. The brass is larger near the rim/base and you can't get the dies to go down far enough without hitting the shell holder. It sucks because I have about 80 pieces of this brass and it wasn't cheap.

 

[257ackleyhunter]

Thats an interesting problem...one that sounds like the brass was fired under alot of pressure or the chamber dimensions were that much different from their's to yours

 

[SimonT]

I ran across this in 300 um brass. Eventually discovered the head was a few thou too large in diameter to fit the bolt face (rem 700). Approx 40 out of a bag of one hundred affected.

 

[AZShooter]

Berger boy,


Your post is missing an important detail. You didn't say it you are trying to get your fired brass to fit or some of the new brass wont' fit the chamber.



If you are using your old fired brass, you may or may not be able to size the brass to fit the newer tighter chamber. You may have to buy new brass.

If you are using new brass and 1/3 won't fit your gunsmith made the chamber too short. Take it back and have him headspace it properly.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I went through the same exact problem with my .340 Wby. I had the barrel replaced with a Lilja Stainless Match barrel, and the brass fired in the old barrel would not fit in the new barrel even after resizing in RCBS dies.
After lengthy discussion and searching on this Forum (and a few other lesser forums), I ended up buying a Larry Willis Collet die. I was skeptical at first, but after trying it the first time, the resized brass chambered easily. PROBLEM SOLVED !!!
Larry sells his die with a money back guarantee, and he is a joy to talk to. First class product from a first class person.

 

[Dosh]

I went through the same exact problem with my .340 Wby. I had the barrel replaced with a Lilja Stainless Match barrel, and the brass fired in the old barrel would not fit in the new barrel even after resizing in RCBS dies.
After lengthy discussion and searching on this Forum (and a few other lesser forums), I ended up buying a Larry Willis Collet die. I was skeptical at first, but after trying it the first time, the resized brass chambered easily. PROBLEM SOLVED !!!
Larry sells his die with a money back guarantee, and he is a joy to talk to. First class product from a first class person.

BB, you did not mention which 300 you are loading and if new or fired brass. Redding has body dies which have solved this for me. I was given some once fired 30/378 Wby brass which is quite pricey new, but would not chamber until I ran it through the body die. It now chambers fine even after firing in my rifle. The die was around $30 and there is 60 pieces of brass. I gained over $200 in brass for the price of the die. A friend has the Willis unit and raves about it also. Good luck

 

[BergerBoy]

THANK YOU TO ALL!!!!!

I got on Larry Willis web-page and I will give him a call in the morning. It sounds like that maybe just what I need.

Also, AZhooter- New bass will fit fine it is the once fired brass from when I had my Bartlin Barrel on that will not fit even if I resize it. I can almost look at the brass when they are lined up next to each other and see the shorter ones and know that they will fit. My new chamber must be a bit smaller.

Also, my groups are great- less than .5 moa @ 100 yds. Well, good for me but my ES is much higher than I like- about 30-35 fps. I always had less than 15 fps until now but like I said, my groups are good so I never worried much.

Any other advice on that subject guys?

Thanks

 

[450hunter]

Just to see I took a piece of fine sandpaper and my drill to turn the brass. I sanded the brass where the die couldn't get to ( between die and shell holder ) and the brass chamber like new. I know that is not a fix but I wanted to make sure that was where the problem was. I used a sharpie and colored that case then tried chambering it and you could see the mark all the way around the case were it was hitting. I don't know of any way to save these cases. I guess it was just a bad purchase.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Just to see I took a piece of fine sandpaper and my drill to turn the brass. I sanded the brass where the die couldn't get to ( between die and shell holder ) and the brass chamber like new. I know that is not a fix but I wanted to make sure that was where the problem was. I used a sharpie and colored that case then tried chambering it and you could see the mark all the way around the case were it was hitting. I don't know of any way to save these cases. I guess it was just a bad purchase.

Not really sure what you did by your description, but if it involved removing any of the brass on the case, I personally would not do that. You definitely don't want to make the case thinner than it is by removing any material (brass) in that area of the case.

 

[450hunter]

Laelkhunter, I sanded the area where it was hitting in the chamber and no allowing the case to be completely chambered (bolt closed). Yes, I removed brass from that case by turning it with a drill and sanding that area of the case. It was just for a test purposes to make sure that was the only problem I was having with this brass. I will not load that case nor will I do that to any of the other cases. I just sacrificed one case to see not that I can use the other ones either.

 

[LoneTraveler]

Been there done that. If a gun is reamed with a minium chamber reamer it is very hard to find a sizing die that will that will size the case to fit the small chamber. I would take the rifle back to the gunsmith and have him gauge the chamber. That would be the beginning point. If the chamber was not cut to specs it will be a fight as long as the barrel lasts. Good Luck in resolving this problem.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Laelkhunter, I sanded the area where it was hitting in the chamber and no allowing the case to be completely chambered (bolt closed). Yes, I removed brass from that case by turning it with a drill and sanding that area of the case. It was just for a test purposes to make sure that was the only problem I was having with this brass. I will not load that case nor will I do that to any of the other cases. I just sacrificed one case to see not that I can use the other ones either.

O.K. I understand it now. Thanks for the explanation, and I'm glad you were able to identify the problem. Sorry for the confusion.