Factory Head Space

[truck driver]

I have a Remington M700 35 Whelen and the primers are backing out of the primer pocket when fired. I measured the length of the fired case off the case mouth and rim then off the case mouth and protruding primer. There is a .013" difference in the case length. These are not hot reloads and I can see no other signs that would indicate the the load is over normal pressure for the chamber. Is this something I need to worry about and how can it be fixed?

 

[shortgrass]

I have a Remington M700 35 Whelen and the primers are backing out of the primer pocket when fired. I measured the length of the fired case off the case mouth and rim then off the case mouth and protruding primer. There is a .013" difference in the case length. These are not hot reloads and I can see no other signs that would indicate the the load is over normal pressure for the chamber. Is this something I need to worry about and how can it be fixed?

If this is a factory chambered barrel, the chances of excessive headspace are slim,,, but anything is possible. Have the headspace checked, by someone competent, with steel GO and NO-GO gauges. If the chamber checks OK with headspace gauges, your load may just be too light. Check with the proper gauges before deciding on any action to be taken.

 

[morcey2]

Are these reloads or factory ammo? Protruding primers can be caused by too low of a charge. I get them all of the time if I fire domestic (Rem/Win/Fed) 8mm Mauser ammunition. The primer backs out of the case during the initial ignition and is usually re-seated flush with the case head when the case head is forced backwards later in the firing process. This is on several different rifles, all of which have proper headspace. If the charge isn't high enough to force the case back in the chamber, you end up with a protruding primer.

If they're reloads, you might want to try increasing the charge (within reason, of course).

Matt

 

[truck driver]

Thanks for the suggestions I'll find a pair of head space gauges and check it out.

 

[shortgrass]

Thanks for the suggestions I'll find a pair of head space gauges and check it out.

The .35 Whelen uses 30/06 headspace gauges. Any competent gunsmith (that does any barrel work) should have these.

 

[truck driver]

I just checked a Quick Load prediction for the load I 'm running and the top load was under 62Kpsi. The other two loads were right at saami max. With the long throated Remington chamber I don't think this should be happening.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I just checked a Quick Load prediction for the load I 'm running and the top load was under 62Kpsi. The other two loads were right at saami max. With the long throated Remington chamber I don't think this should be happening.

This is why QL is, at best, a very poor guesstimate, it DOES NOT take into account how much throat you have, how big your chamber is, I know I know, it uses the H2O capacity of a fired case, but unless this case is super tight, it's not quite right.
Anyway, primers protruding is normally a sign of low pressure, not high pressure.
You make no mention of the load you are using. This will help.
I have a pressure trace, I have seen long throated factory barrels consume 5gr over any listed max before even approaching max pressure, this is why the factories long throat their barrels, so you don't get excessive pressures with manual listed loads.

Cheers.
gun)

 

[truck driver]

I was running a test for IMR8208XBR. I started with 57grs and worked up to 58.5grs under a 200gr AB CCI 200 primer.

 

[philipbrousseau]

Truck there is probably nothing wrong with your rifles head space. i don't know if you were shooting cases you resized or new unfired brass. with .013 primer protrusion you are seeing that your cases shoulder to base is that much shorter than your chamber. if you continually push the shoulders so far back and fire full pressure loads it will cause case head separation. if the pressure of your loads were max for your gun the primers would be reseated when the case head is forced back against the bolt face and may even have a riveted look.

 

[truck driver]

Truck there is probably nothing wrong with your rifles head space. i don't know if you were shooting cases you resized or new unfired brass. with .013 primer protrusion you are seeing that your cases shoulder to base is that much shorter than your chamber. if you continually push the shoulders so far back and fire full pressure loads it will cause case head separation. if the pressure of your loads were max for your gun the primers would be reseated when the case head is forced back against the bolt face and may even have a riveted look.

Thanks for the response you may have solved my problem and I'll check my sizing die set up.

 

[morcey2]

Another thought. Neck tension? If the cases were formed from 30-06, you may need to anneal them. Not likely, but a possibility.

Matt

 

[truck driver]

The cases were Remington 35 Whelen Factory and they were annealed recently.

 

[LoneTraveler]

Check the Sizing die. Sounds to me like they are shoving the shoulder back to far. If you did not buy the dies new, The dies may have been used with an old 35 Whelen wildcat chamber and had the bottom of the die cut down to size cases for a short chamber. I had a set of used 270 Win. dies that done what you are describing. I tracked them back to the guy who had a custom rifle with a short chamber. He had ground the bottom of the die off. Good Luck and Stay Safe

 

[philipbrousseau]

get a set of the hornady head space gauges. they save alot of time and trouble. believe me they are worth what they cost.