Old Fired Cases Won't Chamber in New Barrel

[Full Curl]

I recently rebarreled a 270wsm. I have close to 300 cases that were all fired in the previous barrel. I used some new cases to make the loads I used to break in the new barrel. I also used these newly fired cases to measure the headspace of the new barrel. This morning I FL sized a few of my old cases and bumped the shoulders .002" back. When I checked to make sure they would chamber, I found out they won't. They get hung up in the belt area of the case and I can't get the bolt to close.

The FL die I use is a Redding Type S FL Bushing Die. It touches the belt area of the case when I FL size it but obviously does not size it down sufficiently enough for the case to chamber in my new barrel.

Do I have any options for getting these previously fired cases sized so they will chamber and I can shoot them in my new barrel? I do have some new cases I can use, but not too many. And with how hard it is to find new cases these days, I would really like to use my old cases, especially because I have close to 300 of them and they would last me a long time.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Carlos88]

270WSM with a belt?

 

[Full Curl]

270WSM with a belt?

It's a beltless case but I don't know how else to described the area that is hanging up in the new chamber. It's a pressure ring just about where the "belt" would be on a belted case... the lower part of the case body just above the head. There's a slight bulge around the case which makes it too fat to chamber in my new barrel... here's a graphic:

I could FL size back to SAAMI specs and see if that would size the bottom of the case more so it would fit?? I also have read about collet/sleeve dies but have never used one.

 

[Carlos88]

I'd keep adjusting the die down, resize, check fit resize,etc. It's always worked for me on beltless cases. Going down to the shell holder may be necessary going from a factory tube to custom.

 

[Carlos88]

BTW the area is commonly referred to as the base.

 

[GimpyPaw]

So you have cases that were fired in the old barrel. And now, even after sizing, they don't fit in the new barrel?

Old barrel had a worn out out of spec chamber, new barrel has a tight chamber.

 

[Full Curl]

I'd keep adjusting the die down, resize, check fit resize,etc. It's always worked for me on beltless cases. Going down to the shell holder may be necessary going from a factory tube to custom.

I'll check that tonight. Thank you. Reading old posts on this maybe the area I'm referring to is called the "web" area of the case?

 

[Full Curl]

BTW the area is commonly referred to as the base.

Thanks.

 

[Carlos88]

Yeah. That too. I have a lot of brain fade these days.

 

[Full Curl]

So you have cases that were fired in the old barrel. And now, even after sizing, they don't fit in the new barrel?

Old barrel had a worn out out of spec chamber, new barrel has a tight chamber.

Correct. But I only shoulder bumped them .002. I'll try a full FL size tonight and see if I can get them to fit.

Very possibly. I just want to know if I can size them to load in the new chamber??

 

[Carlos88]

Correct. But I only shoulder bumped them .002. I'll try a full FL size tonight and see if I can get them to fit.

Very possibly. I just want to know if I can size them to load in the new chamber??

You should be able to.

 

[Another Casual]

Bumping the brass from the old barrel to the shoulder length of the newly fired brass likely is not sizing the base sufficiently. I'd full length size to SAAMI spec when starting with a new barrel and brass used in another rifle.

 

[Hard rock]

Bumping the brass from the old barrel to the shoulder length of the newly fired brass likely is not sizing the base sufficiently. I'd full length size to SAAMI spec when starting with a new barrel and brass used in another rifle.

I hope Fl sizing solves the issue , I have had the same issue with a 284 win with win brass . A bulge would form at the web where the unsupported part of the case sits outside the chamber and no amount of FL sizing would size it enough for a different rifle chambered for the 284 win . I hope you are luckier than me it would be worth a try . If you can acquire some better brass I would recommend it ,I had as much as 15 grains difference in weight from brass too brass , in comparison too nearly no variation with Lapua brass.

 

[cape cove]

What you need to do is size the base of the case enough to chamber in your rifle without pushing the shoulder back too far. If you have access to a 300 RUM sizing you could try that. Resize right to the shell holder and not have to worry about pushing the shoulder back too far and end up with case seperations. Using cases fired in a different rifle chamber often ends up with problems such as this. Brass has a memory and will try to return to it's previous dimension. JME