pressure signs at 1 grain over books starting load

[shawn338lapua]

ok so let me say i am very new to reloading. I am shooting a savage 111 LRH in the 338 lapua. i started putting some loads together and the book (Modern Reloading, 2nd addition richard lee) says to start at 83 grains. i am using H1000, Lapua brass and lapua scenar 300 gr and cci MLR primers #250. i shot a 3 round group with 84 grains. 1 of the primers flattened and all three show slight ejector circles. is this normal? should i try my load ladder below what the book recommends since i am getting pressure signs early? Also i tried FL resizing some brass that where making my bolt stick(also showed signs of OP), no improvement, any suggestions? i am using a RCBS FL die. am i going to have to shell out for a more expensive die? anyways any help would be great. thanks

 

[Centxshooter]

Had the same rifle. Hornady brass is hit and miss and will jam. Get some Lapua and your chamber problems will be a thing of the past. As for pressure you dont mentioned your COAL (Load to book lenght if not) My rifle really like Retumbo. H1000 never gave me the accuracy. I used Lapua brass, 300 SMK, and WLRM primers.

 

[shawn338lapua]

yeah i went through 2 boxes of hornady to start braking it in. would get stuck all the time, so i did switch to lapua brass and am not going to look back. i am loading just at the books length.

 

[azsugarbear]

You should not be experiencing pressure issues with that load. Just some ideas to explore: Are you seating the bullets to where they are being "jammed" into the lands? I guess another way of asking is: Can you load your cartridges into the magazine? If so, then your COL is probably not the culprit. How many rounds down the barrel? What has been your cleaning regimen and what solvents are you using?

 

[shawn338lapua]

i am getting faint rifling marks, but my Col is 3.685 and the book gives me a 3.681, and yep they fit fine in the mag. i have alittle over 100 rounds through it and i try to clean it after every outing. barrel snake, rem-oil. should i try pushing the bullets in a tiny but more, maybe 3.675 and try again?

 

[azsugarbear]

I would only try one thing at a time, so that you can isolate what is wrong. That way, if it ever happens again, you know the root of the problem.

The easiest thing to do first would be to load up one or two rounds with the shorter COL and see if the pressure issue persists. Another thing to try would be a thorough cleaning with some great solvents. You don't mention what you are using, but you need to use both a copper solvent and then a carbon solvent. Sometimes layers of each can build up on each other.

This very thing happened to me on a custom .243 barrel. Even though I was using a good copper stripper (BMG 50) and a carbon stripper (Hoppes #9 and GM motorhead carbon cleaner), I still developed layers that spiked my pressure. I couldn't figure it out until I finally took it to a gunsmith and paid him $10 to look down the barrel with his bore scope. It was caked in the throat so bad that I had to use onw or two passes with JB Bore Paste just to get things loose. After that, some heavy scrubbing. Some Wipeout left overnight and we were GTG. Things returned to normal. Keep us apprised of your progress.

 

[Bullet bumper]

ok so let me say i am very new to reloading. I am shooting a savage 111 LRH in the 338 lapua. i started putting some loads together and the book (Modern Reloading, 2nd addition richard lee) says to start at 83 grains. i am using H1000, Lapua brass and lapua scenar 300 gr and cci MLR primers #250. i shot a 3 round group with 84 grains. 1 of the primers flattened and all three show slight ejector circles. is this normal? should i try my load ladder below what the book recommends since i am getting pressure signs early? Also i tried FL resizing some brass that where making my bolt stick(also showed signs of OP), no improvement, any suggestions? i am using a RCBS FL die. am i going to have to shell out for a more expensive die? anyways any help would be great. thanks

Reloading manuals are only a rough guide . There is no way on Gods Earth that they can allow for dozens of tolerance variables that exist within the manufacture of guns and ammo .
Go back down and find a good safe pressure and accuracy sweet spot and forget about what grains that is . Every gun is a law unto it's self .
I have a friend with a 243 that is popping primers a full 4 grains of powder under my load in my 243 with no excess pressure signs with exactly the same componnents . It seems crazy but that is what is happening .
Don't try to copy anyone else , always start a bit below the recommended loads and work up to that safe sweet load.

 

[Catfur]

Check your headspace, especially the headspace of a just resized case. My 6mm was showing ejector marks on minimum loads, then I backed the die off to just touching the shell holder, and not a quarter turn past, and haven't seen an ejector mark since.

 

[shawn338lapua]

Thanks for the suggestions. ill try these and see what comes up.

 

[shawn338lapua]

ok so i tried seating the bullets a little deeper into the case. this seemed to be enough to stop flattening the primers at a load a couple grains heavier then mentioned before (86gr). it is still leaving ejector marks but they are faint and lots of carbon on the neck(dont know if that means much). i didnt have any problem ejecting them. does this sound like something i could ignore?

 

[idaho elk hunter]

You have one of the best bang for your buck rifles out there! But it is a mass produced rifle with a lot of manufacturing tolerances. I would probably say that you have a "fresh" barrel and a "fresh" chamber. This means your chamber was cut with a new die and is tighter than a rifle that was cut with used worn dies. This stands true for the barrel and chamber. I do not want you to assume off this reply that you have a cut rifled barrel but all barrels have a die or a cutter that wear. The newer ones will definitely be different than the last ones produced from the same tooling. I have helped many people reload for this rifle n our reloading classes that we offer and have yet to se a load that can yet repeatedly beat a 25 Sierra with a load of H1000. I know Sierra does not have the sexy name it once had but it really does compete as good as any other bullet especially in the rifle. I will close with on suggeston for this,,WIN MAG PRIMERS.. if you want to surpass the 215

 

[Bear Camp]

i am getting faint rifling marks, but my Col is 3.685 and the book gives me a 3.681, and yep they fit fine in the mag. i have alittle over 100 rounds through it and i try to clean it after every outing. barrel snake, rem-oil. should i try pushing the bullets in a tiny but more, maybe 3.675 and try again?

Could you have gotten oil in the chamber and that is what giving you high pressure signs? The brass needs to grab the chamber wall during ignition and oil/moisture can give you falls readings. Just a thought.

 

[Bullet bumper]

You have one of the best bang for your buck rifles out there! But it is a mass produced rifle with a lot of manufacturing tolerances. I would probably say that you have a "fresh" barrel and a "fresh" chamber. This means your chamber was cut with a new die and is tighter than a rifle that was cut with used worn dies. This stands true for the barrel and chamber. I do not want you to assume off this reply that you have a cut rifled barrel but all barrels have a die or a cutter that wear. The newer ones will definitely be different than the last ones produced from the same tooling. I have helped many people reload for this rifle n our reloading classes that we offer and have yet to se a load that can yet repeatedly beat a 25 Sierra with a load of H1000. I know Sierra does not have the sexy name it once had but it really does compete as good as any other bullet especially in the rifle. I will close with on suggeston for this,,WIN MAG PRIMERS.. if you want to surpass the 215

That's the wrong way around . A new reamer cuts a big chamber and an old worn and resharpened reamer cuts the tight chambers .
Same with rifling buttons the barrel gets tighter as the button gets smaller .

 

[Bullet bumper]

A barrel snake is totally useless as a barrel cleaning device and can even do damage to the crown .
Rem oil is just a lubricant . However it contains Teflon which is a bad thing in a barrel as when subjected to extreme heat can produce fluorine a very corrosive material.
Only use the Rem oil outside the barrel ! Use G96 Synthetic gun oil inside the barrel or wheel bearing grease for storage .
Buy a Dewey cleaning rod . some Hart bronze brushes , some nylon brushes , a roll of chux towelling from home depot and some proper bore solvent . Like Sweets 7.62 , Montana Extreme 50 BMG or Bore tech eliminator .
Learn how to properly clean the barrel and remove any copper fouling.
This could be part of your problem the barrel is over fouled and raising pressures .