RELOADED .270 STICK AND CAN NOT CLOSE BOLT SAKO RIFLE

[FrogFire7]

Couple thoughts here... case gauges are fine, but really, OP has to set the shoulder back far enough (probably... we are missing some details) to chamber reliably in this specific gun. My guess, like others, is that the shoulder isn't being set back far enough.

I understand what you are saying but i have full length sized brass on my 300 WBY and had some that wouldnt chamber when I was done that came out of the same gun. Pulled bullets and set the shoulder back a bit further then there was no issue,
Dont know why.

I have seen this happen... the expander ball can pull the neck/shoulder forward when it is extracted from the case. Maybe could be fixed with lube inside the case neck?

 

[antelopedundee]

Be simple enough to rechamber the fired case and then again after one sizes and neck expands. Yet another reason to throw that expander ball into a black hole and expand the neck in a separate step. Or get one of those football shaped ones like the second from the left.

 

[FEENIX]

It is hard to troubleshoot when there is insufficient information to provide sound advice without speculations.

 

[Tripodmvr7]

Although case hardening is only addressed after 3 to 5 firings, the newer annealing processes make it easy to do. The advice is to do it after each firing to ensure consistency on all the cases. The work hardened cases have extra spring back that can stop chambering.

 

[sturner]

Shoulder bump

 

[cabelasken]

Make sure you have not put a 284 bullet in the case. they are very similar in appearance. I once bought some 300 WSM 180 Grain factory loads and discovered a 284 bullet in one of the cases. It looked different when I opened the box and when I pulled it out by the bullet, it came loose and I had case stuck in the box, a bit of powder on the floor and a 284 bullet in my other hand.

 

[emp1953]

Do you trim your cases? If you do you have to chamfer the inside and outside of the case neck. If you don't there will be a bulge when the bullet is seated resulting in exactly what you are seeing. Also try chambering an empty case just prior to your adding powder and a bullet, inspect the case and see if you are seeing any shiny or scraped spots on the brass.

 

[koonazz]

OP said he used an unfired case to set the resizing die. Never done this, always ran the die in til it touched shellholder at top of stroke, turn another 1/4 turn and lock her down for full length resizing. Am I missin somethin.

 

[chav0_12]

One additional thing I've had happen on occasion, and even some factory ammo( stuff was too expensive for that), is the shoulder buckles not because of crimp but because of the force the bullet had to overcome to seat. Luckily, most was recoverable by FL resizing and the issue was fixed by adding a generous chamber to the inside of the neck using a VLD chamfer from RCBS. I've had that issue as well as not enough shoulder bump or just not sizing the cases enough result in the symptoms you're having. I'd recommend getting into a couple of good reloading manuals, reading the die setup, sizing, trimming, and bullet seating process and knowing it fully before proceeding. You should be checking your cases for proper fit after each step until you get consistent results, I hope you didn't load a bunch that now all need to be pulled.

edit to add: the only Sako rifle I've loaded for was a 270 WSM and had an extremely tight chamber that needed the brass to be fully sized. Just something to think about.

 

[wyogeargeek]

I have shot and loaded for a.270 Sako for over 40 years. The only time I ever had this issue came down to shoulder bump on my sizing. Case manufacture has made a difference when resizing that I attribute to rim dimensions. Just my observations from long time use of the same rig. I think there is a lot of overthinking going on for no more info that has been provided.

 

[Mcranch]

I had a single shot CVA in 22-250 that would not close. I was leaving a dime width wanting to just do a neck sizing. This was many years ago. I called another that loaded and was told I needed to turn down the sizing die to bump the shoulder, it worked out. I was in mind that the fired round should fit right back into its chamber. Not always.

 

[chav0_12]

OP said he used an unfired case to set the resizing die. Never done this, always ran the die in til it touched shellholder at top of stroke, turn another 1/4 turn and lock her down for full length resizing. Am I missin somethin.

No, he said he was using it to set the seating die.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

never to be seen again

 

[Orange Dust]

Headspace too long.
Brass OAL too long.
Brass not sized small enough along body.
Case mouth not deburred enough.
Bullet seated too long and touching lands.
Primer not seated deep enough and protruding from case head.
Donut in neck.
Spaghetti arms.

Most of these can be very dangerous if the cartridge is fired. Do not shoot this ammo if you can get it to chamber. Pull the bullets and start over. Bullet pullers are the handloader's eraser. If you don't have one, get one.