Reloaded round will not chamber...

[Tjscharp]

I am loading for the .300 win mag, and am trying out the new LRX .175 gr. barnes solid copper bullet. I have just the generic two die RCBS full length die set. I was attempting to make a dummy round , so I could properly seat the bullet to the suggested .030-.070" off the lands. I attempted to chamber the dummy round but the bolt would not close.
-the bullet is not contacting the lands or inhibiting the bolt from closing.
-my cases are 2.620" in length
-the the outside diameter of the neck measures .334" after full length resizing.
-after removing the bullet via, a bullet removal mallet, the empty case would not chamber.

What am I missing here??????
I haven't reloaded for a while, but I have never had this issue before.

 

[gillettehunter]

You'll get more help from a few others, but I'll try. Is this new brass has it been fired? If fired was it fired in this rifle? If a different rifle then was the shoulder bumped back? That is one possibility. How many times has the brass been reloaded? The other is the brass just above the belt swelling. Won't go in your die to bring it back to specs. To solve that issue get a belted magnum resizing die from Innovative tech. Google them. That should solve the problem. Those are the top 2 issues that I can think of. Bruce

 

[gohring3006]

Is it new brass or brass fired from that rifle or a different rifle.

 

[Marble]

I use the same dies and an RCBS press with the same cartridge. I have always been told to full length resize the first time around. For those dies and that press, place the proper shell holder into the press, operate the arm of the press like you were putting a shell into a die, put the resizing die in the press and screw it down until it touches the shell holder. After it touches, screw it in 1/8-1/4 further. I do this the first time for new brass. After I shoot them one time I resize them only enough to get them to go in my chamber.

 

[Tjscharp]

I had full length resized the brass. The brass are once fired federals. I have tried to feed them in both of my .300's with the same result. I can actually see that the brass has been sized by the slight color change of the brass. I followed the instruction to touch the shell holder and then go down another 1/8 to a 1/4 turn.
I have never had an issue with these dies before, less than a hundred rounds have been through them.

 

[gohring3006]

I would set the die so the press cams over if that don't work try a different shell holder one that allows the case to be a little higher on the ram. If it was me I would take a candle and smoke the case with carbon and run it thru and see what actually is getting cotact . I don't think your setting your shoulder back far enough or not at all

 

[Marble]

Are the primers all the way in? I just had this issue with some brass my wife and son helped me with. They didn't seat the primers all the way in and luckily, I checked their work before I kept going.

 

[gohring3006]

Are the primers all the way in? I just had this issue with some brass my wife and son helped me with. They didn't seat the primers all the way in and luckily, I checked their work before I kept going.

That's a good point but I think that trying to chamber a round with a bolt action would seat the primer far enough to chamber. The action type gives some mechanical advantage/ leverage with the camming of the bolt lugs and bolt handle

 

[Rick Richard]

I also think it is a shoulder issue. Keep turning the die in until it either works or until the shoulder distorts.

 

[Cuz]

Make sure your seating die is not screwed in too far. That can bulge the shoulder and keep it from chambering on some dies.

 

[Tjscharp]

I will try the candle idea. I was loading a dummy round, so no primer...

 

[LoneTraveler]

Check a case straight out of the sizing die into the chamber. A RCBS Seating Die has a crimping ring. If you screw the die in till the case hits the crimping ring and the bullet has no cannula or out of length adjustment to match the case mouth to the cannula, It will shove shoulder down and out and swell a ring around the case where the case body meets the shoulder angle, and it won't go in the chamber. Good Luck in finding a solution.

 

[Clovis Man]

Check a case straight out of the sizing die into the chamber. A RCBS Seating Die has a crimping ring. If you screw the die in till the case hits the crimping ring and the bullet has no cannula or out of length adjustment to match the case mouth to the cannula, It will shove shoulder down and out and swell a ring around the case where the case body meets the shoulder angle, and it won't go in the chamber. Good Luck in finding a solution.

I've just started reloading for a belted magnum. Been reloading .270 and .30-'06 for decades, and never heard this about the belted magnum.

Do you NOT crimp, then? I'm using bullets without a cannula, so possibly creating a bulge. Have had a couple of "stiff" ones, that were hard to close the bolt on, but not impossible to close.

 

[MagnumManiac]

To see if your chamber is SHORT, place a .005" feeler guage under the CASE between the shell holder, size, clean and try to chamber it, if still stiff on closing, try a .010" feeler guage under the case, size, clean and chamber, if it chambers easily then get a new shell holder and have .010" machined off the TOP of the shell holder. Then you will need to adjust your die as usual until a case just chambers with a slight resistance. Problem solved.
Now, the reason this happens is due to the case getting LONGER as it is FL sized before the shoulder is actually pushed back, normally camming over will solve this, but it can also lead to premature head separations if not done correctly.
To size your brass correctly, you should have a tool that measures the shoulder position of your fired cases so you can then measure how much your die is moving the shoulder back, I use 2 types, for precision measuring of my target rounds, I use a RCBS Precision Mic and for general cartridges I use the Hornady LnL Headspace kit that fits onto a vernier caliper.

Cheers.
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