Reloaded round will not chamber...

[Lefty7mmstw]

dollars to pesos you got two seating die bodies from rcbs (could also be a poorly reamed die/ mismarked)..... I had this happen once with a set of 7rum dies; take a look at the top of the threaded portion if you will to see if one says fl on it and the other says seater..... if so, get where you bought them to take 'em back for a set that has both correct dies.
I'd have rcbs help you though; from what I've heard, they are good to work with.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

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.

Clovis, I hardly ever crimp. You can't crimp bullets without a cannelure unless you have a lee factory crimp die as it'll bulge the case and often mess up the bullet or cause serious runout. Crimping is unnecessary if you have decent neck tension and is another variable in the accuracy game. Have you gotten your necks exactly the same length?? If they aren't perfect (most trimmers have a bit of variance based on applied hand pressure), your bullet pull will vary between rounds and that WILL mess with accuracy.

 

[Tjscharp]

I have used this set of dies flawlessly several years back. They have sat for a while without being used. I would say that there must have been a case lube build up somewhere, but there really wasn't anything visibly wrong with the brass. I suppose that it really wouldn't take much of a bulge to make it go out of tolerance.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I have used this set of dies flawlessly several years back. They have sat for a while without being used. I would say that there must have been a case lube build up somewhere, but there really wasn't anything visibly wrong with the brass. I suppose that it really wouldn't take much of a bulge to make it go out of tolerance.

I gotcha..... btw. lube buildup will usually cause dents and things to be smaller as it is a buildup not a takeaway. check your vent port(s) as if they are plugged you may not be getting the case in easily

P.S. monster fonts look as though you are yelling ..... we are trying to help you.

 

[Tjscharp]

(P.S. monster fonts look as though you are yelling ..... we are trying to help you.)
Sorry about the font size, that's what I get for using a smart phone to reply.....or perhaps you are just a little case sensitive

 

[travelhunter]

please take lefty's advice, RCBS treated me like a king, the issue was my fault due to my ignorance and it was fixed free and in 3 days. serious

 

[Clovis Man]

Clovis, I hardly ever crimp. You can't crimp bullets without a cannelure unless you have a lee factory crimp die as it'll bulge the case and often mess up the bullet or cause serious runout. Crimping is unnecessary if you have decent neck tension and is another variable in the accuracy game. Have you gotten your necks exactly the same length?? If they aren't perfect (most trimmers have a bit of variance based on applied hand pressure), your bullet pull will vary between rounds and that WILL mess with accuracy.

Thanks, Lefty. I will now STOP crimping! And to measure the case lengths, I will have to buy a new digital caliper, as my old mechanical caliper is a bit difficult to adjust, and it takes a slide rule to do all the conversions from digital fractions of an inch to 8ths or 16ths of an inch!

Been wanting one anyway!

 

[Clovis Man]

Thanks, Lefty. I will now STOP crimping! And to measure the case lengths, I will have to buy a new digital caliper, as my old mechanical caliper is a bit difficult to adjust, and it takes a slide rule to do all the conversions from digital fractions of an inch to 8ths or 16ths of an inch!

Been wanting one anyway!

Finally got around to shooting a few without crimping. All chambered easily and none tried to "stick" after firing.

In the meantime, I found my scope mount was loose all over, so I bought a F.A.T. Wrench, took it all apart, and put it back together at proper torque values.

Even with all of this, I still got a 1" or so group at 100 yards, and a bit larger, maybe 3" or so, at 200 yards. Still having a little trouble with the recoil, but I think I'm getting it under control. Or at least better.

Thanks again, Lefty.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Finally got around to shooting a few without crimping. All chambered easily and none tried to "stick" after firing.

In the meantime, I found my scope mount was loose all over, so I bought a F.A.T. Wrench, took it all apart, and put it back together at proper torque values.

Even with all of this, I still got a 1" or so group at 100 yards, and a bit larger, maybe 3" or so, at 200 yards. Still having a little trouble with the recoil, but I think I'm getting it under control. Or at least better.

Thanks again, Lefty.

cool man, glad you are getting it together.

 

[Cowboyshooter]

So I purchased a new set of dies, from Lee this time. I resized the brass I had already run through the rcbs die (which was causing the issue) I could feel an odd resistance as the expander ball ran though the start of the case mouth. it was only at the start. The cases now chamber easily.

What I would look at with the symptoms you have mentioned, along with your mention of using a non-digital caliper, would lead me to look at a one place on the shell.
If you have even slightly longer than spec brass, or even brass at the upper end of the okay range, as you seat the bullet with a die that wants to crimp, it is common you will cause a very slight bulge in the brass at the mouth. This is often impossible to see, and without a very light touch on the calipers, very hard to measure. However, with a tighter chamber it will not allow the "loaded" round to enter far enough to close the bolt. This only takes a couple of thousands of an inch to create the problem with some firearms.

Even brass flow towards the mouth, can cause a feeding problem, even with no changes to the die set. This is because of thickening of the brass at the mouth, one reason for inside or outside neck trimming of the brass. This is more common in the higher pressure rounds, something the .300 certainly falls into. The thickening of the brass in the neck, along with any crimping can set up the situation you were having.

The reason I suspect this is your statement of feeling an odd sensation as you entered the brass, when resizing with the Lee die. I have had the same experience when changing bullets, or misreading the information for setting up the particular round from my records. Good looking round, but no way to get it to chamber. Checked and found the bulge, extremely small, but enough to mean it would not work.

If you reset the RCBS die it most likely will work correctly, once you have the brass in spec, along with using only the neck tension to hold the bullet in place.

 

[crissmorgan]

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.

I wholeheartedly agree with gilettehunter about the Innovative Tech belt resizer. It actually resizes the area just above the belt where no normal resizing die can reach. Be sure to follow the directions carefully, especially the part about using a BUNCH of lube. Preferably Imperial Sizing Lube. I have used mine to resize thousands of 7mm Rem Mag cases, actually I guess I should say I have full length resized several thousand 7mm Mag cases and then had to use the belt sizer to resize the belt area on several hundred of the just full length sized cases because they refused to chamber in my rifle. The nice thing about the belt sizer is that it is also used to gauge the cases and if the case will easily enter the gauge end of the die, then it will definitely fit in your chamber, assuming it has been properly full length resized. With shipping, it cost real close to 100 dollars but I consider that some of the best money I have ever spent. After you full length resize and use the belt sizer, you can neck size only and get more reloads of your fired brass than you will ever think could be done. I used to throw out cases that I had only fired three or four times because the case just above the belt had swollen so badly that the case couldn't enter the chamber. I can get over 10 reloads out of my brass now and the only reason I have to cull them is because the primer pockets finally get too large. Every time I think about the money I used to spend on brass I get mad. If you have never used one of these dies, prepare to be amazed. I don't really think that, if this is new brass, the belt area is giving you the described problem. If you have a short cut chamber then you may need to bump the shoulder back a little bit more. If the brass has been fired, the first thing I would check is the overall length of the brass to see if they need to be trimmed, and if that, along with bumping the shoulder back doesn't solve the problem, then buy the belt resizing die. Finally, look at the rim of the cases and see if there is any damage that may prevent the bolt from seating the cartridge into the chamber fully. As expensive as brass has gotten lately, you ought to go ahead and invest in the belt resizer anyway. Even if you have a lifetimes supply of once fired brass, some of them will need the belt area resized. It is good insurance and confidence building to know for a fact that your cartridges will fit in the chamber when you really need it. Since you have already reloaded at least some of the brass, be absolutely sure to pull the bullets before you run them through a full length sizer die again. Never, ever try to resize a loaded cartridge and don't ask me how I know this for a fact. If this still doesn't fix your problem, let us know and I will see what else I can think of that it might be. Right now I can't think of anything else it could possibly be unless it is a horribly dirty chamber or a damaged chamber, but that probably isn't the problem.

 

[strap14]

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.

Since you are using once fired brass, I assume it was not fired in either of your rifles. I had the same problem and it seemed that all the sizes were correct on this brass. I took an unloaded brass and turned a few thousandths off ahead of the belt and it chambered easily. I believe the best answer is to get that special die or throw the brass away. I wouldn't want to shoot brass after cutting material away from the body. The difference is slight, but still there. Many chambers can be different.

 

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

I've heard if but haven't used the innovative belted case dies, but I have relied pretty heavily on my Wilson Adjustable Case Gauge for my 300 win mag. I'm not sure where I'd be without it actually. Bought one for my 308 and 7mm IHMSA rounds as well. Works like a dream for me. Only the 300 win mag of the bunch was adjustable, but after setting it up like the youtube video, I haven't had issues with cases not fitting after resizing so that they fit the gauge.

 

[strap14]

jboscobuys, I hear what you are saying about the Wilson gauge. but it just gauges your shoulder setting/headspace. It doesn't fix it with screwed up brass. I thought that all I would have to do with those cases that wouldn't fit was to change the die setting, but with a case that has been shot in a gun with a really blown out back chamber area, the die won't reach that little area I mentioned in my earlier post. I would hope that the Innovative Belted Case Dies actually goes down to resize that area above the belt. The dies I am using (Herters), do not really size down that far on the case. I had never had a problem with resizing any case before no matter how bad they were before. I had also never resized belted cases before. the dies need to size right up to the belt. I lightly chucked them up in a lathe and skinned a few thousandths off and they chambered very easily. That told me where the problem was with the cases but not the cure. All other once fired cases never gave me a problem and obviously no I had problems with new brass.