reloading issues

[rwilliamson1]

hello everyone i am new to long distance shooting and purchaced a savage 338 lapua. apon buying the 338 i started reloading the ammunition for it. my first 3 loads that i loaded shot really well and i had no issues. but for some reason now i have been having issues with the cases sticking in the gun after firing them. i have tried cleaning my gun and been very cautious with my loads making sure i have not exceeded the maximum powder charge and my trim and seat lengths are set to the data in my barnes reloading manual. im not sure what the issue is i have done everything i have been shown to do and i have not been able to figure it out. im not sure if i am doing something wrong or if something is wrong with my gun. i have noticed that some of my primers after shooting are alittle rougher and are alittle cratered from where the firing pin is stricking them. after i noticed this i went to a minimum powder charge and i am still seeing this issue. i have been using us 869 and imr 7828 powder and federal gm 215 large magnum rifle match primers. if anyone has an idea or has seen this same issue any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks for reading.

 

[Korhil78]

Are you using Hornady brass? A lot of people have been having problems with the savage and hornady brass. And most of the problems are what you are describing, Hornady brass sticking in the chamber.

 

[rwilliamson1]

i have used some hornady brass but its mainly in nosler brass that i have been seeing the issue but i have seen the issue in hornady brass as well. if it is just the brass what is a good brand of brass to use?

 

[Korhil78]

Yea..apparently the hornady and nosler brass is too soft and doesn't work well in savage chambers. Get some Lapua brand brass and save yourself a lot of trouble. It cost more but its better brass and you will get a lot more reloads out of it if you treat it right. The link below is of another savage having the same problem.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/savage-11-111-338-lapua-case-sticking-problems-90207/

 

[Bullet bumper]

Did you give the chamber a good scrub out with solvent and bronze brush or a pad of steel wool. It may have dryed out transport grease in it .
Then you can have a look inside the chamber to see if it has any reamer marks . Soft brass gets caught up on reamer marks more .
Also make sure the bras is sized to an easy fit . If the case fit is tight to start and you jam it in a bit with bolt caming force then it can't spring back after expanding because it can't expand enough .
The big diameter cases have a lot of surface area and anything that makes extraction harder can be worse with a big case .

 

[rwilliamson1]

i will give the lapua brass a try at this time ill try anything. thank you for the good advise i really do appriciate it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

In order of revelance (and ease of extraction in my 11-111 Savge)...

Lapua Brass
PPU Brass
Nosler
Hornady

PPU is kind of a dark horse. I bought some loaded PPU cartridges (250 grain projectiles) for a barrel break in and a number were duds, I suspect hard primers. The duds I pulled and reloaded the empty cases after a FL resize. They chamber and extract as well as the Lapua (and about 2/3rds the case cost.

I also bought a box of Nosler and FL resized them right away (RCBS Bushing dies). I haven't had an issue with them to date.

I bought some of the Hornady brass as well and had to use a cleaning rod in the barrel to extract them. They went in the scrap brass tub.

One thing you need to watch on the 338 Lapua cartridge is neck tension and springback. I'm a dedicated annealer and the 338 round likes a soft resilent neck.

IMO, it's a touchy caliber when it comes to cases.

For pre-loaded rounds, I prefer Lapua cased HSM. You can specify COAL when ordering and they come in a number of different bullet (projectile) brands including my favorite Sierra Match Kings and Game Kings.

 

[rwilliamson1]

i have had nothing but issues with hornady brass. and i have tried HSM brass and they have not gave me any problems. i have lapua brass in the mail so once i get them i will be able to put them to the test. the nosler brass shot and extracted really well the first time i loaded them but on my second load they have not been extracting the way they are supposed to. my only question i have is with changing to a different brass will that solve the slight cratering issue i have been noticing in the primers?

 

[gillettehunter]

I am not an expert at all. Just read the other day on another forum about carbon donuts that can cause pressure spikes from loads that formerly were safe. The primer cratering could be a sign of pressure.... Worth looking at. Bruce

 

[SidecarFlip]

When you resize a Lapua case, you have to be sure the die gets down on the case as far as possible. To that end, I never NS a Lapua case, always FL and you need to pay close attention to the neck for cracking, a sure sign of workhardened brass.

I wasn't big into annealing until I bought some 3 series rifles. Now my annealer gets used a lot, on every caliber.

The annealing machine and the Hawkeye bore scope have to be the best 2 investments I've made in a long time.

Anytime I look at a used rifle or handgun, first thing I do is have a look-see in the barrel.