Are you full length sizing the brass or neck sizing?
Saum won’t chamber after shooting session
- Thread starter Highvoltage
- Start date
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Check the area where the bolt lugs close over and make they are clean and free of brass filings and powder residue. Brownells sells lug cleaner jags for 2 lug and 3 lug bolts. It's an area that's hard to clean and see if it's an issue. Just a thought!!
HUH? Did you mean to respond to the OP?
Yes sorry.
Highvoltage
Well-Known Member
I appreciate the responses. I'll probably swing it but the smith this week and let him take a peek. He's extremely fair on pricing so I'm sure he would clean it up quick. I'll post back when I hear back. Thanks again.
Highvoltage
Well-Known Member
Little update, curiosity got me. I had some rounds that I hunted with last season loaded from a previous session. I chambered one and the bolt closed smooth as butter. Pulled the 140 ab and 147 out that I loaded for ladder testing and the bolt wouldn't close. My guess is I didn't get enough shoulder bump when I set up my dies which is odd to me because I loaded 143 eldx, 147 and 140 ab all the same day, same brass prep. I had zero issues with the 143 and the 140s got progressively harder to close as I shot. Anyways, I'm going to buy a comparator, pull those rounds and go back to work. Thanks for the responses.
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- Jan 26, 2015
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Glad you found the issue. The measuring tools are a relatively small investment and pay big dividends.
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Sizing brass that has all been fired ar same pressure will result in very close uniform dimension of shoulder bump. If you take 20 cases that we're all fired with 0.3gr increase in charge per case, the amount of sizing that will occur will get less as the powder charge went up. More psi in the case creates larger dimensions that need sized a bit more, it also hardens the brass a lil more with increased work hardening.
Once you shoot a ladder, always put you're cases back into ammo box in order they are shot. Decap primers and check shoulder datum, you'll see the growth as the psi goes up, not only at shoulder but also at web area. As the die sizes the web more, that brass has to move somewhere, it usually goes to shoulder area, further preventing adequate bump.
Just some things I've found in my load development processes. You can't just set your die in one place and expect it to size every case the same if they've been loaded to different pressures. Just an inconsistency of lube application can change shoulder bump by 0.001 in brass fired at same charge weight.
Mikecr
Well-Known Member
If you're making ammo, you should be measuring everything, for each round, every time (by default/habit).
It should be too awkward for you NOT to do this.
It should be too awkward for you NOT to do this.
Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
Like FEENIX's photo I measure every, like in every, case I size. I do that so I no longer experience what you are.
It's not always a shoulder bump issue. Expansion at the webbing area also will produce stiff bolt, clickers and difficult extraction.
