Soot on case head, marks on case body

[charliehorse27]

Good morning;

I have a Seekins Element in 6.5 PRC I handload for. Have a stellar load with ADG brass, Fed 210M primers, 55.7 gr H1000, and Berger 156's. Everything has been virgin brass so far.

Been noticing lately it's been a little difficult to extract (it isn't yet the PRC clickers problem since this brass is all virgin) and noticed the case heads are fairly dirty after extracting. The body also shows tiny little indents in places (like sand was in the chamber when fired).

The bolt is nitrided black, so this could be a possibility that some of that is coming off. The other thought is that the load is fairly soft so it isn't fully sealing when firing, and some gasses are coming back. The primers aren't flat, and no signs of leakage. I do shoot suppressed, so I don't know if this plays into it. I was going to swab out the chamber and see if there's some carbon built up on the walls causing the tiny indents. The gun shoots fantastic, but just trying to figure this out.

 

[Dmagna]

You got a bore scope?

 

[charliehorse27]

I don't, no.

 

[Rosebud]

Any sign of the nitride on the bolt face coming off?

 

[coop2564]

It's not that uncommon to have more carbon soot on suppressed rounds. However you have what looks like more case dimpling than I would expect for that gun. I would take to gunsmith for inspection. If chamber is rough and pitted it would be hard to extract. Especially with added carbon from suppressor.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Soot beyond the shoulder, the tiny dents also is a sure sign of low pressure and the case not sealing the chamber…

Cheers.

 

[Rosebud]

Unrelated to the case, what the crap did you do to your for finger. Looks like a burn, possibly scar tissue.

 

[P7M13]

Unrelated to the case, what the crap did you do to your for finger. Looks like a burn, possibly scar tissue.

It ain't so bad, he has all his digits....
I'd say check your chamber. If you didn't get a seal, you'd have soot on the neck, shoulder and body.
I've had cases fail to seal, and I've never had soot accumulate in the letters and depressions like that.
If you've ever pierced primers, you've probably seen the bolt face scorching that accompanies such an event. A picture of your bolt face would help.

 

[JKB57]

Low pressure load,bump your load up a bit and see if it helps,from the looks of the primer there is not much pressure there

 

[JakeM300winnie]

Check your suppressor. Mine got carboned up pretty bad. When you lean your rifle up against the wall, small flakes of carbon are falling into the chamber and bolt face. Take the suppressor off and tap it on the table, shake it around and you will see chunks come out if it's dirty.

 

[charliehorse27]

In the off-season, I'll try some higher pressure rounds and see if it goes away. I swabbed out the chamber to remove any carbon debris in there. The dirty suppressor idea is also very likely. I haven't cleaned it yet, and probably time to weigh it and check on that. I'll also get a picture of the bolt face when I'm back home. I appreciate everyone's feedback!

That finger took a direct hit from a rubber mallet while trying to set a latch assembly on a door. The finger next to it in the picture also took a direct hit on a separate day, as well as a finish nail that glanced off a wood knot.

 

[Tiny Tim]

That finger took a direct hit from a rubber mallet while trying to set a latch assembly on a door. The finger next to it in the picture also took a direct hit on a separate day, as well as a finish nail that glanced off a wood knot.

Them's working man's hands right there.

 

[Seabeeken]

I'd be cleaning my chamber and upping the load to seal better

 

[Comanche41]

What Jake said. I was using CFEBLK in my 300 (suppressed) and had flakes of carbon falling down on the bolt face.
That powder is some nasty burning stuff. Low pressure too.