Stuck case in chamber

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

I recently had a proof barrel put on my .300WM Sendero. I'm working on developing a load, and have yielded good results from 70gr of IMR4831, with a Nosler AB 180gr. In fact that is the same recipe for the weapon prior to adding the new barrel.

Here is my "hmmmm" moment. I had no indication of over pressure from that build. No bulging, cracking, sticking, and primers looked good. HOWEVER...when I went up to 70.5 during my test, my case was stuck and I had to try quite a few times to get the bolt to latch on and extract. This was the same for all of the rounds loaded at 70.5. At 71 gr I had to use a rod to get it out. I tested it again with a factory load and had no issues with extraction. All my cases are full length sized and under max case length. Bullet is seated .005 off lans. The max load for that powder is 73.

Why this worries me is if I'm getting stuck with a .5 gr increase going 70 to 70.5, is 70gr too risky to use when hunting? I was lucky enough to draw a moose tag for my home state and can't have a stuck case screwing that up. I don't know if temp changes will impact the material enough to where even the expansion for my 70gr charge will cause the case to stick. Could it be something else??

the min you got a sticky bolt I would have started to look for the reason carbon ring OAL over pres ect and not went up any more in Grs did you look real hard at the case not just a look at the range. https://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/understanding-pressure

 

[baldhunter]

I agree with seating the bullets deeper.I once had some extraction issues with a couple of my 7mags.I was testing three rifles working up a load all three would shoot well.Two of those rifles were Remington 700's and one was a Ruger #1.All three of the rifles shot the load well.Next trip to the range to repeat my results,my loads were made from brass that was fired in the Ruger #1.All brass had been full length resized and trimmed.The Ruger #1 shot them with no problems,however I had extraction problems with both Remington 700's.I never have had extraction problems with those rifles before,but that day I had to try to extract the fired case three or for times before it would extract the fired case.The issue was not a pressure problem,but it was a brass problem.Next trips to the range with those two Remington 700's with ammo made with same dies,same loads but brass that had not been fired in the Ruger gave me zero extraction problems.The only thing I can think of is the area of the case just above the belt is not being sized down after firing.The Ruger chamber could be slightly larger than the Remington allowing the case to expand more just enough to give extraction problems.So I'd say,try some brass that was not shot in the previous barrel and see if that fixes the extraction problem.The other thing I'd do is seat a little deeper.I see too much variation of bullets from lot to lot to seat .005 off the lands.You can really run into some pressure spikes when switching bullet lots and powder lots.To me it's not worth it.I've had good luck starting at .030 off and in some rifles even .050-.100 off the lands

 

[Dorset WinMag]

Had this problem with a new .300WM barrel.
Turned out it was the brass. Used new brass..... problem went away until I'd fired the cases 2-3 times then reappeared ...it's a problem with belted cases where the full length die doesn't size the brass immediately above the belt. Now I use a collet resizing die to get rid of this problem. Innovative Technologies do one I think.

 

[maximini14]

I recently had a proof barrel put on my .300WM Sendero. I'm working on developing a load, and have yielded good results from 70gr of IMR4831, with a Nosler AB 180gr. In fact that is the same recipe for the weapon prior to adding the new barrel.

Here is my "hmmmm" moment. I had no indication of over pressure from that build. No bulging, cracking, sticking, and primers looked good. HOWEVER...when I went up to 70.5 during my test, my case was stuck and I had to try quite a few times to get the bolt to latch on and extract. This was the same for all of the rounds loaded at 70.5. At 71 gr I had to use a rod to get it out. I tested it again with a factory load and had no issues with extraction. All my cases are full length sized and under max case length. Bullet is seated .005 off lans. The max load for that powder is 73.

Why this worries me is if I'm getting stuck with a .5 gr increase going 70 to 70.5, is 70gr too risky to use when hunting? I was lucky enough to draw a moose tag for my home state and can't have a stuck case screwing that up. I don't know if temp changes will impact the material enough to where even the expansion for my 70gr charge will cause the case to stick. Could it be something else??

With moose I would back off and load for accuracy. At moose ranges it be just as dead 100 fps slower

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Yeah, the only thing I don't have a measurement for is the diameter. Everything else matches the specs from my reloading manual.

My CA 300 WM started frequently but not consistently failing to eject, and I repeatedly had to use a cleaning rod. Finally I took the bolt apart and cleaned it thoroughly........problem solved. The ejectors were not engaging the case.

 

[Blackhawk]

Accordingly IMR Powder 4831 at 70.2 grains is a compressed powder load. and is what the manufacturer themselves (Hodgdon Powder Company ) state as maximum recommended safe powder charge and you at 70.0 grains are very close to maximum..
I realize that this figure is a suggested one and people routinely add more powder for various reasons chief among them is an increase in velocity.
However chasing this rainbow comes at a price. and that is increased Pressure
Moving Forward:
Deprime and using your choice of media either vibrate or wet tumble your brass.
After cleaning and drying examine all your brass discarding any that exhibit signs of dents, cracks , dings or swelling.
Visually check the case head for obvious signs of over pressure , such as a flattening of the letters, or bolt face indentations, blown primer pockets etc.

After Fl resizing allowing for say -.002" shoulder bump and trimming your cases to length ( all the usual stuff ) I would start with a reduction powder by - 2 1/2 % which would equate to 68.4 grains .
Additionally I would back off -.020" on your bullet seating depth. ( I agree with the other posts on this )
Starting with a thoroughly cleaned rifle you must begin again.

Now that you are back in let's say a safety zone , I would begin your load development development anew .
Using your chronograph and the Satterlee Test start load development over watching for the spikes and finally a null.
All the while watching for your lowest SD & ES numbers.
keep working in one direction at a time and while leaving your bullet -.020" off the lands adjust your powder amount in + 2 tenth increments until you find that null.
After you find your best ES & SD chronograph numbers proceed to fine tune your load by finding the correct bullet seating depth. Again move in lets say .005" adjustment until you are close to your satisfaction level.
Next a trip to your range is in order so that you can fine tune your seating depth further until you have achieved your optimum load development, all the while making certain that your cases will feed as well as extract easily from your rifle' s chamber.
A little more work will be required on your end.
Another thought if you are using SAMMI Spec O.A..L. Cartridge Case Gage and your cartridge case will not bottom out but instead will stop about 2/3rds of the way down you may need to adjust your FL resizing die to allow more cam over on your press.. Failing to follow this additional step can result in a hard bolt closing or a difficult extraction issue.
Simply by loosening the dies lock ring and screwing the die body down a bout an 1/8th. of a turn at a time or less until your brass cases will bottom out in the case OAL gage ( this I'm certain that you know )

With my .300 Win Mag on my second rifle because of chamber lengths being slightly different between the two rifles , I had to allow for more press cam over in order to allow the case to smoothly fit inside my case gage.
Imperative for a reliable feeding cartridge, and I am using bolt action rifles.
I'm not referring to C.O.A.L. here as the bullet seating depth (jump factor ) varies with each of my bolt action rifles.
Additionally after about 3 - 4 firings I myself have experienced this as the brass hull has conformed to the chamber wall dimensions and must be brought back to SAMMI Spec ,especially if you want a dependable, feedable , and totally reliable round that you plan to use in the harvesting of game.
Notes:
By changing items such as a rifle barrel even with the use of a chamber go / no gage set you have altered your rifles internal dimensions slightly. ( I'll not go into stacked tolerance issiues here ) suffice to say you will need to go back to the drawing board with your load development.
Again Note:
Please , I'm not trying to tell you what to do or how to do it.
I'm stating that this is how I would approach this small dilemma in hopes of coming to a successful conclusion.

 

[Alibiiv]

I recently had a proof barrel put on my .300WM Sendero. I'm working on developing a load, and have yielded good results from 70gr of IMR4831, with a Nosler AB 180gr. In fact that is the same recipe for the weapon prior to adding the new barrel.

Here is my "hmmmm" moment. I had no indication of over pressure from that build. No bulging, cracking, sticking, and primers looked good. HOWEVER...when I went up to 70.5 during my test, my case was stuck and I had to try quite a few times to get the bolt to latch on and extract. This was the same for all of the rounds loaded at 70.5. At 71 gr I had to use a rod to get it out. I tested it again with a factory load and had no issues with extraction. All my cases are full length sized and under max case length. Bullet is seated .005 off lans. The max load for that powder is 73.

Why this worries me is if I'm getting stuck with a .5 gr increase going 70 to 70.5, is 70gr too risky to use when hunting? I was lucky enough to draw a moose tag for my home state and can't have a stuck case screwing that up. I don't know if temp changes will impact the material enough to where even the expansion for my 70gr charge will cause the case to stick. Could it be something else??

BearDog, I do not have ideas about what to do with your rifle, I find that there are too may variables to start making suggestions. What I can suggest to remedy any possible ammunition failures on a hunt is what my son and I do. We both hunt with 35 Whelens and .358 Winchesters, so not your average, everyday, run of the mill cartridges that you will find in WalMart or your friendly neighborhood sporting goods store that sells ammunition, cold remedies, oat meal and clothes. Three of four years ago while on a bear hunt in Maine we ran into a situation where we had a bad batch of primers (hard anvils) and were experiencing FTF rounds. Not every round, but.....as in your situataion who needs to head out into the field with doubt on a once in a lifetime hunt??? So.....we head out to the nearest "super" sporting goods store two hours drive away to see if we could pick up some ammunition for the only two guns we had. They didn't have the 35 Whelen ammo, but they did have three boxes of .358 Winchesters, so.....we bought then for the hunt at $80 a box!!! We felt like we got bent over, but what could we do??? We figured that we had ten rounds each to get our rifles sighted in and a box each to hunt with; we don't shoot 500 yards hunting black bear in Maine! We managed to harvest bear with the factory ammunition, however we would have preferred to be hunting with our 225 gr Barnes TSX and 200gr TTSXs instead of what we were shooting. After that experience we always take along at least two rifles and at least two boxes of factory ammunition just in case we do run into a situation with our reloads. I have been reloading for 55+ years, really make good ammunition; however, sometimes components can let you down. I know that this does not resolve your rifle problem, hopefully it will help to rid some of the doubt you may have with a rifle/ammunition that you do not trust on a trip that you were lucky enough to draw a moose tag from a lottery. As for the rifle issue, I would start out with a new batch of brass, annealed and prepped properly, and go with SAAMI specs for my hunt and tweak/ladder test your loads until I found a load that worked in my rifle, AND take that load with me on the hunt, along with some factory ammunition that may not be as accurate however dependable. Good luck with your moose hunt.

 

[Palix-Dog]

BearDog, you need to change your handle to LuckyDog for drawing that tag. I too am a Washington resident and have been trying for a moose tag for 18 yrs with no luck. Can I ask how many points it took you and what area you drew?
I wish you good luck on finding the answer to your handloading issue.

 

[ronstone09]

I recently had a proof barrel put on my .300WM Sendero. I'm working on developing a load, and have yielded good results from 70gr of IMR4831, with a Nosler AB 180gr. In fact that is the same recipe for the weapon prior to adding the new barrel.

Here is my "hmmmm" moment. I had no indication of over pressure from that build. No bulging, cracking, sticking, and primers looked good. HOWEVER...when I went up to 70.5 during my test, my case was stuck and I had to try quite a few times to get the bolt to latch on and extract. This was the same for all of the rounds loaded at 70.5. At 71 gr I had to use a rod to get it out. I tested it again with a factory load and had no issues with extraction. All my cases are full length sized and under max case length. Bullet is seated .005 off lans. The max load for that powder is 73.

Why this worries me is if I'm getting stuck with a .5 gr increase going 70 to 70.5, is 70gr too risky to use when hunting? I was lucky enough to draw a moose tag for my home state and can't have a stuck case screwing that up. I don't know if temp changes will impact the material enough to where even the expansion for my 70gr charge will cause the case to stick. Could it be something else??

I think that you're seating too close to the lands for a hunting load ! I would measure your family story round ,load a few rounds with your receipe and try them ! If results are good I would back off to 020 to .050 from the lands !

 

[newmexkid]

I always use the "Wheeler Method" and have never had a problem. For all my rifles I start at .010 off.

 

[BearDog]

Nosler Load Data shows 73.0 IMR 4381 as max with a COAL of 3.330 and 94% load density running 3160 FPS in a 24" barrel. You are below that and longer in COAL. Doesn't mean its not over max in your rifle. What velocities were you getting? Many pressure signs to look for, Not all show up simultaneously. New chamber certainly needs new work-up. Back off and work back up slowly, checking everything in every step along the way. We read about the awesome speeds others are getting and we are often tempted to chase speed rather than accuracy.

I havent tested velocities out of this load yet. I had mentioned my most accurate recipe was the same the shot the best out of my previous barrel (IMR 4831 70g.). With that I was getting 2960FPS.

 

[BearDog]

Sounds like you examined the case well enough to have noticed any reamer chatter marks. If not you should consider that as a potential problem.

I didnt pick up on that, but there definitely is some marking on the brass. I cant say for certain that this wasnt from the last chamber since its once fired brass.

 

[BearDog]

the min you got a sticky bolt I would have started to look for the reason carbon ring OAL over pres ect and not went up any more in Grs did you look real hard at the case not just a look at the range. https://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/understanding-pressure

I check every round, even starting at my minimum. Primers, case bulging, cracking, etc. I had mentioned before that the extractor on this weapon had busted, and I had assumed that happened again, since at 70 gr I had no sticking issues, but at 70.5 the case was stuck. The bolt eventually grabbed and pulled it out, but it took a few attempts. I shot one at 71, and had to use a rod to get the case out, and thats when it dawned on me that it wasnt an extractor issue, but probably a pressure issue. I had confirmed this by shooting some factory rounds and had no extraction issues.

 

[jdyoung]

I havent tested velocities out of this load yet. I had mentioned my most accurate recipe was the same the shot the best out of my previous barrel (IMR 4831 70g.). With that I was getting 2960FPS.

That computer program I mentioned shows 70g of IMR4831 with 24" barrel at 2938 fps and 58,360 psi,
a 26" barrel -all the above but 2994 fps.