can't close bolt on round

I had this issue a while back reloading for a remington 700 30-06. Some reloaded rounds would not chamber, then get stuck and you would have to really pound on the bolt handle to get it out.

I was using rcbs dies FL resizing, cammed over, it was driving me crazy. I switched to hornaday dies and the problem went away.

I'm not bashing rcbs but in this case the dies weren't bumping back the shoulder enough.
 
ykkid said:
Pinard, you were doing well until you drank the koolaid. Nothing wrong with Federal brass. Pro'lly your "once fired" isn't, or it was fired in a chamber somewhat larger than your rifle's.

To me, the minor savings of buying someone else's used brass, versus buying a bag of one hundred, or even popping off a couple of boxes of factory ammo to provide a benchmark for your handloads, is false economy. I admit I did it once, from a company owned by an occasional poster here. On close examination - because I had the devil's own time processing them - some had even been fired enough to have cracks on the case mouths - they were .45 ACP. Primers of some were deformed from extraction from a FA, some were crumpled, and so on. Oh, I eventually got 8 or 900 usable cases out of a thou, and stuffed through my Dillon for IPSC practice nights, but that was my last purchase of "once fired." I like to know where my components come from. Normally, P&D!
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my last time buying once fired brass too..

tigrr said:
When you say the bolt won't close, what pressure are you putting on it? Some times they have to be a little persuaded. I'm not saying rubber hammer time but a little extra pull to close the bolt. Then after they go bang, they are sized to your chamber.
I have annealed then resized some 6.5-284 lapua brass and shot it 4 times just neck sizing it and the 5th reload takes a little extra oomph to close the bolt. Then anneal, full length resize and the process continues.
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oh I tried... believe me, it won'T close

Ganderite said:
If your bolt locking lugs are lubed (they should be lubed before every shooting session) you can push the bolt closed if the bolt engages part way.

To solve the problem:

I have posted this so often, I should make a copy of it. To full length size, the die has to hit the shell holder. Adjust the die down so it touches and then give it a full rev more. This will stop the ram from caming over and when it hits the shell holder you will know you have all the sizing the die has to offer. This should solve the problem.
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it's my next try..

odsixer said:
I had this issue a while back reloading for a remington 700 30-06. Some reloaded rounds would not chamber, then get stuck and you would have to really pound on the bolt handle to get it out.

I was using rcbs dies FL resizing, cammed over, it was driving me crazy. I switched to hornaday dies and the problem went away.

I'm not bashing rcbs but in this case the dies weren't bumping back the shoulder enough.
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I don't run the RCBS dies.. I run Redding's premium
 
I have had nothing but issues using once fired or brass from one rifle in another. Now ALL my rifles have their own brass. Guess what? Since then, no issues, whatsoever.
 
I read all 44 replies and I did not see where the OP did the obvious, when a loaded round won't go in----push the bullet in a bit and then try it!
I did not see where the case was tested in the rifle, after resizing but before loading, to see if the empty, resized case would go in the chamber.
Those two tests would almost surely have pinpointed the cause, which then could easily be rectified.
Inexperienced reloader's would do better if they didn't depend on their precise measuring equipment and what the manual states exact measurements should be, but instead would figure out the elementary reasons for the trouble, and fix it.
If I have missed seeing in the thread where you did those two tests, I apologise.
 
Yep Bruce, I made mention of the "trying before loading" back there a bit, but I guess we all have to learn the hard way. As far as once fired brass, I'll take all I can get..........as long as it is truly once fired......and I can guarantee that I can make it fit in my rifle.
 
Douglas, I saw your post and of course I knew you would do these things, but it was the OP I was referring to, who apparently had not made these tests on his own.
Bruce
 
H4831 said:
I read all 44 replies and I did not see where the OP did the obvious, when a loaded round won't go in----push the bullet in a bit and then try it!
I did not see where the case was tested in the rifle, after resizing but before loading, to see if the empty, resized case would go in the chamber.
Those two tests would almost surely have pinpointed the cause, which then could easily be rectified.
Inexperienced reloader's would do better if they didn't depend on their precise measuring equipment and what the manual states exact measurements should be, but instead would figure out the elementary reasons for the trouble, and fix it.
If I have missed seeing in the thread where you did those two tests, I apologise.
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You said it.. inexperienced reloader. this is my first batch ever. No one taught me. No one showed me. I read forums, I read documents, I asked questions to experienced reloaders. I make mistakes, then I learn more. I won't believe that you never made a mistake while reloading... I read so many threads where experienced reloaders did. Believe me that this batch was made with most attention to details. I measured twice and verified every step twice along the process to ensure best consistency possible. Excuse me for not thinking to try the rounds in the rifle before loading them after resizing... I must have been a fool to think that a full body resize would suffice. I guess the die was not down enough even tho I followed the manufacturer's recommandation on how to install it in the press.

Also, I did not push the bullet in a bit more because it was already in further than other tested rounds that worked so it seemed pointless to me.
 
I sure have made mistakes, no question about that.
The point I was trying to get across was that modern reloading manuals are so loaded with material, a lot of it on precise measurements, that it is very confusing to anyone starting out. In short, the modern manuals are so over stating the whole business of reloading, that they are causing confusion and actually creating problems where none existed. In my opinion, modern manuals try to state every nuance that may be encountered, thus leaving no room for the new loader to work anything out, or even think for themselves.
Generations of reloaders were making high quality ammunition before I got going, but even by then there was very little written material available.
I am not saying the old way was the best method, nor am I attempting to tell anyone how to reload, but only pointing out how things were, back in the day.
The powder manufactures would print out loading charts in one or two folded pages and give to any gun store, to hand out to any customer who wanted one. du Pont had a little larger one, mostly pointing out the qualities of their various powders, plus the usual loading charts.
In the early 1960s Norma products came on strong in Canada and they had a little 6"x8" manual, a total of 25 pages, including descriptions of their products and loading charts for both Norma and US powders. All the information to safely make high quality ammunition was in that little booklet and it is virtually the only manual I have ever owned! I figured out how to know how much my fired brass was "growing," and make a judgement on when to trim. I always had a new brass case, of the calibre being loaded, set aside and I would compare my shot brass for length, with the new one and when there was much difference I would file the end down to match the new one. But hey, don't laugh, there are trophies in my cabinet won with ammunition made exactly as described here.
I'm going to close this for now, but will later post a picture or two, of the information given in the old charts.
Bruce
 
I'm going with once fired from another rifle,
with a more generous chamber. And it wasn't completely resized.

I had the same issues, about a month ago. Once fired brass from my rem 700, wouldn't chamber on my savage 10 tr.
I could get it to chamber with a good solid smack on the bolt handle, but it was just as hard to extract. Once I FL sized the problem cases,they were fine.
 
freddyfour said:
OP, don't take offense to H4831 post. I don't think it was a slam towards at all, some some good basic advice from a guy who knows a tone.
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I agree 100% with the above.

That guy knows a ton, and has been at this game longer then most of us have been around. Also I will say that I wholeheartedly believe in what H4831 wrote. Too many new reloaders get lost in the terms and precision techniques that new reloading books speak of.

Often the anewer to the question is a simple one.

My guess is either :

A - The shoulder needs to be bumped back more.

B - The Ogive on the bullets may be farther forward on the ones that won't chamber.

C - The brass needs to be trimmed.
I sharpie will show you what the issue is.
 
Thanks guys, for the positive comments.
This is from the very first GunBugs Guide, by Norma, with kind of a cute story.
One thing about their loading tables is they were exceptionally accurate, regarding velocity.
 
OP, I'm relatively new to this game and had some problems with loaded rounds fitting in two 7-08s here.

It was a shoulder bump issue with loaded rounds not fitting during a test fit session before hunting at the range...but what I learned from H4831 Ganderite Hitzy and Mystic Dogleg and others .... is basic trouble shooting technique, de-mystifying a few things. To keep myself in line I think back to basic troubleshooting for old snowmobiles when they don't want to start. Almost always it's either spark or gas. Eliminate one and the solution can be derived. In this case, I believe a test fit of cartridges into the chamber prior to fitting loaded rounds will tell you much. I have learned that a piece of masking tape can indicate how close/far the resized brass will be to fitting. It's a simple thing that was shared that I found very valuable to keep things grounded on this end with components that go bang but I still get caught up in obscurities.

FWIW

Regards
Ron
 
I am relatively new as well, only been 5 or so years. Could it just be that you have a few that the bullet are seated out to far?

I've made the mistake a couple times of not double checking and had rounds that would not chamber because the bullets was touching the lands before it was fully chambered.
 
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freddyfour said:
I am relatively new as well, only been 5 or so years. Could it just be that you have a few that the bullet are seated out to far?

I've made the mistake a couple times of not double checking and had rounds that would not chamber because the bullets was touching the lands before it was fully chambered.
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I don't think that would be an issue , unless he was applying a crimp.
I've just barely seated bullits and closed the bolt, a little stiff but easily done.
 
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