Having a tough time, looking for suggestions.

F

fchan

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
23   0   0
Location
Edmonton
Hey Guys,

I've been reloading for quite a while now so am no stranger to the hobby but am having a tough time here.

I have a Savage Axis i've been trying to load for and have been getting weird issues.

1) - One some loads (as low as 39 grains) the casing wont eject and gets stuck in the chamber.
2) I took apart some of the rounds, resized, annealed, tested in my case gauge, then tested in my Sig SSG which chambered fine, but now these wont chamber in the savage

Factory rounds shoot just fine. Brass is once-fired Sako brass...

Any thoughts on whats going on here? I've checked and trimmed length and have tested them in a case gauge ... feeling really stumped here.

Edit to add: Caliber is 6.5Creedmor, shooting 140gr hornady hunters, H4350 powder
 
What caliber/cartridge?

What bullet?

What powder?

Was this brass 1f by you, or did you buy it as 1f brass? If 1f by you, was it fired in the Savage or the Sako or something else?

How does the brass look once it comes out of the gun?

If Factory ammo shoots just fine and your reloads shoot just fine in a different gun (did you shoot them in the SIG or just check if they fit the chamber?) then it sounds like your reloads are not being sized enough, the Savage might have a chamber on the tight side. Are you familiar with small base dies?
 
Thanks all for the quick responses. Some good ideas and places for me to look

Grizzlypeg said:
Can you get access to a bore scope to look inside the chamber for any anomolies?
Click to expand...

Good call, I have a boroscope on order (for something unrelated) but i'll take a look into the chamber. I dont see any marring on the cases coming out of the chamber though so a burr is unlikely? but nothing for sure until i look inside

Suther said:
What caliber/cartridge?

What bullet?

What powder?

Was this brass 1f by you, or did you buy it as 1f brass? If 1f by you, was it fired in the Savage or the Sako or something else?

How does the brass look once it comes out of the gun?

If Factory ammo shoots just fine and your reloads shoot just fine in a different gun (did you shoot them in the SIG or just check if they fit the chamber?) then it sounds like your reloads are not being sized enough, the Savage might have a chamber on the tight side. Are you familiar with small base dies?
Click to expand...

Hornady 140Gr hunter,

H4350

Brass 1f by me, but out of a different gun. Sig SSG3000

Brass seems to look fine coming out, but i'm not forcing the case in... I might marker up a round to see where i'm getting rubbing though now that i think of it.

Yes, I run small base dies for my 223... these are whidden dies, they work great with my sig. I would have figured maybe my sig would have the tighter chamber but that is something i could look into. But on the other side of it, the cases slide in and drop freely from my case gauge, so they should be sized right in that scenario... right?

boxhitch said:
I bought some once-fired Sako brass and found it to be really oversized

check all you dimensions, shoulder, loaded neck o.d.
Click to expand...

They seem to fit fine and drop free from my case gauge but thanks, i'll measure all parts of the case to see if anything is off
 
fchan said:
Yes, I run small base dies for my 223... these are whidden dies, they work great with my sig. I would have figured maybe my sig would have the tighter chamber but that is something i could look into. But on the other side of it, the cases slide in and drop freely from my case gauge, so they should be sized right in that scenario... right?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, not if the chamber on the savage is on the tight end of the spectrum.

Any issues with extracting/ejecting these cases from the Savage WITHOUT firing?

You said factory ammo shoots just fine, so I would start with taking some of the brass from factory ammo you fired in the Savage, and start over. See if that also gives you issues or not.
 
So the reloaded sako brass feeds fine but is hard to extract? Can it drop into the rifles chamber and fall out, like doing a plunk test on a pistol. When I check pistol ammo I don’t use a case guage, I use my actual barrel. It would be odd if reloads drop in and fall out easily yet have extraction issues after firing.

I’d start by cleaning the chamber thoroughly to rule that out, easy and cheap to do, then I’d start measuring up my once fired factory brass from the Savage and compare it to the sako brass before and after firing.
 
fchan said:
Thanks all for the quick responses. Some good ideas and places for me to look

Good call, I have a boroscope on order (for something unrelated) but i'll take a look into the chamber. I dont see any marring on the cases coming out of the chamber though so a burr is unlikely? but nothing for sure until i look inside



Hornady 140Gr hunter,
H4350
Brass 1f by me, but out of a different gun. Sig SSG3000
Brass seems to look fine coming out, but i'm not forcing the case in... I might marker up a round to see where i'm getting rubbing though now that i think of it.

Yes, I run small base dies for my 223... these are whidden dies, they work great with my sig. I would have figured maybe my sig would have the tighter chamber but that is something i could look into. But on the other side of it, the cases slide in and drop freely from my case gauge, so they should be sized right in that scenario... right?

They seem to fit fine and drop free from my case gauge but thanks, i'll measure all parts of the case to see if anything is off
Click to expand...

Out of that whole post still haven't said what caliber that is giving the problem. But it's pretty obvious you need SB dies had the same problem between a Ruger and a Winchester.
 
Butcherbill said:
So the reloaded sako brass feeds fine but is hard to extract? Can it drop into the rifles chamber and fall out, like doing a plunk test on a pistol. When I check pistol ammo I don’t use a case guage, I use my actual barrel. It would be odd if reloads drop in and fall out easily yet have extraction issues after firing.

I’d start by cleaning the chamber thoroughly to rule that out, easy and cheap to do, then I’d start measuring up my once fired factory brass from the Savage and compare it to the sako brass before and after firing.
Click to expand...

This. Assuming your cases are not to long after sizing, ie. not trimmed to sammi length.
 
Raton57 said:
Out of that whole post still haven't said what caliber that is giving the problem. But it's pretty obvious you need SB dies had the same problem between a Ruger and a Winchester.
Click to expand...

Sorry! Can't believe I totally missed that. This is a 6.5creedmor. I'm using whidden dies that have been problem free until this point. Unfortunately I dont think 6.5CM comes in an SB die
 
Could be your chamber could be one cut with a reamer on its last. cut and your dies with a reamer on its first cut. Had this happen to a friend in 300 Winchester, used my dies and it was ok, so we swapped dies.
 
fchan said:
Hey Guys,

I've been reloading for quite a while now so am no stranger to the hobby but am having a tough time here.

I have a Savage Axis i've been trying to load for and have been getting weird issues.

1) - One some loads (as low as 39 grains) the casing wont eject and gets stuck in the chamber.
2) I took apart some of the rounds, resized, annealed, tested in my case gauge, then tested in my Sig SSG which chambered fine, but now these wont chamber in the savage

Factory rounds shoot just fine. Brass is once-fired Sako brass...

Any thoughts on whats going on here? I've checked and trimmed length and have tested them in a case gauge ... feeling really stumped here.

Edit to add: Caliber is 6.5Creedmor, shooting 140gr hornady hunters, H4350 powder
Click to expand...

My first guess is that the COAL is too long for the Savage (but not the SIG). If you're jamming the bullet into the lands a couple things CAN happen:

1) pressures go way up (difficult extraction will result)
2) unfired rounds can get stuck in the chamber (has this happened to you?)
3) the bolt will not close easily or at all (will not chamber in your Savage)

Try a different bullet / adjust your seating depth / etc.

I'm sure your chamber is just fine - apart from a good cleaning, I wouldn't waste too much time on that.

Also, be sure to FL size that brass back as far as the die will push it (cam-over on the press). Customizing your die setup and shoulder bump should only be done after the brass has been fired a few times in your rifle and is starting to get tight in the chamber.
 
use the spent factory case that had no issues and replicate the same measurement as the factory rounds.

I had the same issue with a 6.5x55 swedish mauser, I found that the measure to the ogive must be exact with this gun and also the size of the neck, what happened was that the neck sizer some how pushed the neck down just about 1/1000 th and it won't work. it's hard to see it with a naked eye or without good instruments, I ended up having to make a replica of the chamber with cerrosafe and found the problem.

I am not sure if your problem is the same, just sharing my experience.
 
You may have a carbon ring which is elevating your pressures. Scope will show you if that is the issue. Can also chamber some sized brass (no bullet) and see if there is a space between brass throat/freebore - if so, this can be dealt with by trimming future brass to your specific chambers length, not 'book' length.

If it is in fact Chamber issues, and you have connections with a gunsmith, perhaps they can simply remove the barrel and give it a few spins with a reamer - first DO verify what cost will be to do so tho -

Good luck
 
Thanks Everyone! Lots of great suggestions and information here.

I found some Hornady dies to test out. They seems to size the case a little smaller than my whidden dies. I've cleaned the chamber and there was definitely a bit of fouling in there but I dont think enough to have been the main source.

The more i'm reading/learning the more i'm thinking its a combo of a tight chamber and wide cut die.

I'll update once i've been able to test the new loaads
 
I would give the chamber a good polish. A wooden dowel with a slit in the end, wrap enough emery cloth 180-220 grit to get close to cartridge size. Run it in a drill. You won't remove enough metal to make it oversize in a minute or so. I do general gunsmithing and do this on a regular basis to clean up rust, tool marks and damage.
If your ammo is going in and bolt closing easily, they should come out easily. Check OAL length of brass and deburr the outside of neck.
 
smokinbarrel said:
I would give the chamber a good polish. A wooden dowel with a slit in the end, wrap enough emery cloth 180-220 grit to get close to cartridge size. Run it in a drill. You won't remove enough metal to make it oversize in a minute or so. I do general gunsmithing and do this on a regular basis to clean up rust, tool marks and damage.
If your ammo is going in and bolt closing easily, they should come out easily. Check OAL length of brass and deburr the outside of neck.
Click to expand...

Too coarse. I'd go 600-800 or more. You want to polish, not gouge and leave scratches in the chamber.
 
fchan said:
Hey Guys,

I've been reloading for quite a while now so am no stranger to the hobby but am having a tough time here.

I have a Savage Axis i've been trying to load for and have been getting weird issues.

1) - One some loads (as low as 39 grains) the casing wont eject and gets stuck in the chamber.

2) I took apart some of the rounds, resized, annealed, tested in my case gauge, then tested in my Sig SSG which chambered fine, but now these wont chamber in the savage

Factory rounds shoot just fine. Brass is once-fired Sako brass...

Any thoughts on whats going on here? I've checked and trimmed length and have tested them in a case gauge ... feeling really stumped here.

Edit to add: Caliber is 6.5Creedmor, shooting 140gr hornady hunters, H4350 powder
Click to expand...

Really hate to say it But it is a savage axis. Sorry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom