hard to close the bolt

[Eagleye]

I have always lubed the inside of every case neck with powdered graphite before sizing them.

I use an old pill bottle [plastic] with about 3 tablespoons of #7½ shot in it. Then I add a teaspoon
of powdered graphite, put the lid on, and give it a shake.

Now to lube your necks inside, you just dip the neck into the graphited shot and give it a twist.
Voila! your neck is inside lubed, and will slip over the expander button with ease.

Once in a while, you simply add a bit more graphite to your shot...works well.

Regards, Eagleye.

 

[holfeldian]

Another thing that nobody has covered yet, and if only some of your loaded shells are tight, I would suspect it as the culprit. The bullet grip sizing pilot on your de-primeing rod may be pulling some of the shoulders back out on your brass if they are too tight or to dry of lubricant on the stem. I will purposely apply a small dab ( very slite) of lube on the inside of the a case neck every once in a while if I feel them pulling excessivly on the removal stroke.

only some of the cases are tight so this might be the culprit... thanks for the info...
i'll also keep in mind to make sure i resize them properly.

is it damaging to the rifle to fire a case that's a bit tight?

 

[Eagleye]

only some of the cases are tight so this might be the culprit... thanks for the info...
i'll also keep in mind to make sure i resize them properly.

Is it damaging to the rifle to fire a case that's a bit tight?

No. If you can close the bolt fully, there is no problem firing the round.

Eagleye.

 

[stvnbrg]

has anyone used sizing wax? whats the premise behind it? what if a person simply dipped the case mouth into the wax? it seems a lot less messy than actual bottled lube...

 

[Suputin]

Bit of a thread derail but can you bump the shoulders back too far?
If so what is the cause and are the cases still usable after?

Yes, it's called excess headspace and yes it can make the case unsafe to shoot.

 

[pilot2001]

delete

 

[Cleftwynd]

has anyone used sizing wax? whats the premise behind it? what if a person simply dipped the case mouth into the wax? it seems a lot less messy than actual bottled lube...

Sizing wax is about the best lube for sizing cases, but I would only use it on the case body. It would be too messy to use in the neck, and a pain to clean out after sizing. You don't want that stuff in there when you seat a bullet or it might not grip it enough.

I use the same method as Eagleye, small lead shot mixed with powdered graphite, dip the neck in the mixture and it is perfectly lubed for sizing the neck, with no ill side effects concerning powder or bullet seating.

 

[bigedp51]

Yes, it's called excess headspace and yes it can make the case unsafe to shoot.

The case is belted and headspaces on the belt, a new belted case could have the shoulder located far from the shoulder of the chamber and be safe to shoot.

The .303 British case below has the shoulder located over a 1/4 inch short of the shoulder of the chamber. The location of the shoulder has no effect on headspace on a "NEW" rimmed or belted cartridge case.

Rimmed and belted British cases used cordite powder and the shoulder and neck of the case was formed "AFTER" the powder was placed in the case. On rimmed and belted cases the shoulder location is not critical because these cartridges headspace on the rim or belt.

For reloading purposes and longer case life you want to headspace the rimmed or belted cases on their shoulder to reduce head clearance or the air space between the rear of the case and the bolt face.

Below is an animation of a .303 British case being fired, pretend the rim of the case below is the belt on the 7mm mag and watch the case stretch and thin.

Below is a belted case that has stretched above the belt.

Below is a .303 British case headspacing on the shoulder of the case, the shoulder of the case holds the rear of the case against the bolt face and the fired case can NOT stretch when fired.

The case has two directions to expand when fired, outward to meet the chamber walls and to the rear to meet the bolt face. As I stated earlier a belted case has more room to expand outward to the chamber walls than a standard cartridge and is just one of the problems you face when reloading a belted case.

A military chamber might be .001 to .002 larger in diameter near the base of the case, a belted case can have a chamber .009 larger than the diameter of the case. This is why the collet die was made for belted cases and resize the case above the belt.

 

[wilbar]

What about trim length? If the case is stretching over repeated firings and getting too long, couldn't that cause the bolt to be hard to close? Also could be a pressure problem. Have you trimmed the brass?

Wilbar

 

[Cleftwynd]

Bigedp51 is correct, I have always used the shoulder in belted magnums for headspacing, that way you have no worries about case head separation.

As for trim length, as long as your chamber is not way out of spec, using the base of the cartridge to neck length as a measurement you should never have a problem. One reason I prefer trimmers that don't use the neck to set the cut.

 

[holfeldian]

considering that the 7mm rem mag is a belted case, can you just neck size the cases once fired in your rifle?

 

[Cleftwynd]

considering that the 7mm rem mag is a belted case, can you just neck size the cases once fired in your rifle?

Yes, but check to make sure it still chambers smoothly after neck sizing. Every once in a while you may need to bump the shoulders back, easily done with a FL die.

 

[holfeldian]

can you just neck resize with a lee sizing die?

 

[canoetrpr]

Interesting read. I guess I'm just getting lucky? I followed the instructions on my die to set it up and never had an issue chambering the rounds. I'm now moving on to my next rifle / caliber so perhaps I ought to set it up, resize one brass and try to chamber it and make sure I can close the bolt?

 

[cosmic]

Yes - SOP