Hello, just purchased a new tikka t3 lite 300wsm. Doing some reloads for it and noticed (with dummy loads) that closing the bolt is rough. I tried to seat the bullet a little farther with no change, went past minimum spec just to see. Then I covered the brass in sharpie to see where it's making contact, the brass is making contact right on the edge of the shoulder on the body side, I am curious if this will affect accuracy or longevity of the rifle. I tried with new brass and it seemed smoother, however at the range I noticed even the odd factory load would cause binding. Would appreciate some information or if I should be sending this one back for warranty. Thanks for your time.
300wsm reloading can't close bolt
- Thread starter Thaddeus
- Start date
Your suffering from the dreaded shoulder bulge.
Set your die for maximum full length sizing. If that fails to resolve the issue, take a couple thou off the top of your shell holder, and re adjust the die setting for full length plus sizing.
Been there, done dat, case life isn't severely impacted.
Set your die for maximum full length sizing. If that fails to resolve the issue, take a couple thou off the top of your shell holder, and re adjust the die setting for full length plus sizing.
Been there, done dat, case life isn't severely impacted.
I managed to bulge a shoulder during seating. I'm newest of the new to the game so possibly my solution was wrong: I just put the bad one in kinetic puller, f/l sized, verified charge weight (I sent some powder flying while pulling), and reseated the bullet. I'm not certain if I bulged it by being aggressive on the handle while seating, but it was only one in the entire batch that was bulged so I didn't adjust the seating die.
This is very common, don't think its bulged its just the shoulders blow out excessively and need bumped back. I have noticed the Tikka to be especially bad in .300wsm for headspace issues. Factory loads are very hot and the brass is thick. I have to use lee lube or similar as spray lubes result in stuck cases. setting the die to bump the shoulder back a wee bit can be a finicky process but when you get it your done. I also noticed my rockchucker does a better job than my lee anniversary press as Its more rigid and less prone to flex. If the shellholder is not ground down you need all the stroke you can get. Adjust slightly and keep trying brass till it chambers properly.
I have noticed lately, quite a few of these threads from newer loaders. If I may give some advice here after more than 40 years of loading..........When resizing cases, I always size and then check to make sure they chamber in the rifle they are intended for. At least the first 1/2 dozen to a dozen. At least this way if they don't chamber after loading, you know the problem lies in the seating scenario and not the sizing process........
The WSMs and the RSAUMs both share this issue. A chamber cut on the minimum SAAMI spec, and a sizing die that will
not quite size the case enough for ease of chambering.
Knock .005" off the top of your shellholder, and re-adjust that FL die, and your problems will go away.
Regards, Dave.
not quite size the case enough for ease of chambering.
Knock .005" off the top of your shellholder, and re-adjust that FL die, and your problems will go away.
Regards, Dave.
My 325 has an extremely tight chamber, enough that some factory ammo can be very tight, Winchester nickle plated usually. I can JUST barely resize fired brass with my second set of dies, which are Redding, first set was RCBS and didn't size it enough. Using the Forster datum dial kit it shows I am getting 2 thou shoulder bump. Less with multiple fired cases. I see annealing in my future to reduce spring back lol. Or I'll have to take a few thou off a shell holder as Dave suggests.
Very good advice on checking the resized case for chamber fit "first" and checking the problem one step at a time.
c-fbmi must be almost as smart, good looking and modest as I am.
Thanks everyone for the helpfull information, I will be checking the brass along each step to verify any problems from now on. Will pull bullets and resize tonight and confirm the fix. I did measure case length from belt to shoulder and the once fired brass is a considerable amount longer then the never fired brass.
