.308 win not chambering.

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khoeep

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Hi all.

I've just gotten into reloading and have been having some issues that i can seem to wrap my head around. My father and I both shoot .308 win, and we're both getting some issues chambering rounds that we've just reloaded.

We have had trouble chambering some rounds in the past. We recently bought a case trimmer, and while my problems have more or less been resolved, my father's have not. Out of 30 loaded rounds today, he had 12 that would not chamber in his rifle, but 9 of those would chamber in mine.

I have noticed a small bulge towards the rear (primer side) of the casing, though this is present in all of our casings.

I'll list the process used for this last batch of ammo as an example. As a side note, we are using speer reloading manual number 14.

(after firing or obtaining brass we: )
1: Applied case lube to the outside of the casing and around the inside of the neck.

2: full length sized the casing (these were cases we had just bought as once fired)

3: cleaned casings in a mix of water and detergent, rinsing several times (let dry for several days, flipping them over daily).

4: trimmed casing to 'trim to' length in our reloading manual.

5: got excess brass of the casings with the deburring tool (little rocket shaped thing included with the RCBS rockchucker)

6, 7 & 8: reprimed, added powder and seated bullet. (not exceeding Max OAL specified)

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
Payam
 
It sounds like you are mixing the brass and using it in either rifle.This can cause problems if one chamber is a little shorter than the other,as the chamber in your fathers rifle appears to be.This is quite common,and the easiest way to avoid this problem is to keep the brass for each gun separated.
 
wouldnt a full length size set back into spec for either rifle? we generally full length size if we do not know which rifle the round belongs to.
 
Make sure you ARE FL resizing......Check and see that the shell holder is touching the die at full stroke with a case.

What weight bullets are you loading?

Russ...
 
What type of actions are you using? Is 1 or more a pump or lever action, or 2 piece stock? Sometimes they will require a special sizing die called a 'small base' die. Good luck with it.
 
stubblejumper said:
It sounds like you are mixing the brass and using it in either rifle.This can cause problems if one chamber is a little shorter than the other,as the chamber in your fathers rifle appears to be.This is quite common,and the easiest way to avoid this problem is to keep the brass for each gun separated.
Click to expand...


Doesn't matter if you fl resize. and are triming to factory specs.

well it shouldn't:D
 
Russ said:
Make sure you ARE FL resizing......Check and see that the shell holder is touching the die at full stroke with a case.

What weight bullets are you loading?

Russ...
Click to expand...

I was following the instructions on the dies. they say to put in the shell holder, make a full stroke, screw in die until it makes contact plus a turn and a half more. I will try resizing without the extra turn and a half

I'm using 168gr BTHP match, my father is using 180gr lead nose BT



Willy Tincup said:
What type of actions are you using? Is 1 or more a pump or lever action, or 2 piece stock? Sometimes they will require a special sizing die called a 'small base' die. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...

We are both using bolts with one piece stocks, I'm shooting a howa 1500, my father a Tikka T3.


Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate it. any more tips are welcome

Payam
 
khoeep said:
I have noticed a small bulge towards the rear (primer side) of the casing, though this is present in all of our casings.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
Payam
Click to expand...

It sounds like what some people are saying that your die is not set up properly and you're not quite FL resizing is right. On my RCBS Junior the shell holder goes up to the bottom of the die, then gets a little tighter, and then gives a little click at the end as I pull the handle all the way down.
 
If you back your die out 1 1/2 turns it will make matter worse. Phone Sinclair tomorrow and order a Redding body die for about $22.50. You can run the ammo you have already loaded through the body die.
The once fired brass you bought may have been fired from a sloppy chamber while the chambers in your rifles may be a little tighter. What type of brass are you using?
 
What rifles too?

Russ said:
Make sure you ARE FL resizing......Check and see that the shell holder is touching the die at full stroke with a case.

What weight bullets are you loading?

Russ...
Click to expand...
Also SOME rifles are more prone to this difficulty than others..
IE-Early Remington 788s, Savage Model 99s, and Browning bolt actions are known to have tighter chamber tolerances than other factory rifles.

Of course any match tolerance made, 308 chamber, for example on a dedicated target rifle would pose the same problems.

Once upon a time, when I first starting reloading for two 30-06 rifles, first a Garand, and second a Voere 2185, I quickly had chambering problems, with handloaded ammo, which would always reliably feed into the M1, but not the Voere.

I soon came to the conclusion my full length sizing was not complete or consistant, and was the source of my problem.


One cannot mix brass with other rifles and expect 100% feeding reliability, unless one FL resizes and uses small base dies.
 
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Doesn't matter if you fl resize. and are triming to factory specs.
Click to expand...

If the chamber is cut to minimum specs,and the die is toward the maximum tolerance,even if you full length resize,you can still have issues.I use a RCBS rockchucker press,and the die is as tight against the shell holder as possible without causing damage,yet I have still had this issue.
 
"...I'm using 168gr BTHP match, my father is using 180gr lead nose..." Loaded to the OAL for your bullets or your da's. 180 grain bullets will give you an OAL that's a bit longer than your 168's.
The dies should be set up so the bottom of the die just kisses the shell holder with the ram all the way up.
"...or 2 piece stock?..." The stock has nothing to do with it.
 
Use calipers and mic the neck with a bullet seated. Perhaps some of your "once fired" have been fired more....
 
I can't find which brand of dies you are using but your problem sounds very similar to a problem that I had with my .22-250 and RCBS die. Even with the die set up according to the instructions, it would still not re-size properly and so after 4 loadings would no longer chamber. The solution was to ship the die back to RCBS along with some fired, unsized brass. They then adjusted my die to fit the chamber and I've had perfect results ever since. If you go to the RCBS web site this problem is covered as the number one question in their FAQ section.
 
As mentioned previously, the "once-fired" brass may have been shot in a rifle with a generous chamber - possibly a military rifle. Once the base of the case is oversize, it can be difficult to size back - it has a habit of springing back rather than deforming. (Particularly with some types of brass..)
Whenever you are sizing brass - you should check the chamber fit with some of the sized, unloaded, cases. This insures that you're OK before loading up the cases.
Pick up some new commercial brass, do the above test after first resize - I'm sure the problem will resolve itself. Novice reloaders often dont realize the merit of using quality brass (ie same brand, batch, and pedigree.)
 
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Small base dies may be in order, however, there are things you can do to check.
Make up a dummy round, no powder, no primer. Just fully resize the case, and load a bullet as usual.
Smoke the case over a candle, or even a match until it is lightly coated with carbon.
Chamber the round, and check for bright spots when you remove the dummy.
My guess is that you are crimping, and in so doing buckling the shoulder slightly. But the bright spots will tell the tale.
 
manitou210 said:
Maynard said it right you mst use one of these dies, and even more so when loading for semi-auto and pumps etc

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=REDIREBSD&item=RD75XBDIE1&type=store
Click to expand...

It sure saves time if you are running more than one rifle in the same caliber. Most of the ammo I load is for my number 1 go to target rifle. It is a 4 lug Millennium action. This ammo will also chamber and shoot in both my 3 lug Wichita action or my 2 lug 40X. However, if I load ammo (neck sized) for either the Wichita or 40X it will not chamber in the Millennium unless I run it through the body size die.

For $22.50 each you should have one for every caliber you shoot.

Trim to length brass really doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot, within reason. Even with match chambers I have gotten away with brass .015" too long.
 
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