6.5x55 Clickers issue

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rberresheim

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I have a custom 6.5x55 shooting Berger 153.5gr using Lapua brass and 43.2gr of RL17 @ 2830fps from a 29” barrel. When my brass was virgin it extracted smoothly. I have found after reloading that brass I am getting clickers in varying degrees from barely noticeable to needing a tap of the palm to get the bolt to lift the last 20 degrees to open the action.

I do not believe it is a pressure issue, when the brass was virgin I shot ladders up to 44.5gr without any issues. I also loaded the once fired brass a full grain lower than my load at 42.2gr and still had the same issues with clickers.

My resizing procedure has been to push the shoulders back .002”. I also tried bottoming the die on the shell holder to the point of cam over to see if it was the base of the case not getting properly sized in these cases I had up to .010” head space.

I think the issue is the body not getting sized down enough but I’m not sure, all cases chamber with zero resistance when I remove firing pin and spring the bolt handle drops freely.

My next plan is to cut the top off a sizing die and mill .020” off the bottom so I can squeeze the body slightly smaller.

Anyone ever experience anything like this and have some advice?
 
I have not had experience at that - but I do believe that normal full length sizing dies do not deal with the section at the rear end of the cartridge. I made a bunch - like 80 - cases for 7x61 from previously fired 7mm Rem Mag brass - not a single one would chamber into the rifle after going through the full Length Sizing die. As it happened, I had a RCBS 338 Win Mag die - those brass would plunk down all the way. However, I also had an RCBS 458 Win Mag die - case rim should have been same size - but the brass stopped a good 3/8" proud from going all the way in - the Jiffy Marker on the case had showed that the brass was hanging up in the chamber right in front of the case belt - I presume a place where normal Full Length dies do not size - I ordered a collet sizing die - Larry Willis brand - that will only size just in front of the case belt - while waiting for that Willis die, I ran the re-formed ones through that 458 Win Mag die - and then they all chambered into that rifle - so the 458 Win Mag die and the 338 Win Mag die should have been same diameter, but were not - likely a minimum / maximum tolerance thing. I never had an issue reloading brass that had been fired in my rifles, with either die - like 3 or 4 times reloaded.

The purchase of that Larry Willis die was not "wasted" - I had several purchases of previously fired 300 Weatherby brass that would not fully chamber into my rifle - so I ran them all through that Larry Willis die, and now they fit correctly - so that one episode of allowing about 150 brass to be used - Weatherby head stamp - probably made by Norma - likely "paid for" that die.
 
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I'm using a set of Lee Collet dies. Brass stays in better condition, more concentric, and lasts longer.
 
I have heard good things about the collet dies doing really good as others have said.

The other thing that comes to mind is small base dies. Not sure if they have one in 6.5x55 Swede or not.

How many loads are on the brass ? do you anneal ? and what does your prep setup look like ?

B
 
kjohn said:
Okay. Still don’t know what a clicker is. A dud??
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I had to ask the same thing a few months ago. IIRC its poor extraction-related, the click is the extractor jumping off the case rim, leaving the case in the chamber.

Someone please correct me if thats wrong.
 
kjohn said:
Okay. Still don’t know what a clicker is. A dud??
Click to expand...
A clicker in reloading will be when the web of the case is expanded beyond the chambers dimensions. Generally this is caused by over pressure. The term clicker comes from the noise or feeling of clicking you get from opening a bolt on a fired case with a case that has had abnormal web expansion - a clicking noise ~from the internet

What I'm experiencing is a easy bolt lift in till the last 20 degrees or so at which point i hit a wall of resistance. this is where the case begins to be extracted, once i break through said wall the case extracts without issue so the click is the case becoming unstuck from the chamber and your bolt handle traveling the remainder of its throw until it hits its travel limit. I have to admit i also had no idea what a "clicker" was until this issue.
 
I used to have a 308 rifle with a stress gauge on it. As It was loaded hotter and hotter I could read out the chamber pressure and then equate that with the signs of over pressure, as they started to appear.

The first sign of pressure was a slight tap needed to lift the bolt. That occurred at about proof round pressure.
 
bdb.hunting said:
I have heard good things about the collet dies doing really good as others have said.

The other thing that comes to mind is small base dies. Not sure if they have one in 6.5x55 Swede or not.

How many loads are on the brass ? do you anneal ? and what does your prep setup look like ?

B
Click to expand...
The brass is only once fired, some has 2 firings now. I'm using a Redding Type S match die set. I have not annealed but i don't know if annealing would help since i believe the issue is closer to the base. I don't know of any small base 6.5x55 dies or i would have one on the way.
 
Base may not be getting resized. I would try resizing in a 30-06 die. Would reduce your sides but leave your base alone.
rberresheim said:
The brass is only once fired, some has 2 firings now. I'm using a Redding Type S match die set. I have not annealed but i don't know if annealing would help since i believe the issue is closer to the base. I don't know of any small base 6.5x55 dies or i would have one on the way.
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just a thought here. 30-06 dies have a smaller base. You could try sizing a few, neck wouldn’t be touched due to 30-06 case being longer. Would size your base down. At least it would tell you if it actually is a base problem.
 
hawk-i said:
Lee Collet dies don't resize the body, I use Redding body dies in conjunction with collet dies.
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Actually, you don't need to size the shell body; I full length size once only when I get new brass or once fired brass; after that it is fire-formed. I do not aneal and I get a lot of reloads out of a casel. Neck sizing only. If you are using your ammo in more than one rifle, you may have to size for the tighter chamber, or keep loads separate.
 
I will learn something, with this thread - if your issue gets resolved! I do not compete, so I had not heard that term "clicker" before. And I can not recall such a phenomena while shooting and reloading for my rifles. However, my 2 cents that might help you understand what you are describing:

On a rifle that is following a Mauser design for breeching - the bolt lug rear is about 90 degrees to the bore centre line - and therefore, there is an initial camming slope that presses the round into the chamber, then about 2/3 or more of the bolt handle movement has the rear of the bolt lugs sliding down their recesses in the receiver which are also about 90 degrees to the bore line. On many British designed rifles - Lee Enfield No. 4, P14, Model of 1917 - they will have "helical breeching" - the bolt will continue to move forward, slightly, after that initial chambering cam. The rear of their bolt lugs and the receiver recesses are at a very mild slope - perhaps 6 or 7 degrees to the bore line - but not "square" to it. So, on a P14, Model of 1917, Remington Model 30 or a Lee Enfield No. 4 - the actual head space measurement is taken when the bolt is fully down - on a Mauser, it is about the same if the bolt is half way down or all the way down. The Production Superintendent at Remington had to send a letter to US gunsmiths about the headspace in the Remington Model 30 - many gunsmiths were apparently "checking" the headspace on newly made Model 30 by only partially closing the bolt handle - therefore, they were getting that the head space was too long - that letter described that the bolt handle has to be all the way down to "check". So, it seems to me, that the British helical breeching system would also release from the cartridge as soon as the bolt handle was lifted, at all - whereas, it is going to stay "tight" on a Mauser, all the way until the extractor cam engages.

In either system, case extraction does not occur until the extraction cam engages - which is normally near the top of the bolt handle movement - so, if the case is very tight in that chamber - for example, if there was lots of "bolt thrust", or the case was dirty or bent, the Mauser was going to be tight to open, whereas the Enfield style was going to release, as soon as the bolt handle moved up, at all.
 
Meroh said:
Actually, you don't need to size the shell body; I full length size once only when I get new brass or once fired brass; after that it is fire-formed. I do not aneal and I get a lot of reloads out of a casel. Neck sizing only. If you are using your ammo in more than one rifle, you may have to size for the tighter chamber, or keep loads separate.
Click to expand...
Interesting...you don't get a bolt resistance on closing after reloading multiple times without bumping the shoulder back?
 
ok here is another idea, that wont cost as much as a reloading die. mill .20 thou off the shell holder instead of the die. this has fixed the problem for me in the past. could also be a mismatched shellholder. lot cheeper to replace a shell holder than a die. lot easyer to cut to
 
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