Another 6.5x55 Question

G

Glenn Kelley

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Paris Ontario
I have two rifles in 6.5x55 . One is a Husqvarna model 38 ,the other is a T/C Encore with a factory barrel . My reloading dies are RCBS 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser .
I have been loading for the T/C .
My grandson has fired both guns and really likes the 38 . Told me so three times on the way home .
The T/C ammo won't chamber in the 38 . The bolt won't close .

I tried chambering an empty full length sized case in it with the same result .

It will chamber factory ammo with no problem . PMC, Norma , Century , Imperial .

The T/C also chambers and fires the factory ammo .
What do you think is going on ?
Thanks .
 
Do the numbers on the bolt match the receiver? Could be a headspace issue if they are mismatched.

Otherwise maybe a very tight chamber near the base where the die doesn't quite squeeze the fired cases enough.
 
Another thing could be your case overall length could be too long for the m38 but fine for the T/C. I had the same issue with my Swiss rifles, my 1889 could take any loading I had but my k93 and kg 97 had to have brass trimmed 100% in spec or it wouldn’t chamber.
 
I had the same issue before. Turned out the chamber was very tight spec and even a FL sizing die wasn't fully resizing.

I remedied the problem by placing a small piece of tape on the shell holder before sizing the cases. This helped push the case a bit further into the die and fix the problem.
 
I have been messing with an Carl Gustav M96 the last little bit and here is what I have figured out the last couple weeks. Hornaday dies suck, seems to be a common issue. Not enough shoulder bump so had to take almost 4 thou off the shell holder to get the set back.
I further figured out that in this gun the brass has to be trimmed to spec and a smidge more to get 3 reloads out of the brass without a stiff drop on the bolt. Reloads are 85 grn and low on the scale for powder for 6.5 Staball. I have done my fair share of reloading and this is one I would call finicky but now I have it figured it is going to be some bad coyote medicine.
 
hunter148 said:
I have been messing with an Carl Gustav M96 the last little bit and here is what I have figured out the last couple weeks. Hornaday dies suck, seems to be a common issue. Not enough shoulder bump so had to take almost 4 thou off the shell holder to get the set back.
I further figured out that in this gun the brass has to be trimmed to spec and a smidge more to get 3 reloads out of the brass without a stiff drop on the bolt. Reloads are 85 grn and low on the scale for powder for 6.5 Staball. I have done my fair share of reloading and this is one I would call finicky but now I have it figured it is going to be some bad coyote medicine.
Click to expand...

Believe Hunter has the answer.

I have a CZ in 223 that had the same problem, very stiff bold on handloads (from once fired surplus brass), even if full length sized. Found a different shell holder that had about one-thou less height, thus pushing the casing further into the die (pushing the shoulder back a wee more). Worked fine after that.

Totally fixed the problem.
 
I have run into this issue several times over the years. I chucked up the FL sizing die in the lathe,
and took .005" off the bottom of the die. Problem solved. Need a carbide cutter, of course.
Redding also makes a shellholder set that remedies the malady. 5 shellholders in descending thickness.
Dave.
 
Of course, you can try adjusting the FL die some more, and checking the fit. Plan B would be to segregate brass between the two rifles. If you go this route, you can neck size your brass, which is a lot easier than FL sizing (no lube, less trimming), and gives the potential for better accuracy.
 
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