Bulging casings

[Hang Fire]

Just reloaded 7mm 08. Couldn't chamber them. I am sure that I full length resized them. They are compressed loads though. Is it possible to bulge the casings making compressed loads?

 

[mmattockx]

I can't see moving the brass with a compressed load, the forces involved just are not high enough. What CAN happen, though, is that you bump the shoulder too much with your sizing die and buckle the case just below the shoulder. Does the sized brass chamber OK on its own?

Mark

 

[iceman2]

Are you crimping? If you set your bullet seating die too low, you will crimp your round excessively causing the shoulder to buckle. Raise your seating die and readjust the stem to seat to desired OAL and try that. Crimping not really necessary, or use a Lee fcd.

 

[TwoTone]

On really compressed loads the bullet can creep out after seating. It's possible that the bullet is hitting the rifling and preventing chambering.

Easy enough to check for.

If this is what is happening though the bullet would likely stick in the rifling upon extraction.

 

[Ganderite]

If the round won't chamber, there should be marks on the case or bullet from the effort. Thsi will tell you what the problem is.

 

[sunray]

"...bulge the casings making compressed loads..." No. The compressed part is the powder.
Like mmattockx says, it's most likely the sizer die being down too far. You can feel it sometimes with just your finger.

 

[iceman2]

Have you tried chambering empty cases after resizing before loading powder and bullet? If they chamber ok it is not a resizing issue but maybe crimping issue. Let us know.

 

[Bigbubba]

As above - can you chamber an empty case? That will tell you

 

[22to45]

I am fairly sure that whatever the reason they will not chamber, it is something that happened in your press, the bullet seating die being too low is the most probably the cause, even a few thousandths too low would bulge the cases. Personally I never crimp in the seating die as I have had this problem myself.

 

[doug keller]

I resized some cases that were first fired in my autoloader and would not fit in my bolt action after resizing. They were full length resized but would not go. Had to throw them all out. For some reason, the cases expand too much in the large chambers of the autoloaders and the sizing die could not swedge them down.