Hard bolt close on Tikka 223 with Lapua brass.

[CJDO]

Wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue.

I have seen a couple of Tikka 223s that have issues jumping the rim on Lapua Brass. New and/or sized brass.

Any solutions?

Thanks.

 

[todbartell]

I've had no issues in my T3x CTR with Lapua brass, or any brand for that matter. Only issue is the last 2 rounds in the mag don't like to feed, the rounds tend to tip up and the bolt will slide past the case head

 

[Alpheus]

What do you mean by jumping the rim? The bolt riding over the top round in the magazine and not feeding?

 

[nowarningshot]

From a reloading perspective, the first few things I think are the brass is too long or the shoulder needs to be set back.

 

[Unholysavage]

Are you saying that you're having difficulty getting the extractor over the case rim (single feeding)?
I've single-fed my 223 varmint a fair bit with Lapua brass, never noticed anything unusual.

 

[guntech]

Wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue.

I have seen a couple of Tikka 223s that have issues jumping the rim on Lapua Brass. New and/or sized brass.

Any solutions?

Thanks.

Possible the Lapua rim is a bit 'squarer' and sharper than other brass... polishing the part of your extractor that engages the brass should fix that. I have done that with 700 extractors and bolt noses and it cured the problem.

 

[jetfixer]

From a reloading perspective, the first few things I think are the brass is too long or the shoulder needs to be set back.

As stated above - If you can't close the bolt on sized or new brass then it needs to be sized again by gradually moving the sizing die down until you can chamber the brass with minimal resistance. The brass should also be measured to ensure proper length (trim as required).

 

[old303]

Can be an interesting reloading problem, because I have the sense to not ever chamber a live round in my reloading room. Firearms and ammo don't meet until the firearm is pointed downrange! So it could take a few trips back and forth to get the shoulder sufficiently bumped. But I have heard of folk having sufficiently portable reloading gear as to be able to do load development on the shooting bench.

If all else fails, extract the bullet and try again, and try my hardest to save that primer! Rest of the components are more easily saved.

 

[Brad243]

....because I have the sense to not ever chamber a live round in my reloading room... ot get the shoulder sufficiently bumped...

No need to fully reload the cartridge for headspace.

You can just put just the sized brass into your rifle and keep bumping until it closes, Erik Cortina has a youtube video on how he does that.

Or you could use something like a hornady headspace comparator, take a measurement, run it into your dies, measure again. And just keep lowering the die until you get the reading you want (or until your die hits your shellholder)


As for the lapua brass extractor issue, I haven't run into it yet.

 

[maynard]

Can be an interesting reloading problem, because I have the sense to not ever chamber a live round in my reloading room. Firearms and ammo don't meet until the firearm is pointed downrange! So it could take a few trips back and forth to get the shoulder sufficiently bumped.

Or you could removed the firing pin and chamber all the loaded rounds that you want right in your loading room.

 

[CJDO]

Thanks for the ideas all! I’m going to try polishing the extractor, hopefully it helps.

 

[leeds10]

Give the bore and chamber a good cleaning and check it again

 

[Suther]

Are you saying that you're having difficulty getting the extractor over the case rim (single feeding)?
I've single-fed my 223 varmint a fair bit with Lapua brass, never noticed anything unusual.

OP can you please confirm if this is what you meant by jumping the rim?

 

[stubblejumper]

I have had two Tikka rifles in 223rem, as well as others in 6.5x55 and 6.5CM, and 260rem and I use Lapua brass in them all without any issues.

 

[chrismc]

Give the bore and chamber a good cleaning and check it again

^^^this. My guess is your chamber has crud, making the case stick. Scope it if you can.

 

[JJ-65]

I’ve had this issue with well used scarred up rims in a Remington 700 204. Changing the extractor made no difference. Changing to a different bolt didn’t help either. Now I put the cases in a drill and spin them in a piece of emery cloth, that cleans up any burrs and gives the base of the rim a smooth slightly tapered edge for the extractor to jump over.