New rifle tight chamber

The Willis die works really well.

If you have other belted cartridges or shoot a lot, it may be more economical in the long run

can he send the brass to you to get them bumped so he can use them? then if it's not an issue in the new rifle a second time around he can save a few bucks........
 
The Willis die works really well.

If you have other belted cartridges or shoot a lot, it may be more economical in the long run

The 7mm RM is the only belted Magnum I still use. I would gladly move on if there was a beltless alternative I liked but I'm not there yet.

I just went and got new virgin brass. I will put the 1F brass on the EE with full disclosure of this thread.
 
Makes sense, thank you. I'm just not in the mood to throw away 100 1F Nosler brass. I'll leave the rifle alone and try some Whidden dies for the brass.

What press are you using? Some spring considerably and require a lot of die bump and lube to fully size...
 
What press are you using? Some spring considerably and require a lot of die bump and lube to fully size...

Forster co-ax. I don't think it's the press. The bulge above the belt is minimal but instantly visible with sharpie. The Remington's chamber is simply tighter than the Tikka it replaced.

I did find some 3+F brass that would chamber. Upon closer inspection I noticed they were stretching above the belt, well on the way to case head separation. Those are gone now.

The Remington also has .040" less freebore so I can actually reach the lands so I'm happy about that. I'll be loading with .040" jump to start. With the Tikka the closest I could get was .070".
 
Edit for the above. I just remembered that I was using the Redding +. 010" shell holder to minimize shoulder bump. I'm thinking this surely didn't help with the bulge situation.

Well the Co-Ax press has zero flex so I would guess if you set the die up properly to fully size the fired case they most likely will fit... let us know...
 
Well the Co-Ax press has zero flex so I would guess if you set the die up properly to fully size the fired case they most likely will fit... let us know...

Had no luck with that unfortunately. I measured the bulge above the belt at .513". FL sizing with the regular shell holder and hard cam lock didn't do the trick.
 
It isn't unusual for FL dies to leave some of the expansion ring just above the solid head. I had to make a sizing die to deal with the expansion ring when resizing .303 brass fired in Lee Enfield rifles before I could use it in my II** Ross.
If I am chambering a barrel for my own use, I prefer to set the chamber up on the minimum side of things. It may be that your rifle is better for being the way it is. Just use new brass or cases previously fired in the rifle.
 
Some time ago, I reformed previously fired Remington brand 7mm Rem Mag to make 7x61 S&H brass for an acquaintance's new-to-him inherited rifle. Even though fully into a FL 7x61 sizing die, with my RCBS Rockchucker press camming over centre, would not chamber. Jiffy marker showed hang up was right in front of the belt. I set out my 338 Win Mag sizing die - those cases plunked right in to the belt. I then tried my 458 Win Mag die - and the cases stopped a good 3/8" from the belt - so ran them through that 458 Win Mag die and then they would chamber in the 7x61 S&H rifle - said to me that dies are built with some plus or minus tolerance just ahead of the belt - should be identical between 338 Win Mag and 458 Win Mag, but my two RCBS sizing dies are not the same diameter - exactly. I have since bought that Larry Willis collet die - is not for sizing the case body - just that 1/8" or less in front of the belt, after FL sizing.

Some where in that process, I discovered that I could wiggle a .005" feeler gauge leaf under the case head in the shell holder (or maybe it was a .003" leaf??) - that should have forced that brass another .005" (.003"??) higher into the sizing die - maybe that helped to get the case in front of the belt down to size.
 
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I like the idea of running the brass through different dies to see if I can reach the bulge. It was also suggested to me via PM to mill down a shell holder to reach the same result.

So those cases were already about +.010" in the shoulder to try to extend case life as much as possible. FL sizing in a 7mm RM could stamp out the bulge but it would also push the shoulder all the way back in.

Maybe a 338 WM die and milled down shell holder would be the perfect solution.

More options to consider.
 
You most likely need to push the shoulder back to fit the new chamber...so you can fire form them to the new chamber... why not do it a bit at a time until you can close the bolt easily... ignore the very visible bulge for now... or simply run one case in as far as you can, push the shoulder back... and see if it fits...

If the bulge is the problem, spin the cases in a lathe and file it away. Why screw up a new chamber because you have used crappy over size brass?
 
Well it's all optional at this point since I already have the new virgin brass on hand. That being said, I'll keep chipping at it and see if I can come up with a simple solution for the 1F brass.
 
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