Problems reloading .300WSM

Chuckbuster

Chuckbuster

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Reloading for my .300WSM x-Bolt is proving to be an interesting endeavour. I am finding reloaded cases are extremely hard to chamber; factory ammo and new brass are fine. It's just the resized cases that seem to be problematic.

I resized according to the Lee die instructions, then with a little cam over, then by screwing the die all the way in. Each and every time, the result was a hard bolt close. I measured the resized cases and it seems they are being lengthened or stretched as a result. A couple of resized dummy rounds proved that my reloads will either be difficult to chamber, or, not chamber at all.

It seems that I will have to trim all of my resized cases back down to spec unless there is an alternative solution that I am not aware of. I have read that this is a known problem with regard to the .300WSM and there seem to be all kinds of suggestions out there. What I'm interested in is how others here may have dealt with and solved this problem. Thanks in advance.
 
You should pretty much always trim your cases after full length resizing. You already said that they are not in spec so there you have it. If they still won't fit then the neck is not getting bumped properly. Either sand a few thou off the resizing die or sand the top surface of the shell holder. I would do the second as replacing a shell holder is inexpensive compared to replacing a die if you screw up. Go slow. You will probably only have to do about 3 to 5 thou and it is easier to remove material than add it back.
 
There is 2 different problems with 300wsm, and the problems require different solutions. First you need to find out where the case sticks to the chamber. It's not necessarily in the mouth or neck. Mine was sticking at the web.

To find out, you need to sharpie a whole case (one that's hard/impossible to chamber), and then you try to chamber it. After that, you'll see where the ink is gone, and that's where you have a problem.

-If the case is too long (normally you can troubleshoot that with a galiper), then you trim. Also, make sure you lube the inside of the case mouth before resizing, as sometimes the expander can be just a little too wide and compress the case on the way in and stretch it on the way out;
-If the shoulder is where it sticks, then you need to bump more. There's a bazilion of ideas, all more or less effective, like overcamming or different shellholders that will let you overcam even more. If you don't do the sharpie test, everyone will tell you that this is your problem, but it's rarely the case with 300wsm.
-If the body or web of the case is where the ink is gone, then your dies are not resizing enough. You'll need a small base die. This is the most common problem for wsm cartridges. And this is why, of all the "bolt action calibres", the only commonly available SBD are the WSM family (usually, SBD are available for semi-auto calibres, 223 and 308).

So do the sharpie test and get back to us.
 
Okay...thanks all. Looks like I'll have to grab a sharpie after work as there are nothing but old dry ones in the drawer. I already lube the case mouths so that's likely not the source of the problem. I've also tried screwing the die in all the way (or until there are no more threads showing on the die body...I'm not sure if it can actually go any deeper...maybe it can and I should try...?) I'll try trimming a couple of them in the meantime just to see if that works...that and sanding my shell plate.
 
Okay...I lied, I have a functional dark sharpie. I coloured one of the resized cases and chambered it. Having read about, but not being familiar with the process, all I can see are a couple of slight drag marks (lines) running the length of the case, and what may be a smudge at one point on the shoulder.
 
Double check you are sizing them enough. Screw your die in until it contacts the shell holder, then go in another 1/4 turn. Make sure the press isn't bottoming out before the shell holder and die contact - in fact make sure the press isn't bottoming out at all.

If that doesn't work, let us know.
 
Suther said:
Double check you are sizing them enough. Screw your die in until it contacts the shell holder, then go in another 1/4 turn. Make sure the press isn't bottoming out before the shell holder and die contact - in fact make sure the press isn't bottoming out at all.

If that doesn't work, let us know.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...never thought of doing that. As per the instructions I always let it bottom out and let the ram go all the way up before screwing in the die.
 
I've have the same issue before, 300WSM brass are pretty stiff. Make sure you set your die for a strong cam over.
 
Suther...I owe you a beer! Trimming didn't fix the problem, however, your suggestion was the charm. I resized a couple of randomly chosen cases and much to my surprise, they a) were to spec and did not need to be trimmed, and b) they chambered easily. I made one into a dummy round and it chambered easily as well. Thank you sir.
 
rmark said:
After you resize them, how long do they measure? Trim a FL sized one down to 2.090" and try to chamber that...
Click to expand...

They were measuring 2.11 if I recall correctly and spec is...2.1...? I did trim a few of the resized cases and that did not solve the problem...so back to the drawing board I went...

bcsteve said:
I've have the same issue before, 300WSM brass are pretty stiff. Make sure you set your die for a strong cam over.
Click to expand...

I tried that; even with the die screwed all the way in but with the ram fully extended (as per the die's instructions) the problem refused to go away.

What did finally work was not letting the ram be fully extended before screwing in the die as per Suther's suggestion.
 
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Always remember when full length resizing that the case shoulder as it is squeezed will be pushed forward and then pushed back down.

Rifle chambers and dies vary in size so dies must be adjusted for the proper amount of shoulder bump.

Below the die should be adjusted to bump the case shoulder back .001 to .002 below the red dotted line.

Having the Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge is a good tool to have and measure the shoulder location of your "FIRED" cases. Then use this fired measurement to adjust the die for the proper bump or shoulder setback.

wm05ArY.gif


Below measuring a fired .223/5.56 case fired in my AR15 carbine, the die was then adjusted to bump the case shoulder back .003 shorter than its fired length.

The Hornady gauge makes setting your dies up much easier to get the proper shoulder bump. And reads in thousandths of an inch and better than eyeballing a drop in Wilson type case gauge.

H0SXHH8.jpg
 
Chuckbuster said:
They were measuring 2.11 if I recall correctly and spec is...2.1...? I did trim a few of the resized cases and that did not solve the problem...so back to the drawing board I went...



I tried that; even with the die screwed all the way in but with the ram fully extended (as per the die's instructions) the problem refused to go away.

What did finally work was not letting the ram be fully extended before screwing in the die as per Suther's suggestion.
Click to expand...

That's how you lower the die down, I have to do it on all my .300WSM
 
Chuckbuster said:
Suther...I owe you a beer! Trimming didn't fix the problem, however, your suggestion was the charm. I resized a couple of randomly chosen cases and much to my surprise, they a) were to spec and did not need to be trimmed, and b) they chambered easily. I made one into a dummy round and it chambered easily as well. Thank you sir.
Click to expand...

Just glad to help. I had the same problem, made a bunch of 270 that were fine then the next time around I didn't set my die far enough and ran into problems.

These sorts of threads appear all the time, and people are always suggesting small base dies or sanding down shell holders ect ect. when most of the time its a user error that's easily remedied. Glad it worked out for yah.
 
Suther said:
Just glad to help. I had the same problem, made a bunch of 270 that were fine then the next time around I didn't set my die far enough and ran into problems.

These sorts of threads appear all the time, and people are always suggesting small base dies or sanding down shell holders ect ect. when most of the time its a user error that's easily remedied. Glad it worked out for yah.
Click to expand...

Just wondering about your "Screw your die in until it contacts the shell holder, then go in another 1/4 turn." instructions.

Is that true for all Lee dies? Or are those instructions specific to different calibres?

I can't remember which one and I'm not at home to go look at the instructions, but I am pretty sure that at least one of my Lee die sets has different instructions. I think it might be something as subtle as "turn a half turn" rather than a quarter turn.
 
MDF said:
Just wondering about your "Screw your die in until it contacts the shell holder, then go in another 1/4 turn." instructions.

Is that true for all Lee dies? Or are those instructions specific to different calibres?

I can't remember which one and I'm not at home to go look at the instructions, but I am pretty sure that at least one of my Lee die sets has different instructions. I think it might be something as subtle as "turn a half turn" rather than a quarter turn.
Click to expand...

Honestly I'm not sure what they say, but I know what worked for me (and what didn't, which was allowing the press to bottom out at the shell holder.)
 
MDF said:
Just wondering about your "Screw your die in until it contacts the shell holder, then go in another 1/4 turn." instructions.

Is that true for all Lee dies? Or are those instructions specific to different calibres?

I can't remember which one and I'm not at home to go look at the instructions, but I am pretty sure that at least one of my Lee die sets has different instructions. I think it might be something as subtle as "turn a half turn" rather than a quarter turn.
Click to expand...

I believe that is in all the Lee die instructions.
 
And, the saga with my .300WSM continues...I have a bunch of loads to test out with various bullets, but ran into another problem with 180grain TSX bullets. In seating them to the recommended OAL, I found that the bullet is loose in the case mouth...I can spin it with my fingers and pull it up and down. The recommended OAL (2.825") seats the bullet to the middle of it's uppermost groove. I can get satisfactory neck tension by seating it immediately above or below the groove. I am concerned about excess pressure if I go above the groove by seating the bullet deeper, but yet, everything I read on line says they do well when seated very deeply...but then, it is the Internet. So, I'm thinking I have 3 options, get a factory crimp die and seat to the recommended OAL, or seat deeper for a shorter than recommended OAL, or seat less deep for a longer OAL. What says the collective in this regard?
 
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