Hoping somebody can assist in one or two ways.
I have a BLR SS Take Down in .308, and have had some issues reloading for it right from the get-go.
First issue was last year, when attempting to F/L resize using my RCBS standard die set, almost 100% of the F/L resized brass wouldn't chamber even after trimming to length as noted in the Lyman reloading guidebook. COAL is well within specs after resizing and seating the bullet (150 gr Hornady PSP's I got with the promotion from Hornady in 2015).
I thought I had that fixed when a couple of knowledgeable folks suggested I get an small base resizing die and use that only for my BLR since it is not recommended to use small base in bolt action rifles. I bought the small base (RCBS "X-Die") and was seeing a huge improvement in cycling and closing. But I'm still getting the odd won't chamber round (maybe 10%?) of my reloads for the BLR, and I've noticed a very small indentation in the shoulder of a few - not all, probably 2% to 3% of the resized which are part of the "won't chamber" group.
I've started using the barrel of my take down as a resized/trimmed brass check (off the receiver, natch) but that's a pain, and likely isn't doing the barrel any good by clamping it in a padded vice to have it handy for the check.
So - is there such a beast as a chamber-duplicating check die which I can use instead of the barrel/chamber of the rifle (I've been told to look at headspace check dies/gauges, but also been told they don't duplicate the entire SAAMI spec chamber, just shoulder to rim of the brass)?
And, anybody got suggestions on how to reduce, or eliminate the small percentages of "won't chamber" reloads, and smaller percentage of resized brass with the very slight indent in the shoulder - I can't seem to figure out why the indent is only intermittent, even in the same reloading session.
Should be noted that the RCBS standard die set I've been using works 100% in my son's bolt action SAKO .308, without any chambering or indented shoulder issues. It's just in the X-Base used for the BLR, and again is not constant.
Thanks!
O.N.G.
I have a BLR SS Take Down in .308, and have had some issues reloading for it right from the get-go.
First issue was last year, when attempting to F/L resize using my RCBS standard die set, almost 100% of the F/L resized brass wouldn't chamber even after trimming to length as noted in the Lyman reloading guidebook. COAL is well within specs after resizing and seating the bullet (150 gr Hornady PSP's I got with the promotion from Hornady in 2015).
I thought I had that fixed when a couple of knowledgeable folks suggested I get an small base resizing die and use that only for my BLR since it is not recommended to use small base in bolt action rifles. I bought the small base (RCBS "X-Die") and was seeing a huge improvement in cycling and closing. But I'm still getting the odd won't chamber round (maybe 10%?) of my reloads for the BLR, and I've noticed a very small indentation in the shoulder of a few - not all, probably 2% to 3% of the resized which are part of the "won't chamber" group.
I've started using the barrel of my take down as a resized/trimmed brass check (off the receiver, natch) but that's a pain, and likely isn't doing the barrel any good by clamping it in a padded vice to have it handy for the check.
So - is there such a beast as a chamber-duplicating check die which I can use instead of the barrel/chamber of the rifle (I've been told to look at headspace check dies/gauges, but also been told they don't duplicate the entire SAAMI spec chamber, just shoulder to rim of the brass)?
And, anybody got suggestions on how to reduce, or eliminate the small percentages of "won't chamber" reloads, and smaller percentage of resized brass with the very slight indent in the shoulder - I can't seem to figure out why the indent is only intermittent, even in the same reloading session.
Should be noted that the RCBS standard die set I've been using works 100% in my son's bolt action SAKO .308, without any chambering or indented shoulder issues. It's just in the X-Base used for the BLR, and again is not constant.
Thanks!
O.N.G.
