Remington 760 headspace problems
- Thread starter Camp5
- Start date
You probably are creating a load round with excessive gap between the back of the case and the bolt face.
There is no oversize bolt for this rifle. If indeed you have excessive headspace a new barrel would have to be fitted... quite an expensive fix.
The only way to tell if the headspace is correct or not is to use steel headspace gauges to check it. It should close on a go gauge and it should not close on a no go gauge... forget about a "field" gauge that is for sloppy military rifles and military ammo.
You can correct for excessive headspace by correctly loading a cartridge and fire forming it and then not pushing the shoulder back when you size the case.
How experienced are you in reloading?
There is no oversize bolt for this rifle. If indeed you have excessive headspace a new barrel would have to be fitted... quite an expensive fix.
The only way to tell if the headspace is correct or not is to use steel headspace gauges to check it. It should close on a go gauge and it should not close on a no go gauge... forget about a "field" gauge that is for sloppy military rifles and military ammo.
You can correct for excessive headspace by correctly loading a cartridge and fire forming it and then not pushing the shoulder back when you size the case.
How experienced are you in reloading?
Your best bet is to approch this as Dennis has said. With new brass load a somewhat mild load with enough pressure to blow the shoulder forward. Then adjust your sizing die to only size the case enough to allow you to get the cases to chamber. Keep in mind that those pump guns don't really like any of the top loads in most loading manuals . My guess is that the cases are being sized too much. I've never seen a 760 or 7600 with headspace.
gunrunner100
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- NW Ontario
If you want to try a different bolt head, I have one.
The best way to fire form is to take new brass and size the neck up so it will not chamber at all... then size the case just enough so the case will chamber and you can feel the bolt close hard on it... it is closing hard because the case is being held against the bolt face because of the small false shoulder at the neck/shoulder junction you created.
Now load that case with a normal load... not a light load and fire it... it will form to fit the chamber perfectly without stretching the rear of the case and weakening it...
Some people think you can simply fire form brass by jamming the bullet into the rifling.. well you can do that but when the firing pin hits the primer, the case is driven forward on the bullet until the shoulder of the case is stopped by the chamber... then as the pressure builds up the case grips the chamber walls and then stretches at the web area of the case until it is stopped by the bolt face... this results in a very weak case that will separate eventually as the reloading process continues.
It is important that once you have correctly fire formed brass that you do not push the shoulder back on resizing more than a thousands on an inch...
Now load that case with a normal load... not a light load and fire it... it will form to fit the chamber perfectly without stretching the rear of the case and weakening it...
Some people think you can simply fire form brass by jamming the bullet into the rifling.. well you can do that but when the firing pin hits the primer, the case is driven forward on the bullet until the shoulder of the case is stopped by the chamber... then as the pressure builds up the case grips the chamber walls and then stretches at the web area of the case until it is stopped by the bolt face... this results in a very weak case that will separate eventually as the reloading process continues.
It is important that once you have correctly fire formed brass that you do not push the shoulder back on resizing more than a thousands on an inch...
Well - If I were in your shoes, I'd strive to resolve the problem by checking and adjusting the case size. You dont mention if you have used these dies for other rifles successfully.... If they are new, then there is a good chance they may be out out spec slightly - ie if you follow the instructions for sizing the cases will be undersize - as others have speculated.
You could pick up some factory ammo and compare it to your sized brass, and/or shoot it and check for bulging primers.
Alternatively, you can take some fired brass from another rifle, it will be slightly over factory spec. Go through a series of trials by screwing in the resizing die a fraction of a turn at a time, and trying to chamber a sized case. At some point you will find the setting that allows chambering. Screw the die in another 1/6 of a turn, and you're good to go.
You could pick up some factory ammo and compare it to your sized brass, and/or shoot it and check for bulging primers.
Alternatively, you can take some fired brass from another rifle, it will be slightly over factory spec. Go through a series of trials by screwing in the resizing die a fraction of a turn at a time, and trying to chamber a sized case. At some point you will find the setting that allows chambering. Screw the die in another 1/6 of a turn, and you're good to go.
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Willy Tincup
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Owen Sound
I had a similar problem with a fairly new 6mm -760 a number of years ago and took it to a Remington factory trained smith who fixed it under warranty. I think he is still working. If you are in sw Ontario pm me and I will give you his name.
