Tonight's reloads hard to chamber?

Silverado said:
@ OBF, martin and JYC:

Nope, nope and nope.

No crimp, and these are plain Jane RCBS dies.

I like my ammo to feed smoooooooth in a hunting rifle. I've never had reloads this hard to chamber before?

I recalibrate my scale every time I start a new batch of loads. In any case, why might that cause them to be hard to chamber? They extracted nice and easy after firing, with zero overpressure signs and great accuracy.

In any case, I'm going to make some more after lunch. I'll try the first one or two to see how they chamber. Check the die adjustment too.
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Sorry misread your post, thought you were getting hard extraction.
Any chance you are getting a shoulder bulge from the crimp portion of the die bumping the brass?
Measure shoulder with a micrometer before and after seating, in several places.
 
Thanks for all the input and brainstorming fellas.

It turns out that the new bullets have a WAY stubbier ogive than the ones I used previously. Even though the bullets were shorter and loaded to the same OAL as the others, these ones were a whopping .075" into the lands.

I made up a fistful just now and backed 'em down so they're just touching. Coincidentally that lands exactly at the spec length for the round: 2.800".
 
Silverado said:
Lee Modern Reloading Second Edition.
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Yes, I just read #### Lee's theory on bullet seating. As usual it is more drivel based on his unique view of the world. (He hates everyone and everything as well as disagreeing with every other expert in the industry) In my opinion the man hit senility years ago and everything he writes should be taken with a grain of salt.

If you are working your loads up the way you are supposed to the depth the bullet enters the case is a non-issue with rifle cartridges. Only if you jump in and load maximum listed loads without starting 10% low could this be an issue.

A far more dangerous practise is what you just did. If you exceeded the maximum over-all SAMMI cartridge length like you did without checking your chamber throat for length it is possible that you could have ruined your rifle with the very first shot you took if you had loaded maximum charges.
 
Silverado said:
They were several grains less than max.
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I figured that out without asking. ;)

The fact your typing looks like you still have control of all your fingers indicates you did start you loads at a fairly mild charge.

You mentioned that the accuracy was outstanding which is not surprising. You just rediscovered the old benchrest technique of using loads that jamb the bullet firmly into the lands. While this causes a very sharp pressure spike it does produce very uniform velocities if the load is carefully worked up. It also aligns the bullet in the centre of the bore if the chamber and bore are concentric. In a hunting rifle however it is possible you may pull the bullet out of the case if you try and unload an unfired round.
 
'Boo said:
I figured that out without asking. ;)

The fact your typing looks like you still have control of all your fingers indicates you did start you loads at a fairly mild charge.

You mentioned that the accuracy was outstanding which is not surprising. You just rediscovered the old benchrest technique of using loads that jamb the bullet firmly into the lands. While this causes a very sharp pressure spike it does produce very uniform velocities if the load is carefully worked up. It also aligns the bullet in the centre of the bore if the chamber and bore are concentric. In a hunting rifle however it is possible you may pull the bullet out of the case if you try and unload an unfired round.
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Nothing new there... in fact I've asked over in Gunsmithing about making the mag longer on my tactical rifle to allow mag feeding loads that touch the lands.

What surprises me is that in that 308 tactical, the mag length is .050 to .097" shorter than the lands, depending on the load.

With this 7-08 these bullets touch the lands at mag length. I've never been that fortunate before. That said, these aren't my IDEAL hunting bullet, but they'll do for now.

Both of these are Remington 700's of recent production.
 
Touching the lands.

Silverado, some readers seemmed to have missed where you state your calculator showed a spike in starting pressure, but top pressure was not effected, by the bullet touching the lands.
I too, have taken heavy loads, some touching, some with clearance, and could not detect any difference in pressure signs.
 
Just a suggestion - get a tool which will enable you to determine the OAL of a cartridge with a particular bullet when the ogive of that bullet makes contact with the lands. Exact bullet shape and point of ogive contact with the lands can vary from production lot to lot. This will give you an actual measurement to use as a reference when deciding how much jump or jam you want, and you can adjust your seating die appropriately. Knowing this ogive contact OAL will let you tailor loads taking into consideration the actual bullets you are using, and even the changes that occur as your barrel wears, and the leade moves foreward. Apart from an OAL based on the relationship between the ogive and the leade, there is the issue of OAL and the magazine. Sometimes compromises are necessary. OAL numbers given in manuals are industry guidelines, but have little to do with the actual circumstances of your rifle and ammunition.
 
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