Trouble locking bolt closed on a few hand loads
- Thread starter spyderchop
- Start date
Can you enlighten me on overcaming
I trimed to one uniform length..
Had that problem with a 300 wsm. Could not for the life of me figure it out. Finally figured out the bullet ogive was jamming into chamber. Pushed the bullets in 3 thou and never had a problem since. I've also seen where the shoulder was bulged just enough to cause problems. Don't recall the fix for that or what caused it.
How did you setup the die?
Raise your ram with shell holder in place fully, screw down your die until it makes contact with the shell holder. Lower the ram and screw the die down another 1/4-1/2 turn. Now when you raise the ram fully you will feel the handle “cam over”.
My suggestion is to take one or two of the offending reloads and blacken the cartridges,; casing and the bullet. Smoke from a candle or use a felt marker. Chamber the round and work the bolt enough so the rub will show. Adjust accordingly.
I would suspect it's the shoulders are slightly bulged from bullet seating or bullet not seated deep enough or not camming over on resizing.
I would suspect it's the shoulders are slightly bulged from bullet seating or bullet not seated deep enough or not camming over on resizing.
Assuming your die is set up properly. Are your primers seated fully on the rounds that won’t allow bolt closure? Saw this with some handloads I got with a rifle purchase. Three rounds wouldn’t allow bolt closure. Did all the normal measuring and jiffy marker procedure and saw nothing wrong. Noticed the primers were not seated fully. Pulled bullets and removed powder. Seated the primers to proper depth. Seated the original bullets to same CBTO and voila. In this instance, I opted to pull everything and start fresh.
Just something to check.
Just something to check.
Keep in mind that not all presses will actually cam over!
Was the brass that you loaded factory ammo shot in your rifle? Or range brass that had been fired in a different rifle?
If it was fired in your rifle, the problem must be a crimp issue.
If it was range brass, the problem is that the brass was not quite fully sized. I suggest turning your die down a full rev so that the shell holder hits the die. That is 100%.
In the future, if sizing other brass, hit the shell holder.
When sizing brass fired in your rifle, turn the die up a half turn from touching the shell holder. ideally, the bolt should start to close without resistance, and then you should feel a bit of compression just as the bolt ends the stroke down. (for a bolt action.)
For a pump or semi, fully size each time.
If it was fired in your rifle, the problem must be a crimp issue.
If it was range brass, the problem is that the brass was not quite fully sized. I suggest turning your die down a full rev so that the shell holder hits the die. That is 100%.
In the future, if sizing other brass, hit the shell holder.
When sizing brass fired in your rifle, turn the die up a half turn from touching the shell holder. ideally, the bolt should start to close without resistance, and then you should feel a bit of compression just as the bolt ends the stroke down. (for a bolt action.)
For a pump or semi, fully size each time.
For maximum reliability, you'll want to buy a case gage (to enable you to ensure that everything will fit inside a standard chamber).
(Search Brownells for 'case gage'.)
<https://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=case+gage&ksubmit=y>
(Search Brownells for 'case gage'.)
<https://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=case+gage&ksubmit=y>
Sometimes when the neck expander goes up through the case without any lube (mica or graphite) it will pull hard enough to deform the case shoulder so chambering is difficult. As mentioned blacken one the the bad cases and see if it contacts at the shoulder.
If none of the above suggestions work out, make sure the primers are seated fully. If they are not fully seated they will be proud of the brass and the bolt will not close easily or possibly at all. It only takes a tiny bit to do this and you will probably not be able to see it. Use a steel edge like a stainless steel ruler to check. If a primer is proud the ruler will rock on the primer. A properly seated primer should actually be set into the pocket so that its surface is below the surface of the case head and when checked with a straight edge held on the headstamped end, light should be visible above the primer.
If they are not seated properly, whatever you do, absolutely do NOT try to re-seat primers on loaded rounds. Pull the bullets, dump the powder then tap the case upside down on a hard surface to ensure all the powder is removed before attempting to seat the primers properly.
If they are not seated properly, whatever you do, absolutely do NOT try to re-seat primers on loaded rounds. Pull the bullets, dump the powder then tap the case upside down on a hard surface to ensure all the powder is removed before attempting to seat the primers properly.
