I'm Brand new to reloading. I'm currently trying to reload for my 6.5 Prc and 22 Creedmoor. The current issue I'm facing is that I can't get the bolt to close When I'm sizing, I test the case to make sure it's smooth in the bolt. Then after all the other steps when I seat the bullet to the O.A.L my bolt hangs like the bullet is too long and have to almost slam the bolt to get it to close and I'm really confused as to what I'm doing wrong. I've watched my FairShare of YouTube however I guess I didn't learn anything. Any Advice would be greatly appreciated!
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What Am I doing Wrong
- Thread starter Pint.Noah
- Start date
Color your bullet with magic marker, chamber the round into the gun and eject it. Look to see where the marker is rubbed off. That could give you a clue as to where the round is too tight.
Could be a number of things from that description - color a loaded round with a black sharpie, then try to chamber it. Pop it out and you should see some spots where the marker has come off. Post a picture back here and someone will be along shortly to help troubleshoot.
ETA: Beat at the buzzer.
ETA: Beat at the buzzer.
I colored the bullet with sharpie and you can’t really tell the difference. I took a video of the difference between the force of a factory load and the handload but I am trying to figure out how to add it.Could be a number of things from that description - color a loaded round with a black sharpie, then try to chamber it. Pop it out and you should see some spots where the marker has come off. Post a picture back here and someone will be along shortly to help troubleshoot.
ETA: Beat at the buzzer.
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I had a similar issue earlier this year and realized it was because I wet tumbled too long and it rolled the case mouth over. The brass would chamber without a bullet seated but wouldn’t with a bullet seated. Trim length can also cause similar issues. The sharpie test didn’t show me much on that issue either. Solved it by trimming the end of the case mouth off. I could feel the roll/burr it was forming with my fingernail
Two possibilities come to mind.
Bullet is seated too long and engaging the lands before bolt will close or you have a tight necked chamber and the case necks are too thick to chamber with a bullet seated. From your pics, it doesn’t look like the first.
John
Color the whole case to see if/where the case is dragging.
Also it looks like your case mouth has something going on, did you chamfer and debur?
I'm uninformed on pushing the shoulder back. I'm currently using a FL RCBS 6.5 prc die. The brass shown in the photo is once fired Hornady brass the bullet is a 140 Nosler accubond. it was deburred. I did notice when I sat the bullet there was a slight copper ring created at the case mouth, I'm assuming came off the bullet. I don't have a real scientific way yet on sizing being that I've only loaded maybe 12 rounds in total. from the video I watched you make the sizing die touch the shell holder then procced to turn it a quarter of a turn more. that's what was done the brass shown in the photo. The brass itself was smoothly chambering.
Looking at your picture it looks kind of like you belled your case like your loading for pistol. You need to find out what in your process is doing that. If you can get a factory crimp die see if that takes care of it? Sorry best i can come up with.
Swet fucking Jesus. Stop. Go get a case comparator - even Hornady - before you screw those poor cases up any worse.
I am assuming the guns that you are shooting are SAAMI chambers and you don't have a tight neck. Would help just to give info on what guns you have.
The copper ring you are seeing is the brass in the mouth/neck is peeling back some of the bullet as it is seated. To cure this take a chamfer tool and run it around the neck on the inside of the mouth of the case, this will take out the sharp corner on the mouth of the brass.
He is shooting a Nosler 140 gr accubond which is a boat tail.
The way you are setting up the full length die is fine for now. Eventually as you get more experience, get a body die and learn how to push the shoulder back a few mils, this will increase the life of your brass. You will need to buy some more tools to measure the shoulder, at this point though you should be fine.
When I start reloading for a new round I get a box of factory ammo. I set my seating die for the bullet to that depth as a starting point. Never had any issues chambering a round with that method. From there you can start experimenting with different depths, after you figure out what powder load gives you the best accuracy.
There are a lot of reloaders in Texas. Wouldn't hurt to ask around your area. Most people would be willing to help you get started.
The copper ring you are seeing is the brass in the mouth/neck is peeling back some of the bullet as it is seated. To cure this take a chamfer tool and run it around the neck on the inside of the mouth of the case, this will take out the sharp corner on the mouth of the brass.
He is shooting a Nosler 140 gr accubond which is a boat tail.
The way you are setting up the full length die is fine for now. Eventually as you get more experience, get a body die and learn how to push the shoulder back a few mils, this will increase the life of your brass. You will need to buy some more tools to measure the shoulder, at this point though you should be fine.
When I start reloading for a new round I get a box of factory ammo. I set my seating die for the bullet to that depth as a starting point. Never had any issues chambering a round with that method. From there you can start experimenting with different depths, after you figure out what powder load gives you the best accuracy.
There are a lot of reloaders in Texas. Wouldn't hurt to ask around your area. Most people would be willing to help you get started.
You will need to understand "shoulder bump" before you move forward. You will need a caliper and headspace comparator. After a case is fired in your rifle chamber it forms itself to that chamber. Use the tool to measure that case length at the shoulder. When you resize you want to shorten the case length at the shoulder by 2-3 thousands of an inch. This will allow for the loaded case to slide completely into the chamber.
I'm attaching a short video that may help you understand what tools you need and how to use them.
If you are scraping copper off the bullet during seating you will need to chamfer the inside of the case neck. It doesn't take too much but a little.
Are you sure it's the bullet not letting you close the bolt? I usually have more issues with the shoulder than the bullet depth and have also had issues with the base of cases getting stuck that resurfaced again later when sizing for another chamber. This is mostly due to firing cases in one chamber and then reloading them for another.
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Try chambering your resized brass and see if it chambers WITHOUT a seated bullet, this will tell you if the error is in die setup.
I would suggest some measuring/comparator guages...more than likely you are not sizing your brass down enough either at the shoulder or further down the body.
If your shoulder bump is down enough and the case is still sticking, then the base is causing the issue.
I would suggest some measuring/comparator guages...more than likely you are not sizing your brass down enough either at the shoulder or further down the body.
If your shoulder bump is down enough and the case is still sticking, then the base is causing the issue.
Raise the ram, screw the seating die down until it touches, lower the ram, screw it in a quarter of a turn more and lock it down.
Size a case and see what happens.
If you’ve already done this I apologize, I just didn’t see where you stated it.
Size a case and see what happens.
If you’ve already done this I apologize, I just didn’t see where you stated it.
While not likely its possible if annealing to get the shoulder too soft and with a tight neck to expand the body at the shoulder junction just enough to create an issue.
Start with the basics:
- Do you have what you need to measure from the case base to the shoulder?
- Do you have what you need to measure from the case base to the bullet ogive?
I'm guessing from your post that the answer is no since you only talk about measuring OAL. OAL in a vacuum is all but worthless - in fact, I can't remember the last time I measured this.
Key questions you need to answer before you can safely and effectively load:
- What is the measurement of base-to-ogive when your bullet is seated at the lands? - this gives you your 0.000" seating depth - there are a number of ways to determine this. I use the Loctite method and found it to be the easiest and most consistent - and it leaves you with a physical record of a given point in time in your barrel life.
- What is the measurement of base-to-ogive when you have seated a bullet you intend to load? - if the number is greater than the above measurement, you are jamming the bullet into the lands - if it's less, you are jumping to the lands. If you are jamming, this would be a reason for the effects you're seeing.
- What is the measurement of base-to-shoulder of a fired, but not sized case? - this essentially gives you your chamber dimension
- What is the measurement of base-to-shoulder of a sized case? - this should measure in the neighborhood of -0.002" from than that of a fired, unsized case. If it's greater, this would be a reason for the effects you're seeing.
How could a case get sized greater? If you're die is set such that you're sizing the body, but not engaging the shoulder, the brass getting squeezed in the body has only two places to go: into the void left between the shoulder and die or into the open area above the neck. The path of least resistance is into the shoulder void - hence, it grows there.
TLDR: get the devices necessary to measure base to shoulder and base to bullet ogive. They are cheap and easy to use. Without them and the measurements they enable, you are likely producing less than optimal ammo and could actually produce dangerous ammo from too much headspace.
- Do you have what you need to measure from the case base to the shoulder?
- Do you have what you need to measure from the case base to the bullet ogive?
I'm guessing from your post that the answer is no since you only talk about measuring OAL. OAL in a vacuum is all but worthless - in fact, I can't remember the last time I measured this.
Key questions you need to answer before you can safely and effectively load:
- What is the measurement of base-to-ogive when your bullet is seated at the lands? - this gives you your 0.000" seating depth - there are a number of ways to determine this. I use the Loctite method and found it to be the easiest and most consistent - and it leaves you with a physical record of a given point in time in your barrel life.
- What is the measurement of base-to-ogive when you have seated a bullet you intend to load? - if the number is greater than the above measurement, you are jamming the bullet into the lands - if it's less, you are jumping to the lands. If you are jamming, this would be a reason for the effects you're seeing.
- What is the measurement of base-to-shoulder of a fired, but not sized case? - this essentially gives you your chamber dimension
- What is the measurement of base-to-shoulder of a sized case? - this should measure in the neighborhood of -0.002" from than that of a fired, unsized case. If it's greater, this would be a reason for the effects you're seeing.
How could a case get sized greater? If you're die is set such that you're sizing the body, but not engaging the shoulder, the brass getting squeezed in the body has only two places to go: into the void left between the shoulder and die or into the open area above the neck. The path of least resistance is into the shoulder void - hence, it grows there.
TLDR: get the devices necessary to measure base to shoulder and base to bullet ogive. They are cheap and easy to use. Without them and the measurements they enable, you are likely producing less than optimal ammo and could actually produce dangerous ammo from too much headspace.
Stop with all the unnecessary nonsense (“wet tumbling”). Just wipe down a few fired cases with a mild solvent
Make sure they chamber before doing anything else to them
Make sure you set up a FL sizing die properly. 100% properly. Study this process carefully
Seat the bullets to book max COAL
Try to chamber
Report back
Make sure they chamber before doing anything else to them
Make sure you set up a FL sizing die properly. 100% properly. Study this process carefully
Seat the bullets to book max COAL
Try to chamber
Report back
If you have a factory round that will chamber easily, compare the base to ogive of that vs what your reload is. Just be safe with chambering a live round. Get a hornady overall length gauge thing and the converted brass for it (not the greatest thing but can be useful). Ogive and shoulder comparators are important. Measurements and taking notes are important when you start. Consistency is key to good ammo
If your rifle is Christensen Arms my money would be a tight chamber. Seen a number of them with that.
How are you setting up your seating* die? When I was brand new, I was setting my seating* die too low and squishing the case. Sorry if this has already been covered.
Edit** sorry. Seating die not sizing.
Edit** sorry. Seating die not sizing.
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From your pic, it almost looks like you’ve got a bit of a bulge where I circled that could be your culprit (supporting the theory above). Make sure you’re putting a piece of brass in the shell holder, raising your ram, screw in seating die until it touches the piece of brass, lower the ram, then back the die off a whole turn before you lock her down.
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I’m sorry I’m watching MNF and half distracted. If what I wrote previously doesn’t work, sharpie the whole damn case and bullet when seating and show us the case after that.
Dont know for a fact but i believe they make the chamber tight for accuracy. Anyway i know of 5 or 6 that had problems chambering factory ammo. A friend wanted me to reload for his rifle and hard no I'm not set up for turning necks.
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