Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

[icerider]

I just bought a new Remington SPS Tac 308. I find that new(current) factory ammo will feed. If I use older ammo or military the bolt won't close. I called Remington and they said to send it in to the wty station. My question to you guys and gals is; has anyone else had this problem? When I sand the head of the military full length sized case I can eventually get the bolt to close. Your thoughts and comments are welcome. Thanks in advance

 

[Utah Shooter]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

Round is too long. Jamming into your lands too tight and not letting you close the bolt.

 

[Frank]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

You say the "full length sized" military case. Are you trying to use some once fired military brass fired in who know s what? If new factory ammo fits and full length sized military brass not fired in this gun won't fit, I doubt there is a problem with the gun. Sounds like the brass was fired in an oversized chamber and is not returning to original size. May need a small base die to get it to work.

 

[oldfatguy]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

Might tell you something if you check the mil ammo in a case gauge. Any signs of the bullets touching the lands on the rounds the bolt won't close on?

OFG

 

[Cacciatore]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

A friend of mine is having the same problem with his remington custom shop rifle. Round will feed but you have to get up and lean into the bolt handle for it to close. As soon at it starts to close the rest of the bolt movement is fine. Extraction and ejection are fine as well.

I called remington and they said to send the rifle back to the custom shop.

 

[icerider]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

Ok, I know a little bit about case length, OAL etc. I have measured it every way including with the Hornady OAL set with their 308 modified case. The magazine is so short on this rifle that there is no way you are even close to the rifling with any loaded cartridge that will fit into the magazine. Apparently my chamber is so tight that my Pacific FL Dies won't size the case down to the size of the chamber. A new (just purchased) Winchester 308 measures,.467 at the base just above the rim grove. My fired Winchester (new) case measures .470 and the fl sized military case measures .470.5 All measured with digital indicator and in exactly the same place on the case. Any ideas? I met a guy at the gun shop with the exact same problem as mine with the same rifle. He could not close the bolt over anything but brand new cartridges. His was returned to the Remington wty center in Minnosota and now he can chamber and shoot anything .308 He claims no loss of accuracy. What are your opinions and thoughts as to the accuracy issue if the rifle is returned to Remington. One last thing, each case I run through the cycle comes out of the chamber looking like it just came out of a CETME, all scratched up with the exact same deep scratches the CETME makes in a case. Something wrong with my chamber?

 

[Stubb]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

I had this happen with a Remington Model 7. The the problem was the rim diameter of the military ammo. Pull the bolt and see if the case fits.

—Andreas

 

[tylerw02]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

Have you measured headspace on the fired military brass? Odds are you aren't bumping the shoulder back far enough. That or there's a rim issue.

 

[Hunt4life]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

Man, the bullets on that Mil Spec must be loaded way out there to not close with a "Lawyer Proof" production gun. They may not have been properly loaded or reloaded.

I would not risk it as if they are that far out of spec, what else is screwed up with those cartridges.

I have the opposite problem as my bolt 308 has a Match Chamber custom for FGGM and even Amax is generally too far forward and causes the bolt to lock after the shot. It was no major problem other than I have a bunch of Amax projectiles and no rifle to use them in now. It loves FGMM so no complaints.

 

[icerider]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

PROBLEM SOLVED! Frank and Oldfatguy were right on. The case was too big at the head so I got a new set of dies and the fl sized military cases fit perfectly. Thanks guys for all the help. Now I can go enjoy the rifle.

 

[jonbearman]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

One last note is when they reamed the chamber,it was probably at minimum headspace measurement. You can sand the top of your shell plate to get more bump. Do it carefully on a flat surface with at least 280 wet or dry. Redding sells undersized shelll plates just for this situation.

 

[sentry1]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

@Hunt4life: You can give all your Amax ammo to me! My lil ole factory 700 will eat it up =)

 

[icerider]

Re: Rem SPS Tac 308 bolt won't close / military ammo

I think you are correct about the chamber being cut to minimum head space. I plan on neck sizing only once I get a batch of cases that will chamber correctly. I just bought 100 WW 308 new brass. The military brass cases are trimmed, full length sized and still fit tight. There is plenty of room at the case mouth. I have trimmed them to minimum length. The cases fired in the rifle are quite a bit longer. The case rim fits in the bolt without any problem with the bolt out of the rifle. The bolt still closes a little harder than it should on the military cases, and leaves a bright ring on the head where the extractor pin rotates. Ofcourse the bolt face in now brass colored. Yesterday I could not even begin to close the bolt but now it will close. Thaks again for all the great assistance. I am not a novice but have never run into this situation before.
UPDATE, I went out and purchased another set of dies. This time a set of LEE Deluxe. Along with the neck size die came a new full length die. I lubed up a dozen of the military cases and ran them through the new LEE FL die. Perfect fit, bolt works correctly and I am a happy camper. No more on this from me. Thanks again everyone.