HELP Resized cartridges will not enter the chamber?????
- Thread starter zeke mccune
- Start date
Just ran into similar problem with my sons 7/08. It is a tight neck chamber. First time he ever cut necks. This was done several hunting seasons ago. This season, while sighting in, he encountered the same problem.....although the amount his bolt would close varied a lot. Some went in almost all the way before meeting heavy resistance....some cases the resistance started 1/4" away. He admitted this has been happening for some time, eventually the cases were fired 3 times. When asked to find out the problem, I turned the neck on a new piece of brass....and it chambered nicely ( I took out firing pin to do this). I turned a piece of HIS "problem" brass deeper into the shoulder and it chambered nicely. Moral of MY story....Must turn deep enough into the shoulder when turning brass or it will come back to haunt you.
Mike Bryant
Active member
Have you tried new brass? I've seen it before where someone tries to use brass shot in another rifle in a rifle with a tighter than Sammi match grade chamber. Going to new brass has let him shoot his rifle every time. If the chamber is tighter than Sammi then dies won't reduce brass fired in oversized chambers to factory new dimensions. If your chamber is tighter than Sammi, which it could be since your gunsmith was a benchrest gunsmith, that's not uncommon when trying to use brass that was fired in a different rifle. That said if the chamber is tighter than Sammi, a normal full length die would act more like a neck size die. If you want to have a full length die made to match your chamber, send them five cases shot two or three times from new brass shot only in your rifle.
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Bob Brushingham
Member
Zeke,
Start by backing off your die. The go in in little increments trying it in the rifle each time. I think your chamber is extra long and you are pushing the shoulder back causing a little nondetectable buldge sa as to not let it chamber. I had this problem with a 7mmSTW that was .018 longer to the shoulder than they are now. Redding repaced my die because the dimentions were not set in stone in 1990 when I built my rifle. Even with the new die I cannot use my reddig competition shell holders.
Start by backing off your die. The go in in little increments trying it in the rifle each time. I think your chamber is extra long and you are pushing the shoulder back causing a little nondetectable buldge sa as to not let it chamber. I had this problem with a 7mmSTW that was .018 longer to the shoulder than they are now. Redding repaced my die because the dimentions were not set in stone in 1990 when I built my rifle. Even with the new die I cannot use my reddig competition shell holders.
I
Ian Robertson
Guest
Who made the reamer that was used to chamber the barrel? Some reamers are not made to correct size and you can't buy dies that will size small enough.
zeke mccune
Member
Hi:
I have bought new brass and I have ground the shell holder down and removed the belts from a few cases. Still I can not get a shell to chamber!
I will send 5 fired cases to a die manufacturer and have a "custom" die made. If this does not work, then it is past time to sell the rifle! I have a custom stock,a custom trigger and an benchrest grade barrel installed and yet this gun is worthless to me! I guess that I can always shoot factory loads if I can get them to chamber.
In any case, I am tired of messing with this gun and it is past time to move on to another project!
Thanks for all of the suggestions,
Zeke
I have bought new brass and I have ground the shell holder down and removed the belts from a few cases. Still I can not get a shell to chamber!
I will send 5 fired cases to a die manufacturer and have a "custom" die made. If this does not work, then it is past time to sell the rifle! I have a custom stock,a custom trigger and an benchrest grade barrel installed and yet this gun is worthless to me! I guess that I can always shoot factory loads if I can get them to chamber.
In any case, I am tired of messing with this gun and it is past time to move on to another project!
Thanks for all of the suggestions,
Zeke
You know, you've never said just how far the case goes into the chamber before it stops. Won't even start? Will go almost all the way, but bolt won't drop?
You did say if you cut the neck off, the round would chamber, so I guess it will at least partly enter.
I beleive you said that you trimmed the necks -- their length -- and that didn't help. You didn't say if it changed things...what happens if you cut half the neck off?
You also said that new brass would chamber.
What happens if you take the expander plug off the FL die decapping rod, so the neck is real tight, will it enter now? I believe your existing dies are of this form? That's just an experiment -- It could be that the expander plug is just making the neck too fat.
If you take new brass, take out the decapping rod, and run it through the die, is the neck portion of the die closing down the neck? It should.
So, for example -- Tight chamber (but still SAMMI and not too tight for new brass to enter) -- thick-necked cases, not enough initial neck sizing, and/or a too-fat expander plug, that would do it.
You did say if you cut the neck off, the round would chamber, so I guess it will at least partly enter.
I beleive you said that you trimmed the necks -- their length -- and that didn't help. You didn't say if it changed things...what happens if you cut half the neck off?
You also said that new brass would chamber.
What happens if you take the expander plug off the FL die decapping rod, so the neck is real tight, will it enter now? I believe your existing dies are of this form? That's just an experiment -- It could be that the expander plug is just making the neck too fat.
If you take new brass, take out the decapping rod, and run it through the die, is the neck portion of the die closing down the neck? It should.
So, for example -- Tight chamber (but still SAMMI and not too tight for new brass to enter) -- thick-necked cases, not enough initial neck sizing, and/or a too-fat expander plug, that would do it.
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Mike Bryant
Active member
It's a little hard to understand what the problem is with this rifle without seeing it, but if its a too tight chamber problem, then it might be easier to just have a Sammi minimum reamer run in to open up the chamber. To my understanding, a Sammi minimum reamer is supposed to be the smallest diameter finish reamer that will work with the maximum diameters that the brass is supposed to be.
Zeke,
Cut off one thread'worth off the rear of the barrel and cut a new chamber with the specs YOU want. turn or no-turn neck, the amount of freebore for the bullets you wish to use, and use new brass, fireformed twice and reloaded with the shoulder as reference point, nothing else. You hav a potentially good rifle, but it's rough around the edges. Work those edges out using parameters you control. The most important parameter is knowing the chamber you cut.
Have a happy non-denominational holiday end year period !!!
Phil aka tazzman
Cut off one thread'worth off the rear of the barrel and cut a new chamber with the specs YOU want. turn or no-turn neck, the amount of freebore for the bullets you wish to use, and use new brass, fireformed twice and reloaded with the shoulder as reference point, nothing else. You hav a potentially good rifle, but it's rough around the edges. Work those edges out using parameters you control. The most important parameter is knowing the chamber you cut.
Have a happy non-denominational holiday end year period !!!
Phil aka tazzman
Zeke said he was done but here's what I came up with based on the given - that being a factory round with a greater diameter neck will chamber, a sized case will not, and a sized case with the neck removed will chamber.
The problem dimension has to be at the neck/shoulder junction (pehaps because of a shoulder angle difference). Doesn't take much and Zeke prolly sawed this off when removing the neck.
The problem dimension has to be at the neck/shoulder junction (pehaps because of a shoulder angle difference). Doesn't take much and Zeke prolly sawed this off when removing the neck.
Man, I hate to get into this but I agree with Wilbur AND........ I would be HAPPY with this chamber! In fact I DO chamber this way 
Just run the die up against your shop grinder and spin a few thou off the bottom. Now you can turn it in just a thou or two to address that neck/shoulder junction, get a crush-fit and voilahhh!!! Your gun will shoot like a non-belted magnum.
For a while.
al
(all unsolicited advice is subject to reverse liability caveats, proceed at your own risk etc etc etc)
Just run the die up against your shop grinder and spin a few thou off the bottom. Now you can turn it in just a thou or two to address that neck/shoulder junction, get a crush-fit and voilahhh!!! Your gun will shoot like a non-belted magnum.
For a while.
al
(all unsolicited advice is subject to reverse liability caveats, proceed at your own risk etc etc etc)
Best I can tell, y'all are still speculating without Zeke telling just how short of closing the bolt is.
Almost drop, but not quite, then it's the neck/shoulder junction.
About 1/2 inch shy, then it's the neck diameter.
Can't be anything else, because when he cuts the neck off, the bolt closes.
Almost drop, but not quite, then it's the neck/shoulder junction.
About 1/2 inch shy, then it's the neck diameter.
Can't be anything else, because when he cuts the neck off, the bolt closes.