[michaelsheridan]

Hi guys,
I have had some cases reloaded by my father for my .243 and they have been tight when trying to close the bolt. the cases are once fired factory and did not get tight at all, cycles as it should. they were 90grain bullets,
I have reloaded them with a 70grain bullet.
all of the reloaded cases are tight including the ones that have been done for my fathers rifle also a .243( we keep the cases separate). It is a full length sizing die being used and is set to touch the shell holder as it gets to the end.
any ideas?

 

[One Shot]

Are the case lengths within specs? We're the cases trimmed if they were too long?

By the way, welcome to TFF.

 

[michaelsheridan]

the case length wasn't checked as they had only been fired once

 

[One Shot]

If you have a vernier caliper you should be able to check the case length to see if that is the problem.

 

[michaelsheridan]

I will check that in the morning. anything else it could be?

 

[One Shot]

It could also be the overall length if the bullet is not seated deep enough.

It sounds like the sizing die should have bumped the shoulder back so I would check the case and cartridge lengths.

Wiser minds may add something yet.

 

[grcsat]

If the case length is with in spec. along with bullet length then it could be a problem with the dies or shell holder. Will an empty/unloaded full length sized case cycle properly?
If not ,on to step two.

 

[UncleFudd]

Michael

What one shot and grist said.

see if the bolt will close on the empty brass. If so then check the seating depth of the bullet or smoke the bullet and close the bolt to see if it is being forced into the lands.

UF

 

[howlnmad]

What type press and dies are you using? Some presses are recommended to be set up to cam over. This is bringing the die down to the shell holder plus a bit more.
Trimming may be your issue as could bullet seating depth. What is your overall cartridge length?

 

[Don Fischer]

First check the case length. Should be between 2.035 and 2.045. If it's at or over 2.045, trim the case's. Next take that case and make a dummy of it, bullet seated but no powder. Try it in the chamber. Should go in easily. If not, screw the seating die down an eight to quarter turn and run the dummy through again. Keep going down with the seater die until the case goes in as it should. One more though. I'd try setting the sizer die down a bit more, maybe a quarter turn and re-size a case. Most press's I've ever had needed set like that, ram needs to cam over.

Hopefully you didn't put a primer in that dummy case, if so pull it and start over.

 

[P-nasty1]

I own 7 different .243's and have reloaded my spent brass with a hornady full length sizing die and followed the hornady manual for specs i.e. case length, oal, and such and have never had any problems with rounds chambering in any of them. If you have a micrometer the hornady manual gives you several important measurements. A few quick checks and you'll be able to tell if it's your die, case length or operator error. All of this can also be found online for free on their reloading website.

 

[michaelsheridan]

What are the specs for the OAL? Of the 18 I have checked I have a range of 2.661 to 2.671

 

[drymag]

Do you have a way to ensure your calipers are calibrated and not simply zero'd?

 

[P-nasty1]

It's all going to depend on the bullet you're using. Some bullets have cannelures and are designed to be seated to this point where the crimp holds securely in the cannelure and some are smooth. In the hornady manual it says the oal is as follows
the 58 grain v max is 2.60
75 grain v max is 2.64
95 grain sst is 2.63

If you're oal's are that long then it's due to your bullet needing to be seated shallower due to the bullet design. I'm guessing that would probably be enough for the bullet to hit the lands and cause a tight fit. It's important that you use the loading data for the specific bullet your using. Set them too shallow and they hit the lands and make for sloppy groups and are hard to chamber. Set them too deep and the pressures are changed and can blow your favorite rifle to pieces.

 

[P-nasty1]

Do you have a way to ensure your calipers are calibrated and not simply zero'd?

I have 2 different mic's and I check them against one another from time to time. The most valuable tool I've found is a Lyman oal case gauge. I have one that does like from .204-.243 and another that does .308, 30-06, 7mag . 300 win mag and more but I can't remember all off the top of my head. There are I think 6 calibers in each gauge. After the cartridge is finished you drop it in the gauge and if it fits flush you're good and if it's high then the oal is too long for standard mag lengths. I bought mine at cabelas for like $35-$40 a piece. I've saved a lot of time by checking my first and then about every 10th round with these. Before I had them I made a batch of about 30- .308's before I realized I didn't have my sizing die set correctly and I was squishing the cases just ever so slightly and they wouldn't chamber in any of my rifles. I had to pull all of the bullets, dump powder, and resize the cases. It took a considerable amount of time.

 

[P-nasty1]

Im pretty sure L.E. Wilson makes these for just about every caliber as well but they run about $25-$28 per caliber.

 

[Don Fischer]

I don't know that the cantalure is needed on cartridges for bolt actions. I've been using Hornady bullet's a whole lot of years and have never seated a cantalure bullet that deep. I suspect that might be some standard measurement from bolt face to ogive. Not having everybody's rifle to check OLL with, that measurement could be all over the place. My own 75gr v-max loads are 2.652.

 

[P-nasty1]

That's definitely going to change from one rifle to another. Although crimping is not necessary for bolt guns I was mentioning the cannalelure because to get down to the specs in the hornady manual and to make sure they will feed reliably in most any chamber and fit in a standard magazine in a certain caliber this is where the bullet winds up being seated to. At least in most all of my experience.

 

[Don Fischer]

Ah, got it. Exactly true.