RELOADING: Case Question

Gregory Aaron Brooke

unread,

Jan 11, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/11/97

to

I am just getting started in reloading and have a question regarding
cases from different manufacturers. This is my situation. I am
currently reloading for my Remington Model 600 in .308. I put together a
couple of relatively mild rounds with the following specifications:

150 grain Hornady BTSP
36.3 grains of IMR 3031
Winchester Case
CCI 200 primer
Overall Length of 2.768"

This round was meant to give me a starting point to work up a good
hunting load. After I completed three of these rounds I went to cycle
them through my action to see if they would cycle properly. I noticed
that it seem slightly more difficult to close the bolt on my rifle with
these rounds. I rechecked to make sure the primers were seated correctly
and they were all seated to the correct depth (except for one which
wasn't seated quite deep enough and now has a slight scratch from the
bolt face; I am not sure what to do with this one). I cycled some of my
Remington factory ammunition through my gun with no problems. I was
wondering if the increase in difficulty closing the bolt could be due to
some small differences in dimensions between the Winchester (hand-loads) and
Remington (factory loads) cases. Also, any advice regarding what I
should do about the cartridge with the problematic primer would be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Greg Brooke

Gary

unread,

Jan 12, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/12/97

to

Gregory Aaron Brooke wrote:
# I noticed that it seem slightly more difficult to close the bolt on
# my rifle with these rounds.

The 3 main causes of difficult bolt closing are, poor sizing, cases
not trimmed (or damaged), and overall length problems. There are others,
but these are the top three.

Get yourself a case gauge from Dillon, they will tell you if the case
meets specs before you try to chamber it.

Invader

unread,

Jan 12, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/12/97

to

Gregory Aaron Brooke wrote:
#

# I am just getting started in reloading and have a question regarding
# cases from different manufacturers. This is my situation. I am
# currently reloading for my Remington Model 600 in .308. I put together a
# couple of relatively mild rounds with the following specifications:
#
# 150 grain Hornady BTSP
# 36.3 grains of IMR 3031
# Winchester Case
# CCI 200 primer
# Overall Length of 2.768"
#
# This round was meant to give me a starting point to work up a good
# hunting load. After I completed three of these rounds I went to cycle
# them through my action to see if they would cycle properly. I noticed
# that it seem slightly more difficult to close the bolt on my rifle with
# these rounds. I rechecked to make sure the primers were seated correctly
# and they were all seated to the correct depth (except for one which
# wasn't seated quite deep enough and now has a slight scratch from the
# bolt face; I am not sure what to do with this one). I cycled some of my
# Remington factory ammunition through my gun with no problems. I was
# wondering if the increase in difficulty closing the bolt could be due to
# some small differences in dimensions between the Winchester (hand-loads) and
# Remington (factory loads) cases. Also, any advice regarding what I
# should do about the cartridge with the problematic primer would be
# greatly appreciated.
#
# Thank you in advance,
#
# Greg Brooke
#
#
Sometimes full length resizing of a case helps with ease of chambering
especially if the brass was fired in another firearm of the same caliber
therefore moving the shoulder forewards.
Check your sizing die to be sure it bottoms out on the shell holder.

Burt Mitchell

unread,

Jan 12, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/12/97

to

Gary wrote:
#
# Gregory Aaron Brooke wrote:
# # I noticed that it seem slightly more difficult to close the bolt on
# # my rifle with these rounds.
#
# The 3 main causes of difficult bolt closing are, poor sizing, cases
# not trimmed (or damaged), and overall length problems. There are others,
# but these are the top three.
#
# Get yourself a case gauge from Dillon, they will tell you if the case
# meets specs before you try to chamber it.

Ditto for the case gauge. It's awfully hard to measure a case
any other way. The case gauge will make up for it's cost the
first (OK, maybe second) time you use it. You'll spend a lot
less time fiddling around trying to get the correct resized
dimensions.

Charles Winters

unread,

Jan 13, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/13/97

to

Gregory Aaron Brooke wrote:
#

Dear Brooke: You did not mention the possibility your cases were not
fully resized. The best bet is to have your rifle nearby when you are
sizing fired cases, that way you can screw the sizing die all the way
down to within a hair of contacting the shellholder and then try a sized
case in your rifle's chamber. Through trial and error, you can try more
and more distance between the base of the die and the shell holder until
you determine the minimum amount of sizing that will still fit into your
case. On rifles with minimum headspace, you have to size cases all the
way or they won't fit. BTW, I believe in sizing new brass too. I also,
ream out the primer pockets and the flash holes before loading them.

As for the high primer, you can try seating it a little deeper. I
always use a Lee Autoprime, a hand tool. With the Autoprime, you can go
back and apply more pressure to primers not fully seated. Alternative,
throw the suspect round away. Put it in a trash container that will end
up in a land fill, not a fire. If you really want to get fancy, pull
the bullet with an inertia type puller, empty out the powder, pop the
primer in your rifle and start all over again. - CW

Roger Hoftyzer

unread,

Jan 14, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/14/97

to

Gary wrote:
#
# Gregory Aaron Brooke wrote:
# # I noticed that it seem slightly more difficult to close the bolt on
# # my rifle with these rounds.
#
# The 3 main causes of difficult bolt closing are, poor sizing, cases
# not trimmed (or damaged), and overall length problems. There are others,
# but these are the top three.
#
# Get yourself a case gauge from Dillon, they will tell you if the case
# meets specs before you try to chamber it.

Dont fire those shells that don't fit without forcing them!! I did, and
it was not a smart thing to do, but there was an animal that needed
killing. I fired the gun, and it fired fine, but the shell would not
come out. Now my 6mm rem. needs to have the bolt repaired because my
dad broke the handle off the bolt trying to eject the shell. We ended
up getting a steel rod and pounding the shell out. ;-)

Bret Jensen

unread,

Jan 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/15/97

to

# Gregory Aaron Brooke wrote:
# #

# # I am just getting started in reloading and have a question regarding

(snip)

# # 150 grain Hornady BTSP

# # 36.3 grains of IMR 3031
# # Winchester Case
# # CCI 200 primer

If your objective is to work up a good hunting load, IMR 4895 would
be a better powder to start with. You'll run into pressure signs with
the 3031 sooner.

# # Remington (factory loads) cases. Also, any advice regarding what I
# # should do about the cartridge with the problematic primer would be
# # greatly appreciated.

Fire it. It won't make any difference.

One slim possibility is that your cases are too long. This can
create a dangerous situation, but I've never seen a new case which was
too long, so I consider this unlikely.

- Bret Jensen

Neil Dickey

unread,

Jan 17, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/17/97

to

Charles Winters wrote:

# Dear Brooke: You did not mention the possibility your cases were not

# fully resized. The best bet is to have your rifle nearby when you are
# sizing fired cases, that way you can screw the sizing die all the way
# down to within a hair of contacting the shellholder and then try a sized
# case in your rifle's chamber. Through trial and error, you can try more
# and more distance between the base of the die and the shell holder until
# you determine the minimum amount of sizing that will still fit into your
# case. On rifles with minimum headspace, you have to size cases all the
# way or they won't fit. BTW, I believe in sizing new brass too.

I do it slightly differently: Take a case that has been fired in the
rifle you intend to reload for, and use a candle or kerosene lamp
without the chimney to smoke the shoulder of the case. Just a thin
coat of lampblack will do. Set your resizing die sufficiently far out
that you know it will be too far, lube the case, and run it up into
the die. Advance the die in increments until it *just* touches the
shoulder of the case, and then set the lock-ring. The die is now
adjusted for the chamber of your rifle, and will neither over-size
nor under-size your brass.

# I also,
# ream out the primer pockets and the flash holes before loading them.

Good practice.

# As for the high primer, you can try seating it a little deeper. I
# always use a Lee Autoprime, a hand tool. With the Autoprime, you can go
# back and apply more pressure to primers not fully seated. Alternative,
# throw the suspect round away. Put it in a trash container that will end
# up in a land fill, not a fire. If you really want to get fancy, pull
# the bullet with an inertia type puller, empty out the powder, pop the
# primer in your rifle and start all over again. - CW

If you use a primer pocket uniforming tool to adjust the depth of the
pocket, there shouldn't be any trouble with high primers. It isn't
enough to adjust the diameter of the pocket; the depth shows variability
as well. I don't like to use extra effort to seat a balky primer,
because it can change (increase) the sensitivity of it, and, especially
in a semi-auto, increase the likelihood of a slam-fire. I would try
instead to find out why the primer seats high, and fix the problem.

Best regards,

Neil Dickey

Bret Jensen

unread,

Jan 17, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/17/97

to

On 14 Jan 1997, Roger Hoftyzer wrote:

# come out. Now my 6mm rem. needs to have the bolt repaired because my
# dad broke the handle off the bolt trying to eject the shell. We ended

What make and model of rifle was this, may I ask? I know
Remington bolts are silver-soldered on, but they should NOT come off!
Then again, Remington's enclosed-case-head bolt may have saved you from
getting a face full of gas.

- Bret Jensen

Skip Meister

unread,

Jan 17, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/17/97

to

bro...@unixg.ubc.ca (Gregory Aaron Brooke) wrote:

#I am just getting started in reloading and have a question regarding
#cases from different manufacturers. This is my situation. I am
#currently reloading for my Remington Model 600 in .308. I put together a
#couple of relatively mild rounds with the following specifications:

#
# 150 grain Hornady BTSP
# 36.3 grains of IMR 3031

# Winchester Case
# CCI 200 primer
# Overall Length of 2.768"
#

#This round was meant to give me a starting point to work up a good
#hunting load. After I completed three of these rounds I went to cycle
#them through my action to see if they would cycle properly. I noticed
#that it seem slightly more difficult to close the bolt on my rifle with
#these rounds. I rechecked to make sure the primers were seated correctly
#and they were all seated to the correct depth (except for one which
#wasn't seated quite deep enough and now has a slight scratch from the
#bolt face; I am not sure what to do with this one). I cycled some of my
#Remington factory ammunition through my gun with no problems. I was
#wondering if the increase in difficulty closing the bolt could be due to
#some small differences in dimensions between the Winchester (hand-loads) and
#Remington (factory loads) cases. Also, any advice regarding what I
#should do about the cartridge with the problematic primer would be
#greatly appreciated.
#
#Thank you in advance,
#
#Greg Brooke
#
#
#
Greg,

All the advice you've gotten is great. You might also look into the
fact that bullet may be out too far for *your* rifle and *that*
bullet. Get a Stony Point gauge or, take a sized case, no primer,
insert a bullet into the case and coat it with magic marker. Insert
the case into the chamber and close the bolt. Extract the case.
There should be marks on the bullet. Measure over all length
Move the bullet back .005, recoat bullet, and try it again until you
get no marks. You may have a short chamber. I have an old Marlin
bolt action 30-06 that has an extremely short chamber.

Remember that each bullet style has a different ogive(shape) and the
OAL will be different for each bullet, even two bullets of the same
grain weight but from different mfgrs.

Good Luck,

Skip

Andykun66

unread,

Jan 18, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/18/97

to

Greg, you didn't mention what kind of sizing dies you are using. If those
cases have been fired in a rifle other than the one you are loading for,
you probably want to full length resize the cases first. This will bring
them down to the dimensions of factory ammo. After they have been fired
once, then you can adjust the dies to just size the necks and the cases
will last longer.
Hope this helps, Andy Overstreet.

Bartbob

unread,

Jan 19, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/19/97

to

Regarding the comment:

<<<If those cases have been fired in a rifle other than the one you are
loading for,
you probably want to full length resize the cases first. This will bring
them down to the dimensions of factory ammo.>>>

I respectfully submit that nothing could be further from the truth. All
one has to do is measure the diameter of new cases at the shoulder and
pressure ring, then measure the same places on a sized case.

Full-length sizing dies vary a few thousandths of an inch in their
shoulder and pressure ring areas. Small-base full-length sizing dies
typically size cases a tad more than conventional full-length dies.

Belted (i.e. magnum) cases are the worst offenders in the diameter of the
pressure ring which is about 1/20th of an inch in front of the belt.

But full-length sizing of fired cases from rifle A to be used in rifle B
usually works well, as the originator of this thread stated. The only
thing I might add is don't set the fired case's shoulder back any more
than what's needed to easily close the bolt on.

BB

Dwayne Potter

unread,

Jan 20, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/20/97

to

In article
<Pine.SOL.3.91.970117115649.2114F-100000@gemini>,
bje...@willamette.edu says...

#On 14 Jan 1997, Roger Hoftyzer wrote:

#Now my 6mm rem. needs to have the bolt repaired because
#my dad broke the handle off the bolt trying to eject
#the shell.

#>What make and model of rifle was this, may I ask? I
#>know Remington bolts are silver-soldered on, but they
#>should NOT come off!

#>Then again, Remington's enclosed-case-head bolt may
#>have saved you from getting a face full of gas.

Same thing happened to me about 10 years ago with a 788
6mm, left-hand. Ordinary effort heel-of-the-hand bump,
full-length resized, unfired reloaded round in the
chamber, unloading back at camp.

I had to send the entire rifle back to Ilion for repair.
They charged me for bolt repair, upgraded the safety
(N/C), and rethroated the barrel ($$$) at the same time.
Total tariff was $110, including shipping, which was $25
more than I paid for the gun new. No explanation was
offered for the failure. It has performed flawlessly,
both before and since that incident.

I did not have a back-up gun of any description with me
at the time and was 300 miles from home. I now take at
least one additional rifle/shotgun/pistol/revolver with
me on each hunting trip during gun season.

Dwayne Potter
Austin, TX