300 Win Mag.

Jonathon Bacon said:

Is this a difference in bullet weight or rifle issue?

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Could be out of spec ammo. I had some Winchester 7mm RM mag ammo that was out of spec.

I don't know in your situation whether it is rifle or ammo. But it could be the loads are loaded long and bullets are engaging the rifling. Or it could be a short throat in the rifle. It could be that the case is larger than spec. Or...

But no, the bolt should not be stiff and hard to close with good ammo. You probably don't want to fire those rounds until you figure it out. If you don't own the tools to figure it out, perhaps find a gunsmith who can solve the mystery for you.

Maybe a gunked-up chamber?? I clean mine with a .50 cal. brush.

Especially if they are reloads.

Could be ammo on the OAL long side and
Chamber cut on the short side of specs. Get a black magic marker and darken the bullet.. chamber it and remove it to see if there are marks from the rifling. Also could be the shape of the bullet ogive.is the bullet style more like a round nose or Spitzer? Roundnose could hit easier then long tapered Spitzer. If so seating them a little deeper will take care of the problem. Good luck.

Show us a photo of the case shoulder & projectile of a round you tried to close the chamber upon.

Todd.

I had an issue with some Winchester Ballistic Tip ammo in my Remington 700 270WSM. Look at the attached picture, the correct round is the far right. In the box there were three rounds with an overall length of the case greater than the others. When chambered the bolt did not fully close so I inspected the cases and discovered this. I had several other boxes and they were all fine. I contacted Winchester, they wanted them back and fully refunded the cost. I'm glad it happened when I was checking zero though, and not out in the field.