fired case and new bullet test

[dodgestdshift]

I have always been of the opinion that when a cartridge case has been fired in a gun, before I size the case, I should be able to insert an unfired bullet into the case with ease. This has always been my procedure when reloading to make sure the case releases the bullet normally upon firing.

The problem, you ask? My marlin 1895 in 45/70, will not allow this to happen. I always measure case length, and trim to spec. This seems to happen to all cases (Winchester & Remington Peters) I use. The load is 49 gr. of Re-7 and a Remington or Speer 400-405 gr bullet. It also seems to be happening with the Hornady 300 gr hp (47 gr IMR 4198), and the Hornady 350 gr flat nose (44 gr IMR 4198).

Do you guys have similar results after firing? What do you think of the test itself? Is it my particular gun?

 

[stans]

The chamber on your rifle may be at minimum specs, this would prevent over expansion of the brass, so when the brass springs back, it will not allow passive seating of a bullet.

 

[Black Snowman]

If pressure and brass condition are good, I don't think it's an indication of any serious problems but might indicate some hardening of the brass. If it's been reloaded a lot it might be time to anneal the brass.

Were you able to do this to the brass before and this is a recent change or is this the 1st time you've tried it with loads in this gun?

I have lots of rounds I can't try that trick with because the actions of the guns deform the brass too much on ejection putting it out of round.

 

[dodgestdshift]

Snowman:

I don't know whether this has happened with newer brass. I only discovered it, when I was trying to decide if I had sized the brass (it had been deprimed separately). When the bullet wouldn't enter the case, I thought it had been sized, then I checked with other brass that I knew hadn't been sized, and the bullet wouldn't fit either.

The brass and spent primers show no signs of of high pressure. You can bet I will check new brass out soon.