My first reloads are stuck in chamber. Please Help

[big_air_boarder]

Hi there! I got a reloading kit for my birthday and since it's nice I finally tried to reload some loads for my .300 WSM. But when I tried to shoot, some shells got stuck in the barrel.

I reloaded some fired silver winchester cases, with Nosler 180 grain bullets. The maximum C.O.L. is supposed to be 2.860", but I loaded mine to 2.800 because my dummy shell got stuck in the chamber, and I just thought it needed to be seated further.

Now I have a bunch reloaded and went to shoot my Model 70 Winchester and 2 out of the 5 first shells would get stuck. I wouldn't be able to close the bolt so I opened the bolt up, and the shell was stuck up in the barrel/chamber. Once I did get it back out (pain in the ass) I tried another one, and it fed perfectly. I don't have a caliper with me, but when I look at the cases, they look identical, so I have no idea what is wrong.

I used an RCBS rockchucker with RCBS sizer die if that is any help. Thanks in advance for any advice, all feedback is appreciated.

 

[stans]

Did you check the case length after resizing to see if they needed to be trimmed?

 

[big_air_boarder]

hi, yes I did caliper them. I got the case length from Guns and Ammo http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ammunition/300wsm_0401/index.html and it was fine. I'm going caliper the one that got stuck and the one that didn't when I get my caliper to see if they are any different. But when I look at them right now they don't appear to be.

 

[Valkman]

Do you crimp these? We've seen the same problems with handgun ammo that was crimped too much - when you do that you bulge the case below and it won't chamber correctly. If you're sizing the cases correctly check the crimp and see what it is.

 

[big_air_boarder]

No crimping, but it seems like from this forum and another that I posed this question to that the common consensus is that I need to trim the cases. i'm going to shoot the ones that shoot and pull the other ones and trim. Thanks for the help to everybody.

 

[MLC]

How as your die set in the press?
How much force did it require to resize?
Are the cases clean?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Another thing to check is lubrication.

An unlubricated (or poorly lubricated) case puts a strain on the case walls as it is sized. If you're only neck sizing, or just kissing the shoulder, this might be part of the problem.

Another aspect is lubing the case mouth -- the expander, if unlubricated, can actually stretch the case as it's pulled back through the case mouth on the down-stroke. I like to moisten a patch with Ed's Red and press the case mouth against it before sizing.

Of course, you COULD have a bad chamber or throat. Do you have a problem with factory loads?

Have you taken one of your "tight" reloads and smoked it or put lipstick on it and then chambered and ejected it? That will usually show you where the case is binding.

 

[dodgestdshift]

Big_air_boarder:

Check all the bullets you are using for diameter, and weight. Bullet companies seldom make mistakes but they like all of us are not perfect. If they are not proper size call the manufacturer and he will send you a new box of bullets. If the bullets are ok then you have to attack the problem systematically. Where did you get the cases, were they fired in your gun? If not try new cases.

Now you have to decide in what step the problem is. First full length resize your cases. Then check the length of the cases. If the sized cases lengths are ok, get your rifle and try to feed the cases into the chamber. If the lengths are too long, trim. Then try to feed into the chamber. If they don't fit into the chamber you know where the problem is. Probably your dies are not adjusted correctly. If they are maybe the manufacturer can help you.

If they feed ok, you now have to check the bullet seating phase. Do not prime the cases and charge with powder. Seat the bullet on one case and again try to feed the cartridge. If it feeds ok go to the next case, and seat and test. Some of these cases should fail. When they fail, jot down the Lenght overall, seat a little deeper and try again. If you shorten the overall length of the cartridge, make sure when charging the case later you are at the starting load, and nowhere higher and then work up.

 

[big_air_boarder]

I thought that I read the Speer manual to the word to get my die in, but now that I'm re-reading it I didn't . It appears I only neck sized the cases instead of full sizing, not sure if that makes a difference. It didn't take hardly any force when I did it, but the cases where clean.

As for lubrication, I rolled the cases on the lube pad, then took the brush and rolled it on the pad too. Every 4 cases I re rolled it. That's what the manual said I should do, but I don't know if I got enough on there or not.

I permanent markered the one that got stuck on me last night, and chambered it, but alas, it did not get stuck today, and fed perfectly in and out. I tried it again last night after it got stuck and it stuck again, so I don't know why it didn't stick today. The only rub marks were on the thick part of the case, just before the shoulder. But they weren't significant. Like I say, it fed perfectly.

The cases where all factory Winchester cases, fired once only from my gun. The bullets were alright, there was actually a 7mm bullet in the box, but that was easy to see as it fell right in. I calipered my bullets afterwards to see if they matched Nosler's website and they did.

With the gun the factory loads would sometimes be a little tight going, and I'd have to give it a little effort to get the bolt down. Put nothing like yesterday. I couldn't get the bolt even to the groove where it's supposed to come down. Hopefully I'll make it to the range tonight so that I can shoot off whichever ones will go, and then save the other ones.

 

[dodgestdshift]

big_air_boarder:

I think you found your problem. Full length size.

I used to roll on a pad to lube my cases, but I couldn't keep the pad clean.
Crud on the pad gets on the case, and gets in the die, and can scratch the cases and the die. I now use my fingers to apply. Spray lubes probably work good also, but I have never used them.

 

[dakotasin]

b-a-b:
the 300 wsm is a great cartridge to reload, but it does have its warts. first, and you are running into it now, is that the cases grow a ton after each of the first 3, even as many as 4 firings. you will be trimming this cartridge a lot more than most any other you'll load for. not a big deal, but you do need to be aware that it needs trimming.

another issue could be the nickel cases... i can't stand them for most of my cartridges, but i make especially sure to avoid them in the 300 wsm.

sizing... you will find this cartridge needs at least a shoulder bump quite often.

last, crimping... if you are crimping, stop. this cartridge doesn't need it.

 

[liljohn]

If you tighten the die down another half a turn it would probably resize the case body enough to chamber, without bumping the shoulder back. You could try this:

Tighten the die another quarter turn from where it was when the cases stuck. Resize the cases, measure and trim them, then try them in the rifle to see if they all chamber OK. If you've got the cases that stuck the first time, mark them and try them a couple of times, rotating them slighty each time.

If one sticks, tighten the die down another quarter turn. Resize JUST THAT CASE(or cases, if more than one) and try it in the rifle again. Keep doing it until the case fits without a problem. You shouldn't have to measure and trim again, because a quarter turn won't stretch the case at all. If it works OK, resize the rest of the cases for consistency.

Your die should now be set for those cases, with that one rifle. When you size them again, measure, and/or trim them again, try them in the rifle right after sizing. If any of them stick, repeat the process above.

If at any time the die bottoms out on the shell holder and the sized case still sticks in the chamber, measure the case length. If length is OK, you've got another problem. Leave another post describing it.