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Old August 4, 2008, 07:29 PM   #1
mniesen89
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Can't get the bolt closed??

Well here's the problem/story. I bought a Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

I reloaded some Lake City 74 brass with 155GR Remington PSP .30-06 bullets using IMR 4064 at 43GN.

I got all done with 20 cartridges and double checked the dimensions on the cartridges as normal.I went to load 4 cartridges in the internal magazine of the rifle which I had no problems with. Trying to chamber a round, I slid the bolt closed which went fine and when I went to push it down it would not budge??

I figured maybe there was something wrong with that cartridge and pulled the bolt back and it ejected fine.

I repeated the steps above again and had the same results.

Intresting enough the rifle is leaving about a 1" 1/2 scraoe mark down the side of the brass, what is going on???


P.S. If i take out the bolt and slide a cartrdge into the chamber, it goes in fine.

Thanks in advance!
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Old August 4, 2008, 08:31 PM   #2
UGH
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I assuming you full sized your cases. That said, You probably just need to crank down the sizing die a 1/4 to 1/2 a turn to bump the shoulder back a little. I'm also assuming you trimmed your brass before reloading too ? If not I would make sure it was within specs.
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Old August 4, 2008, 08:36 PM   #3
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Check all the case dimensions again. If their chambering fine with the bolt out, Try a factory round to see if it chambers. It may be a problem with your gun and I think I saw somewhere that they had some problems with the one you have with the bolt assembly. Also, Is the gun new, Used, Have you shot it before with your handloads or factory ammo, etc.
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Old August 4, 2008, 09:50 PM   #4
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A few months back a guy who posted in the rifle board had the exact same problem. His turned out to be the fwd scope mount screw. The screw he used was long enough to protrude through the receiver and was catching on one of the locking lugs preventing him from locking the bolt down.
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Old August 4, 2008, 11:13 PM   #5
mniesen89
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Hey guys,well this is where I'm at. I ran to the local waly-worl and picked up some remington 150gr cor-lokt at 17.54$:barf:. Chambered the factory rounds and it worked out fine.

So that eliminates the possibility of it being the gun.

The next step I took a sized piece of the LC 74 that I am using and stuck it in the magazine and tried to chamber it.the bolt pushed forward fine but again would not allow me to close it.

SO, I know its the brass I just can't figure out where??

The brass has had prep work done to it I.E. trimmed etc.

I'm starting to think maybe it is the shoulders even though its IDENTICAL to the factory ammo.

This is a new,never fired rifle by the way.

Keep the ideas coming.Thanks guys
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Old August 4, 2008, 11:52 PM   #6
mniesen89
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UGH is the man! Problem solved, had to screw in my die about another 2 turns and it redeuced the degree of angle on the shoulder.

Thanks again for the resonses!
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Old August 5, 2008, 09:32 AM   #7
Slamfire
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Another thread that shows how cartridge headspace gages would have helped in the setting up of rifle dies.

In fact, with you cranking the die down two turns, it is now just as likely that your cases are oversized, when before, they were undersized.
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Old August 5, 2008, 11:08 AM   #8
mniesen89
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Headspace gauge already on order, I wont mke that mistake gain.

how much does a case have to be undersized in order for there to be any dangerous effects? Or is that even possible?
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Old August 5, 2008, 12:29 PM   #9
30Cal
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If you bumb the shoulder by more than a handfull of thousandths, the case heads will separate a LOT sooner than they should.
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Old August 5, 2008, 01:35 PM   #10
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Quote:
how much does a case have to be undersized in order for there to be any dangerous effects? Or is that even possible?
The "rule of thumb" for quarter hard brass, was that the .006" of case stretch was the maximum allowed.

You have a bolt gun in 30-06. The typical case head separation in a 30-06 occurs 1/4" forward of the rim. That is far enough that the remaining head will provide a gas seal.

Your case provides a gas seal. It does hold the powder, primer, and bullet, but the big advancement in firearms technology around 1860 was that brass cases could provide a gas seal. As long as it provides a gas seal, nothing catastrophic will happen.

It is when it don't provide a gas seal that bad things happen.

The case will be ruined, and you will need to knock the front end of the case out of the chamber with a cleaning rod and bore brush.
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Old August 5, 2008, 02:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
how much does a case have to be undersized in order for there to be any dangerous effects? Or is that even possible?
Bumping the shoulder back more than .003 will lead to early case head separation. You said you have a case gauge on order. Is it the RCBS precision mic? With it you can actually measure in thousandths, how much you are setting the shoulder back. It has nothing to do with the angle of the shoulder.
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Old August 5, 2008, 02:48 PM   #12
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hey snuffy yeah I just figured that out. I ordered the RCBS.
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Old August 5, 2008, 02:55 PM   #13
mniesen89
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hey snuffy yeah I just figured that out. I ordered the RCBS.

Slamfire, it is .308 rifle, I'm using .30cal bullets I used in my 30-06
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