30-30 bolt action , casing expanding

superpelly · November 3, 2008, 02:46 PM

Have a Stevens 325b bolt action. when I fire the the gun the casing is extremely hard to extract. The live run fits in the chamber just fine, but when I fire the gun, the casing expands (bottom half) and take 2 hands on the bolt and a lot of pull to extract the casing. When i try to put the fired casing back in the chamber it gets stuck half way? Any Ideas? Thanks

**James K** · November 3, 2008, 03:47 PM

I suggest you take the gun to a gunsmith and have the headspace checked. If that is OK, then check the chamber for rust, dirt, etc. You might be able to polish the chamber using something like 600-1000 grit emery paper on a wood dowel, but that would only be after you find the problem.

Case expansion is pretty common and you often won't be able to re-insert the empty case into the chamber until it is resized, a normal part of reloading.

Jim

superpelly · November 3, 2008, 04:47 PM

thanks, I polished the chamber and extracts fine!!! Normal case expansion.

November 3, 2008, 02:46 PM	#1
superpelly Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 445	30-30 bolt action , casing expanding Have a Stevens 325b bolt action. when I fire the the gun the casing is extremely hard to extract. The live run fits in the chamber just fine, but when I fire the gun, the casing expands (bottom half) and take 2 hands on the bolt and a lot of pull to extract the casing. When i try to put the fired casing back in the chamber it gets stuck half way? Any Ideas? Thanks

November 3, 2008, 03:47 PM	#2
James K Staff Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 16,398	I suggest you take the gun to a gunsmith and have the headspace checked. If that is OK, then check the chamber for rust, dirt, etc. You might be able to polish the chamber using something like 600-1000 grit emery paper on a wood dowel, but that would only be after you find the problem. Case expansion is pretty common and you often won't be able to re-insert the empty case into the chamber until it is resized, a normal part of reloading. Jim __________________ Jim K

November 3, 2008, 04:47 PM	#3
superpelly Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 445	thanks, I polished the chamber and extracts fine!!! Normal case expansion.