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Old September 17, 2011, 08:30 PM   #1
gtaylor98
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Join Date: June 21, 2011
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270 WSM won't chamber

Okay, I'm not brand new to this but definitely no expert. I have been having trouble getting 2 different rifles chambered in 270 WSM to chamber an empty round after I resize them. Well, I finally figured out I needed to get my die lower and took off just a miniscule amount from the shellholder. Bingo, empty cases chamber beautifully!

Now, I finished the rounds and they are very difficult to get the bolt closed. My manual said that WSMs may need to have the bullet seated lower than standard actions, so I did that. I got into trouble before by crushing the shoulder by trying to go deeper. Since I backed the die out considerably and lowered the seating part I didn't have that problem. However, the deeper seat didn't completely fix the problem. Some rounds work great, many are stiff, and some won't chamber at all.

The manual says max length is like 2.860 and I have them as short as 2.300. This seems like a lot to me as I can't even see the cannelure anymore. Should I continue to go deeper?

I checked some factory loads and they are a touch longer so I'm thinking it must be something other than cartridge length.
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Old September 17, 2011, 08:44 PM   #2
Doodlebugger45
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At the risk of sounding obvious, did you trim the cases first? If they are too long, they might chamber when unloaded since the mouths have a little bit of flex, but when you seat a bullet, they won't chamber well if they are a bit long.

It sounds like the overall length with a bullet isn't the problem since you went way short. And it sounds like you solved the sizing problem. That only leaves the trim length.
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Old September 17, 2011, 09:48 PM   #3
hoghunting
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Since the empty cases are fitting and you're crushing some of the shoulders during bullet seating, it sounds as if the seating die is cranked down too far and crimping as the bullet is being seated. This will push the shoulder back and increase the diameter of the case, preventing the case from chambering.

You have the some of those bullets seated too deep.
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Old September 18, 2011, 08:41 AM   #4
steve4102
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Agreed ^^, two things to check. Check case length, they should be 2.090-2.100.
Set up your seating die according to the instructions. They should read something like this. Place a sized case in the shell holder, raise the ram all the way up, back the seating stem waaaay out of the die, screw the die into the press until you feel it make contact with the sized case, back the die out of the press one full turn and lock the lock ring and set screw. Now adjust OAL with the seating stem.
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