Thread: Advice??

Hiya,

I am newish to reloading and thought I had things pretty well sorted.

Tikka T3 in 6.5X55.
Lapua brass(bought brand new)
140gr Amax
45 grains 2209. Slightly over max but still safe as I think they load VERY conservatively for the old mausers.

The first couple of loads performed well and I've only been neck sizing since.

Then case trimming, deburring inside aHnd out and graphite the inside of the neck.

I'm on about the third load and have noticed that that last little bit when closing the bolt down is a bit tight.

Also a bit tight when opening the bolt after firing and the are scrape/scratch marks on the case head once ejected.

Primers are fine but I'm not taking that as an indication of not having high pressure.

I know this can be a sign of high pressures but I have changed nothing from the first to third load.

Is it a head space issue and if so do I just need to full lenght size to fix the problem.

Any advice much appreciated.

You need to bump the shoulder back a little with the FL die.
It can also be related to an increase in diameter just above the head in the web area of the case.
The FL die should take care of that.

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

You need to bump the shoulder back a little with the FL die.
It can also be related to an increase in diameter just above the head in the web area of the case.
The FL die should take care of that.

Cheers. Do I need the headspace gauge to accurately measure this or just run it through the due untill it fits?

I have 40 rounds loaded up- would you recomend pulling them all and resizing or running them through the rifle and then resize?

If you can close mr bolt just shoot them as long as they are not a hot load...

Do what greg said next time round, you dont "NEED" to measure with a headspace gauge just turn the die down quarter turns until the brass chambers "nicely" and size all the brass at that setting...

I have a headspace gauge but I rarely use it, and when I do its really a just to see how much im bumping sort of use... But if you want to get pedantic and make your brass last 0.0467% longer and ensure your only bumping to the nearest thou then you use the headspace gauge..

Originally Posted by baldbob

If you can close mr bolt just shoot them as long as they are not a hot load...

Do what greg said next time round, you dont "NEED" to measure with a headspace gauge just turn the die down quarter turns until the brass chambers "nicely" and size all the brass at that setting...

I have a headspace gauge but I rarely use it, and when I do its really a just to see how much im bumping sort of use... But if you want to get pedantic and make your brass last 0.0467% longer and ensure your only bumping to the nearest thou then you use the headspace gauge..

Cheers mate.

I wouldn't say it's a real hot load, recommended max on ADI site is 44grains but I've heard that is VERY conservative.

I just "marked" up a few rounds with whiteboard and permanent marker.

It appears the only part that is touching is two thirds of the way down the case body-towards case head.

I know FL resizing will fix this issue.

How do I KNOW if it's a headspace issue of if it's simply that the case body has expanded to full the chamber and is a bit tight once I've reloaded the case. Surely that isn't a pressure issue is it?

Cheers.

If it is case body you would expect last bit of bolt going forward and first bit of extracting to be a bit stiff as well as the opening closing of the handel. Either way fl next time should fix it.

It could be a pressure issue and can be part of problems associated with pressure but I doubt it...
3 firings is quite average for this to happen with any cartridge..

The recommended setting for dies is really only a neck sizing more than anything, To get a true full length size you need to turn the die down a tad more to the point your bumoing the shoulder forward...

It wont be a headspace issue its just normal

Originally Posted by baldbob

It could be a pressure issue and can be part of problems associated with pressure but I doubt it...
3 firings is quite average for this to happen with any cartridge..

The recommended setting for dies is really only a neck sizing more than anything, To get a true full length size you need to turn the die down a tad more to the point your bumoing the shoulder forward...

It wont be a headspace issue its just normal

How do you set you FL dies up to know you are bumping the shoulder back enough but not excessively.

set them to where the dies reccomended setting is and then size and check in rifle with each "quarter" turn of the die down... if you want it really precise do 1/8 turns or less between sizeing and chambering... But I dont think the gap caused by a quarter turn creates to much of a headspace problem at any length its only a few thou...

if you do ever so minute turns on the size die you will feel the point where it begins to free up...

Have a play around you will soon get the feel for it.

1/4 turn is way to much, you are looking to bump the shoulder no more than .002 .004 max and the thread on the die body is very course. The generic instrucions that come with the dies are poor in this respect as you could be bumping way to much.wind it back out a good 1/2 turn from the generic set up to start then using a case that is hard to close the bolt on resize ,check in the chamber ,if its still tight to close the bolt then wind the die in a no more than 1/16 of a turn, resize and check. Repeat untill your bolt closes.I prefer to still have a slight crush feel,I normaly take the expander out while Im doing it and once done Ill wind it back out a small amout and repeat the last stage of the process with another case that was also hard to chamber.
With the bolt being hard to open -if its hard from the start of the lift then its most likey to much pressure, if its hard at the top of the lift then FL sizing may cure it if the die-chamber match is good.If not then there are some other things to look at.

FL sized a few rounds and went and ran them through today. Got a couple of 4 shot 3/4 inch groups at 200 metres so accuracy is as good as I'll ever expect to shoot.

No stick with bolt on closing and opening.

Does this mean the pressure issue has gone away or that they simply "fit" the chamber better??

Sneeze-it was the SMALLEST adjustment that made the difference between a slight crush fit to no crush fit. Cheers for the advice.

Most likely it wasnt a pressure issue to start with but you didnt say if the sticky bolt lift was at the begining of bolt lift or just at the top of the throw?

I would have said it means there is/was no pressure issue. If it chambered fine then wouldn't extract(easily) after firing you have a pressure issue.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

I would have said it means there is/was no pressure issue. If it chambered fine then wouldn't extract(easily) after firing you have a pressure issue.

Common misconception or maybe you are mixing up the teminolgy? A sticky bolt lift from the beginning of lift is an indication of excessive pressure, if the bolt lifts fine but is sticky at the last 1/2 inch of the lift (which is the first stage of extraction) and or is a little hard to pull back then its more likely a sizing issue.

It wasn't just the tail end it was at the start. Not real hard, only just noticeable really but it was there.

It was almost the same level of pressure needed to close the bolt as it was to open it. More than a factory round.