Thread: Projectile shifting in neck once loaded?

I went to the range the other day to check zero on my tikka 7mm rem mag. One round would not allow me to close the bolt, one was a little stiff and the rest were fine but showed scuff marks on the projectile like they were touching the lands when chambered.

Later that afternoon I got some calipers and measured the projectiles OAL. My load OAL is 2.740”, on average most of my rounds were now reading 2.745 - 2.746”. The round that would not let me close the bolt measured 2.749”.

I am very deliberate and measured each round individually when I made them. My load is 63.5gr IMR4831, Norma brass and the 162 ELD-X so not anywhere near compressed.

On an earlier occasion I did measure some loaded rounds and noticed they seemed to have gotten shorter measuring 2.735” when I loaded them to 2.740”.

Got me a bit baffled. They are stored in your standard plastic hard case with a lid. Sure they rattle around a bit when travelling but I wouldn’t expect the projectiles to move in the neck? On another note it didn’t affect accuracy.

Thoughts?