I'm having a a little problem with a new rifle and loads for it.

I have a new A-bolt in 280 and the hand loads are loading stiff. I have to use alot more than usual pressure to chamber the round.

Heres the factors. The factory Fed Classic 150gr Hi-Shok are cycling just fine. I'm loading 139gr. Hornady FB and it's really stiff. At first I thought it was the nickel plated Win brass that my father bought but when I tried the once fired Fed brass that worked no problem as a factory load, same thing.

I've trimmed the brass to spec. Bullet seating depth is off the lands and COL is a tad shorter than the factory loads.

What should I try? These are the first bullets that I've loaded for this rifle so I can't blame them... yet.

A couple of questions. Has the Win. brass been loaded and fired once or were the loads you tried to chamber made from virgin brass? Are you full length resizing or neck size only?

Boilerroom,
I had very similar symptoms in my M700 300RUM a while back. It actually happened on a hunting trip and I could only find 3 shells out of a whole box that I could force into the chamber and continue to hunt. Here's what I was doing wrong:

When I was seating the bullet, I failed to screw the die down to the neck of the raised shell and then back off a 1/4 turn. I was setting the depth of the die off the shell holder, just as you do when resizing (yeah, you can laugh. I had a serious brainfart). Anyway, that caused the seating die to slightly hit the shoulder of the case and compressed it. It wasn't very visible unless you really looked for it, but it expanded the diameter of the shell just enough to make it difficult to impossible to chamber. Full length resizing corrected the problem, but I finally decided to buy new brass to be on the safe side. This may not be the cause of the problem in your case, but it's sure worth a try if you have any doubt.

I am having the same problem.I have a A-BOLT 7 mag.,using once fired Federal brass,and using RCBS dies.I can size the case,try to bolt the brass after sizing and the bolt is very tight.
A friend come over and checked my die set up and had the same problem.Sent my dies back to RCBS to be checked.Anyone with some insight and I would greatly appreciate it also.

One of the first things I would check is my seating die. You may have the die body down too low in the press and are over-crimping the case. If this happens, it will push down on the neck too hard and cause a slight bulge at the case shoulder. This will make chambering difficult. I made this mistake once on was not able to chamber the rounds at all. I had to pull all the bullets and full length resize the case and start over.

Double check case lenght, bullet seating is the next probable cause provided you are not exceeding overall lenght. Take a candle and soot the front of the case and bullet, insert and push the bolt forward until resistant is felt then remove and examine for any contact marks and correct accordyingly. Over the years I have had this problem but since I bought Lyman crimp dies which will not cause any case deformations the problem has disappeared provided case lenghts ar within specs.

When you resize your brass just bump the sholder a little in the resizer die, and this will cure your tight bolt problem.

Dennis

The Win brass is virgin and I'm full length sizing.

Jethro & David

I'll have to take a look at the seating die later tonight. I hope it's something that simple.

raamw

My case length is right and no longer than the factory loads that are chambering just fine. I tried the soot thing and the bullet is not touching anything.

Alaska

What do you mean by just bumping the shoulder?

Thanks guys.

[ 05-26-2003, 22:04: Message edited by: boilerroom ]

What do you mean by just bumping the shoulder?

When you full length size any case, it will almost always work the brass forward, and the shoulder too. This creates a tight headspace situation, which reducing the distance from the die to the shellholder will only cure, by bumping the shoulder back.

You can simply screw the die down a 1/16 of a turn until the problem goes away then lock the die in place. Sometimes it has to even be "all" the way down to get the shoulder pushed back far enough again, my 300 Ultra die is that way.

It can have eccentric case necks from a eccentric neck in the chamber, and if the cases are fired and placed in the chamber 180 degrees from where they were originally fired in, they will chamber tight or not chamber at all... tis the case with my 300 Ultra as well! That sucks!!! But then again, "almost" all factory bbls suck! Checking runout on the necks of your fired cases after marking and indexing them before firing will tell you if this is the situation. Mine all have .005" RO in the 2 O'Clock position, and FL sizing reduces it to less than .002" so they don't need to be indexed "all" the time, like them "must" if they're only neck sized.

You likely don't have the die screwed down far enough to bump the shoulder back after the FL sizing moves it forward. Good luck.

One more thing to check. When you size is the expander ball being dragged back through a neck that is too tight? The expander can, if not lubed and in some cases even if it is, drag the sholder forward. Take a magic marker or smoke a empty case in the shoulder and try to chamber it. The case will show if the shoulder rubs on the chamber when you close the bolt.
If this is the cause, "lightly" polishing the ball with emery paper and lubeing the case necks will help prevent it in the future. Bumping back the shoulder a bit more cures it too but be careful not to work your brass more than you have to as it shortens case life.

I've run across this a few times myself. But, not with the .280. A couple of questions: Do you have the sizing die set to "lock up" on the shell holder at the top of the stroke? If so, try removing the decap/expander stem, size a case, and see if you still have the problem. No need to use a bullet. If you still have the problem, the sizing die needs to be adjusted to your rifle. You could try grinding some off the bottom of the die, but I would send it back to the manufacturer with a couple of fired cases, and they will fix it straightaway.
Second, does the problem go away without the decap/expander stem? If so, then that is the problem. As suggested, polish it, or, better yet, get one of the eliptical expander balls, and clean & lube your case necks. Another very minor trick, is to lock down the expander stem with downward pressure on it, as on the downstroke of the ram. This tends to center it within the case. At any rate, keep us posted,,,,,,,Bug.