Hello,
I've been having some difficulty solving a problem with my .460 Weatherby and its cases. After a few firings there is a bulge just above the belt which seems to grow after each firing. I don't know if this is from headspace error or loading error or what, but would like to see if I can fix this. It isn't caused by overpressure, as I have loaded cases with minimum loads and these still show up after a few firings. I don't know if this is the cause, but I load the cases just to where the shoulder is in contact with the chamber. I have cut a case open and it looks fairly smooth on the inside. Here are a few pictures of the bulge. Thanks for you help.

Hey Kenneth

This might be some help

http://www.larrywillis.com/

I can not vouch for his product but you might get some ideas. I'll bet it is just the pressure ring where the case body goes from being supported by the chamber to the case head that is not supported.

460 Weatherby! Ouch!

Hey Kenneth, I have two pieces of good news for you:

1. That is normal in ALL cases and is called the Pressure Ring. It is where the Thicker portion of the Case Head "Tapers" into the thinner Case Wall.

You see the "Burnishing" on the outside of the Case because your Full Length Die is rubbing against the Pressure Ring and re-forming it to a slightly smaller diameter. And the same thing happens on ALL Belted and non-Belted Cases in the same general location.

2. The Larry Willis "thingy" is/was $100. And there are extremely few instances where it does anything needed. Occasionally a very tight chamber gets out of a factory and a properly Full Length Resized or P-FLRed case is difficult to chamber.

But better and less expensive alternatives exist than the "thingy" on those extremely rare situations where it could actually help at all:

A. Since it is a Dangerous Game Rifle, the Chamber could be opened so there is just a bit more clearance. A DGR rifle should not contend with "sticking" cases at all.

B. Reduce the Shell Holder "Thickness" slightly so the Case is Full Lenth Resized just a bit more. This will normally resolve most Chambering issues.

C. Send a couple of Fired Cases and the FL Die back to the Die Manufacturer and they can fix it so no "sticking" Cases ever happen. All the top Die Manufacturers are glad to perform this service.

Unless you are actually experiencing "sticking Cases, you can forget about #2 and A, B, and C.
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But, what you are seeing is normal and there is no reason for concern. You might want to use the old "L-shaped" Feeler Gauge to check for Insipient Case Head Separation after each firing on a few cases. Once you feel the Groove - toss the cases.

Since it is a Dangerous Game Rifle, you really do need to be Full Length Resizing and just accept the fact that Case life will be a bit shorter than for Cases used in non-Dangerous Game Rifles.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills.

Bad die adjustment. Are you pushing the shoulder back when sizing? There is a company that makes a collet die to keep this at a minimum.

Don't sweat it. It looks like your chamber may be a bit generous in size which is allowing the cases to grow, and that's the spot that your die won't size it back down. So long as you don't have any problems with the cases chambering, it isn't a problem.

Thank you for letting me know that is normal, I knew there had to be a reason that I would never own a Weatherby.