I recently purchased a Ruger No.1 in .338WM caliber. The ammo purchased with the rifle being Nitrex African Grand Slam worked fine as did the Hornady 250gr RN bullets which I handloaded. With the Hornady's the bullets were seated at the canelure without any crimping giving me an COL of 85mm.
However when I wanted to change to a premium grade bullet (Rhino 250gr) the tight chamber of the Ruger only allowed me a COL of 82.8mm. I tested 6 different loads with the Rhino and was horrified by the results. The brass I used was once fired, in my rifle, Norma brass.
I think my problem lies with the fitting of the cartridge in the chamber and due to the COL I think issues like "bullet jump" becomes a factor. Please note that the handloaded ammo fitted with Rhino bullets despite the reduced COL still chambered stiff (read with not normal difficulty).
Can anybody please assist. I dearly would like to sort this rifle out. My main application would be for hunting at closer ranges (80 - 200 yards) and hence the premium grade bullets.
In an article in the May 1997 issue of the South African magazine Man Magnum, Org Ehlers tested the Ruger No.1 in 338 WM and also referred to the tight chambering and that Remington Safari Grade 225gr ammo refused to chamber. Barnes X had to be seated 1mm from the lands. Please note that in South Africa the only readibly available premium grade bullets is Rhino.

quote:

Originally posted by Motshumi:

However when I wanted to change to a premium grade bullet (Rhino 250gr) the tight chamber of the Ruger only allowed me a COL of 82.8mm. I tested 6 different loads with the Rhino and was horrified by the results.

Horrified by accuracy or pressure sign?

When you say "tight", are you refering to the case fit to the chamber or the throat being short. My exp. w/ Ruger #1s is they tend to have a longer throat than most bolt rifles. Try loading a full length sized case only. If it is a tight fit you may need diff. dies, what are you using now? If that is fine then try to establish the throat length.
If you don't have a Stoney point guage, you can take a fired case & pinch the neck so it holds the bullet & chamber/unchamber carefully. This will push the bullet into the case & give you a COL measurement. Repeat 4-5 times for an avg.

You said the brass was once fired in this rifle. I'm curious, is the brass still within spec on case length?

As for COAL, when you changed bullets, are they a different style/ shape than what you had alread used? The different nose shape of a bullet can make it hit the lands before a different style. (i.e. a roundnose will hit before a typical conical bullet).

mike

Thanks for the reply, - I was horified at the accuracy, no signs of pressure. The dies I'm using are standard RCBS whereby full length case sizing is done. The resized case fits perfectly in the chamber without the bullet seated. If I were to seat the bullet, remove it by way of a bullet puller the case still fits perfectly. What the guys in South africa are telling me is that I just need to seat my bullet deeper. This to me is worrying since this uses up case volume and hence creates more presure. Still if this is the way to go I will do that since the presure can be overcome by working up from a reduced load and checking the chrony all the time. I guess what I should be asking is whether it is OK if I seat the bullet way beyond the caneleur which is groveed according to International standards and will this deep seating have a influence on accuracy

CNDRM
Yes the cases are still 100% according to spec. The shape of the Hornady's is Round Nose which like you would make me think that they should actually be the bullets that has difficulty in fitting, but no it is the Rhino's with a typical conical shape!

Interesting. The Rhinos' are obviously a very different design. When I started reloading for my .338, I was really worried about compressing my loads with the bullets, but it seems to be the standard as the bullets are so long.

As for seating beyond the cannelaur, I wouldn't worry about it. You said before that you weren't crimping, so I don't think it'll be a problem for you. (just keep an eye out for sighns of overpressure durring load development).

Best of luck in getting the Rhinos to work.

mike

Definetly try seating the bullet deeper, say 0.05" at a time & see if accuracy improves. The Rhino is abit like other solid shank bullets & may prefer a bit of lead into the lands. I love my Ruger #1s, abit heavy but such a classic design. Your .338wm will be a great PG rifle.

I do love my .338. It's easily my favorite hunting rifle. It totally blew my .308 away. (pun intended).

mike