Hey guys-

I have a Remington 700 in .243 that I am having trouble loading for. No matter how I size cases (neck or full length), reloads are hard to close the bolt on. It feels like the chamber is really tight. When I close the bolt, it won't go down easily. It goes down, but with a hard 'mushy' feeling. It does it with empty brass. Factory rounds work fine. I fought this once before, adjusted my sizing die just a bit, and got better results. But, the problem is back. I trim my cases, so anything in that regard can be ruled out. I didn't try it with loaded reloads, just with empty brass right after sizing. Do I need to invest in a neck turner? Whats the problem?

Thanks for your ideas - Gib

[ 11-07-2003, 01:19: Message edited by: Gib ]

Hi Gib,

I assume the bolt is harder to close on "resized" brass vs. right after firing the brass?

You mentioned neck and FL sizing - did you use a neck-sizing die, or just leave the FL die "screwed out" a little?

It sounds to me like the shoulder is pulling forward when you pull the expander ball back through the neck. Make sure you lube the expander ball and the inside of the case neck well.

You could also try a Lee collet neck-sizing die - all of the force applied is towards the base of the case, and no expander ball to pull back through the neck, so there should be no way for the should to move forward.

Please let us know what you find.

Regards, Bill

P.S. Neck turning will most likely have no affect in relation to these symptoms.

You either need to screw your die down a little tighter or you need to get a small base die. My first guess would be the second option.
You can solve all your problems by re-barrelling to a 7-08. A super fine cartridge.

Are these the factory cases you have fired? If you are using once fired brass that didnt get fired through that rifle it could be that chamber was bigger then yours and your die cant resize it down far enough... I had this happen before on a couple rifles.. Just a thought..

6.5 Bandit

Thanks for the help guys.

I didn't try it with just fired brass, only tried it after sizing. I'll do that tonight. When I neck size I am just leaving a FL die that is backed up a little. Yes, the once fired brass is out of my gun. Thanks for the input.

Gib

Gib,
When I started reloading, I did the 243 first and had the same problem. Called RCBs and they told me to tighten the die all the way down until it hits the ram, then lift the handle and turn it down another 1/8th to 1/4 a turn.

That solved the problem instantly. I am sure it will on your die also.

Good luck.

I had the same problem with my 243 while using RCBS dies. Made the switch to Redding and the problem went away.

Rick