could any one shed some light on this one.
ive just loaded some .243 and 22-250 the prodlem is when i chamber a round the bolt closes but will not turn down to lock.
ive seated the bullets about one mil further out than the factory rem ammo, the rem factory stuff loads fine.
any ideas gents
swath

Are you crimping?

A common cause is crimping to heavy and buldging the shoulder. Tailgunner asks a good one. How is an empty case? The longer seating depth probably isn't the problem, but start with the empty case and check it through each step.

How does a sized piece of brass (with no bullet) chamber? It's probable that you have to push the shoulder back slightly when sizing.
Next step would be to reseat the bullet, in one of your problem cases, slightly deeper and try that.

Was this brass fired in another rifle, or only in yours?

no the brass was not fired in my rifle, it was a mates they are once fired factory ammo (rem).
just reseated the .22-250 heads to the same as the factory rem ammo and they are ok still a little tight when you turn the bolt down, but they chamber.
the empty cases fit fine, so i think its to do with the depth that i seat the heads, ive seated them now to the scale diagram in the lee manual but like i said they are still a bit tight to turn the bolt down, could i seat the bullets deeper in the case than in the diagram in the lee manual?
thanks tailgunner
swath

Depending on the ogive shape of the bullets you are reloading, you might be running the bullets into the lands. This should be easy to check as it will leave marks on the bullet. If this is the case, you may need to seat the bullet deeper until you clear the lands by a few thousandths. The only thing this may cause is slightly elevated pressures if your loads are near max, but should not effect accuracy too much.

If there's no marks on the bullet of the chambered round then I'd suspect the shoulder needs to be bumped back a bit. And did I understand your not crimping? I know most of the time, most people dont even with the groove there. I have to ask as I've seen people do everything else corectly then mess it up with missadjusting the crimping die. I've done it myself when setting up for a new bullet and getting in a hurry.

Trying to hurry things along has cost me lots of time!

there were marks on the first bullets that i chamberd, but there are no marks now, just a little tight when turning the bolt shut. does this mean i can fire the rounds without thinking my gun will explode? as i got no way of getting the heads out(dont mention the inertion hammer my mate showed me how to use one the other day i nearly shat myself)
im not crimping.
on once fired ammo how important is it to trim the cases?
ive been told not to bother on once fired cases, ive checked them with a case lenth gauge and only a few cases actualy needed a nats cock taken off, whats the veiw on this?
swath
thanks for all the advice

I think that full length resizing the cases will solve the problem. Given that the cases were fired in another rifle, full length resizing is in order. Your "mate's" rifle chamber is probably larger than yours. I don't think it is bullet related in any way.
Don

If you have a caliper, you need to check the over all length of the loaded round. This information should be in your manual if the manual's any good at all.

the rounds are seated at the same depth as the manual states.(lee manual).
swath

Swath

Couple of things to do. One, take a full length resuzed case and place a bullet in it nose down. Now gently chamber the round in your rifle. Carefully remove the case with the bullet in it and epoxy them or otherwise glue them together. This is your reference case for your rifle, it gives you your Maximum overall length. Your actual desired overall length will be a couple of thousands less than this.

Secondly you can get a bullet puller from Lyman or RCBS that works on the collet principle in your press. It will pull your bullets easily. However, I've gone to the kenetic style and used it extensively with both black and smokeless powder shells with no problems.

Thirdly, screw your resizing die into your press as instructed by the manufacturer, then back it out about two turns. Take a fired case and run it into the die, then take it out and gently try to close your bolt on it. Stop at any resistance, take it out, turn the die down about 1/4 turn, and do the same thing again. Do this until the action closes with no resistnace. Lock your lock ring to this setting, and your die is adjusted to your rifle's headspace.

Now take the decapping pin out of your die and resize the cases from which you pulled the bullets. You have your die adjusted to your chamber and you now know exactly what your extreme maximum cartridge OAL is so you can seat your bullets to a depth precisely related to your chamber.

If any of the above is not clear let me know.

take a full length resuzed case and place a bullet in it nose down. Now gently chamber the round in your rifle. Carefully remove the case with the bullet in it and epoxy them or otherwise glue them together. This is your reference case for your rifle, it gives you your Maximum overall length.

Are you saying that this will give you the Case oal are the loaded cartridge oal?

arky65

the shrink.
thanks for the advice, when you say seat a bullet in the sized case, do you mean tip down inside the case?
surely if i was haveing problems with the taperd end chambering how would i get one back to front to chamber?
i will have to get one of those extracters that fit the press, thanks for the advise wayne
take it easy
swath

I think you also need to try your resized case in your rifle. both the .243 and .22-250 have kind of a long sloping shoulder and if the case neck isn't lubed, no matter how your die is set, when the sizer pulls back through the neck it pulls the shoulder forward a bit. When this happens, some will chamber properly, some won't, that will be your indicator. Another thing to check is for a mark on the primer, if the pocket isn't cleaned and the primer is slightly high, it will close hard and you can see a semicircle mark on the primer.