My favorite rifle has gone flaky on me an I need your help. I have a Rem 7Mag and I'm using the same load that I have used for 3 years and all of a sudden the bolt started to lock up on me and I couldn't eject the spent cartidge. The load I'm using is 62 grains of IMR4831 with 140 gr Nosler ballistic tips and I'm using Win cases with Fed 215M primers, it is in no way a hot load. The owner of the range suggested that I have the extractor replaced and three weeks later I received my rifle back. Well, I took it to the range today and after running through 13 rounds, it hung up again but this time the bolt came back but the spent cartridge stayed in the chamber. This time the range master said that the load itself maybe the problem but I've used this very same load for the past three deer season without a hitch and it's hard to believe that it's the problem. Does anyone have any suggestions.

Same load but exact same powder & bullets or did you get a new lot of IMR4831, new box of bullets? Has the bbl. been cleaned routinely? If it's all good, that is just weird. Did you mic the bullet diameter?

rltaylor

62gr. dosen't seem to hot, but what was the temp. when you made the load, and what is the temp. when you are shooting this load. Is it possable to drop one grain and try it agin. Same brass, same seating depth and all. No crimp added wright. You may want to work your load over agin.
6.5 SWEDE

Measure the case head with a mic. If it is over .5127 you have too much pressure. Ron

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
Same load but exact same powder & bullets or did you get a new lot of IMR4831, new box of bullets? Has the bbl. been cleaned routinely? If it's all good, that is just weird. Did you mic the bullet diameter?

good ideas....also...are the cases too long?

Copper buildup in the barrel?

How many times have the cases been fired? OAL been checked or trimmed? That can 'crimp' bullet if too long.

Don't forget to check your scale. If you don't have a second scale to verify it most major brand bullets are very close. A 55 gr 22 cal bullet or something similar would tell you if you are close in that area of weight.

Powder lot,Would be my 1st guess.
Also mabye try some new cases.
...tj3006

How many times has the brass been loaded, if too many times they could have too thick necks from flowing forward. The brass could be work hardened enough that it isn't springing back after firing, letting it stick in the chamber, make sure it isn't too long also. 62 gr I4831 with 140 is pretty mild, I've shot 100's of 139 Horn with 66 grs, near max but brass falls right out of the chamber.

First of all, you have high pressure signs so back the load off.

Powder companies have been known to mislabel powder so, if you're into a new can of powder, it could be a different powder and not just a different lot problem. Having bullet weights mislabeled is known to happen as well so, if into a new box of bullets, check the weight as well.

The first thing I would zero in on is case length.
Things like you describe happen for a reason, and everything else seems ok, like your load.
I shoot 63.5 grains of H-4350 with 150 grain bullets in my 7 MM Mag with no pressure signs at all, so your load is OK with 140 grain bullets.
If your case lengths are within specs, then go after the other things mentioned above. You need to sort out what the problem is caused by. It could be any one of the things mentioned above. I wouldn't be doing any more shooting till you isolate the cause of your problem.

Don

You fired 12 rounds no problems with them and no signs of high pressure, then number 13 stuck in the chamber, tells me you have something wrong with some of the loaded rounds, pull them down and start over, check the powder charge on a couple, if you didn't trickle the powder I4831 is famous for bridging in the measure.

Others have covered it pretty well. However, I guess the most important thing is to figure out the problem before you fire anymore of those hand loads. Could be the brass, as others have suggested - mic them in all dimensions. Also, as someone asked, how many times have those particular cases been reloaded? Brass doesn't last forever, especially in something like the 7mm mag. Mic the bullets as well. You might want to clean the rifle thoroughly, if you believe there might be some sort of 'build up'. Try weighing each hand load next time to insure the powder charge. The most recent 'failure to extract' could also have to do with the job the gunsmith did, so you should take it back and have that looked at as well (i.e. don't assume that the hand loads are the only problem).

I looked up the load in the Nosler Manual #5. The load of 62.0 gr. is the starting load. There are two cartridges that are notorious for encountering the S.E.E. problem; the .243 Win. and the 7MM Rem. Mag. Tnere is an article in an older Handloader or Rifle Magazine by a Roy Smith who ran into this same problem with a .243.
I'm thinking that if all the other suggestions check out OK, that you might want to consider upping the load by one grain. If you are at the borderline level for S.E.E., dropping the charge by one grain would only aggravate the problem.
If you would like, PM or E-mail me a snail mail address and I'll try and find the article and snail mail you a copy.
Paul B.

To add to some excllent suggestions; have you fired these through a Chronograph?

All reloaders should have a Chrony and use it whenever trying loads. Then if encounter the problems you relate, the Chrony would immediately tell you what is going on.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 6.5 SWEDE:
rltaylor

62gr. dosen't seem to hot, but what was the temp. when you made the load, and what is the temp. when you are shooting this load. Is it possable to drop one grain and try it agin. Same brass, same seating depth and all. No crimp added wright. You may want to work your load over agin.
6.5 SWEDE[/QUOTE

I agree, as I use 63 gr of IMR 4831 with 160 and 175 gr bullets with no problem. Did you maybe load 4350 by mistake? Also check your case length.

Definetly check your case length. I forgot about that one. Especially in belted cases, they stretch quite a bit when full length sized. Try some new brass w. the same components &/or check your max. case length.

Have a friend that forgot to wipe his cartridges off years back . They had sizing lube on a few of them , boy did they stick when fired !. If all else the above group has mentioned comes up empty . Other wise they covered everything ...

I'm sorry I took so long to answer some of the questions but I just got off work and now I can give you some answers.
-This is once fired brass.
-The barrel was cleaned after every 5th shot.
-The case head read.513.
-No, I didn't mic the bullets.
-Cases trimmed at 2.493.
-And I tumbled the brass to get all lube, then I use canned air to blow all the dust and crushed walnut of off the cases. I then trim, chamfer and deburr the cases.

I appreciate all the feedback and I'll recheck my step to verify that it isn't something that I'm doing wrong. I handload for my 308, 257 Wby, 300 Wby and my 270 and I haven't experienced nothing like this with any of them. But I'm only human and humans do make mistakes, though I hate to admit it. Thanks guys.

Paul, I'll try that suggestion this weekend. Thanks!

Thank for all of your inputs. It ended up being a headspace problem and I've been to the range several time since I've last posted and had "zero" bolt lockups since I resolved the headspace problem. Thanks guys.

if you encounter this again, the brass is probably worn out. my 338 win mag will do the same thing after too many shots on the same brass. once i start with a new set of brass, it goes away.