This rifle is in 7mm08 and shoots very well. The empties have a bright ejector mark on the rim after evey shot and are difficult to reload. I have heard talk about go and no-go guages.What would it say about the condition of the gun. I want to keep it as it shoots very and I want to put a new scope on her. Your feedback is encouraged. Thanks in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by Super 88:
The empties have a bright ejector mark on the rim after evey shot

A bright ejector mark on the case head (which is what I assume you meant?), is a pressure sign. That means you are running your handlaods too hot, and need to reduce your charge!! This is reloading 1-0-1.

Now it could be your gun will not handle what is normally considered safe loads, and that therefore something is fishy about this particular gun (e.g. a tight neck). But to establish that, you first have to tell us the exact load.

Btw, make sure your cases are not longer than SAAMI max spec. If yes, you'll need to trim them (this is but one cause of high pressure). Another reloading 1-0-1.

What do you mean by:

quote:

Originally posted by Super 88:
...and are difficult to reload.

In what sense difficult to relaod??

If you are experiencing high pressures, it would be common for your primer pockets to expand, and therefore be unable to hold primers as tightly (or at all) as new cases do.

quote:

Originally posted by Super 88:
I have heard talk about go and no-go guages.What would it say about the condition of the gun.

Go/no-go gauges are used to establish whether the head-shoulder dimension of your gun is within SAAMI specs. This would not be the first place I'd look to attempt to determine why I got high pressue signs. If your cases develop a shiny ring in front of the case head, then you might have a headspace problem and a go/no-go gauge may be called for.

- mike

Hello Super 88,
When you say difficult to reload I am assuming that you mean difficult to chamber through the action?? If so, let me ask if you have a MO's gauge or a Stoney Point item to measure the case both prior to reloading and afterwards??
Either of these items will help you determine your chamber size and therefore you can resize your brass to be slightly under that measurement. As mentioned, your neck may well be in need of trimming as well plus it does sound as though your powder charge is on the high side for your particular rifle, chamber, etc. If the rifle is all factory spec, I doubt if the chamber is out of spec, possible of course, but not likely. SAAMI spec varies a great deal and the guages you are asking about will simply tell you whether it is suitable to use. Does a new factory cartridge chamber and do so without extra force?? In the event you are not setting back the shoulder of the case
enough when resizing, you will notice difficulty in chambering. Only basic suggestions here, best advise I can give you is to seek out the advise/services of a good 'smith in your area for a hands on inspection. Gunsmithing over the internet is at best a risky business. Good Luck!!

I'm with mho on this one....checking head space probably isn't the answer to the issues.