Brain Teaser for you.

CASE IN POINT: Rifle; Ruger #!, 6mm Rem.

Rifle was re barreled sometime back by an un-named gunsm

Here is the problem. 1) Factory ammo chambers and ejects flawlessly; 2) Fired factory ammo, very sticky extraction! 3) Attempts to re chamber the same empty case are very difficult, it takes extra ordinary effort to return breech block to battery, and extraction is again very sticky, to the point that breaking the extractor is a concern. Full length resized cases (using Redding dies) has no effect on chambering or extracting cases (brass has been trimmed to length also). * Notice I stated that the factory brass extraction was extremely sticky after firing* (I would think this would rule out an out of round chamber, and a run out gauge was used on the brass, it checked out ok ). Coloring of brass with a black magic marker resulted in the following: 1) Brass would not eject, it had to be driven out with a cleaning rod (may have been caused by the acetone in the marker ink removing any and all case lube). 2) Very faint circular marking on brass aprox. .040 forward of case head. Ok guys, I’m a novice reloader, but this is not my rifle it belongs to a friend who has been a reloader for 50 years.

Time for our resident experts to help with this. Suggestions please!

I'm not a smith and they are all still asleep overseas. Thought I'd have some guesses and see how I go.

For starters, I can't see it as any sort of reloading problem.

Chamber, barrel, or headspace perhaps.

The ring above the head would be expansion, which is not necessarly too bad, but excessive if you can't get a factory case out and in again.
Could this be excessive headspace?, but why the pressure?

How about the chamber neck area being too tight? can you push a projectile in the case neck after it has been fired?

If not is it the right calibre for the barrel even?
Check the barrel dia?

Pull a factory round and reload THAT case with your own powder at a mild load and see how the pressure goes.
Heck I don't know.

From your description it would seem the problem would have to be in the neck area. Either undersize or more probably too short. Can't think of anything else that would give that set of conditions. Just a guess of course without seeing gun.

Ran into the same problem in the past with old worn lever action rifles. The worst was a Mod. 95 in 30-06. the action was loss enough or stretched enough that the brass was allowed to be driven back and the dimension from the end of the base to the shoulder became longer as did the overall case length. At the time I had a set of Black and White dies that did not quite full length resize to commercial standards. Even after the cases were trimmed to length the problem still existed. roger

Something is permitting that brass to strech. Is there a possibility that you have set back?

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:
I'm not a smith and they are all still asleep overseas.

YAWN... Is it morning already?

Comments revised now both eye's are open

What does your sticky fired brass look like? Does the bolt handle lift easy on the fired case? Don't let the "fired case won't go back into the chamber easy" problem bother you. The problem is quite common in both factory guns and those rebarreled by some gunsmiths. That's why they sell full length resizing dies.

Headspace isn't going to cause the extraction problem. The fact that the gun chambered a new round doesn't necessary mean anything either. The circular mark around the base of the fired case may indicate a problem at the mouth of the chamber that is causing the brass to drag at that point. Does the fired case look like it is being dragged across something?

I have seen some chambers polished so much by over zealous gunsmiths, that they become jugged near the shoulder and are swaged back to size during extraction. Lateral scratching of the brass is one indication of that possibility. A chamber cast will usually verify that condition, especially when you have to re-melt the casting material to get it out. Note: Those who have ever cast a jugged chamber will see the humor in that.

If the bolt handle opens easily on a fired case, then I would tend to think the problem lies in the chambers finish. Of course without the chamber here to look at, I can't be sure.

Westpac. There ain't no bolt handle on a Ruger #1.
My thought center around the chamber itself. There's a reason the guy who sold the gun after rebarreling sold it. Methinks a screwed up chamber. Also, a throat that might be too short causing the neck of the brass being pinched a bit causing pressures to rise. The fact that there is a problem with factory ammo makes me think the problem is the chamber.
I'm thinking having a competent gunsmith do a chamber cast to see if that is the problem would be what I would do. If the throat is too short, a simple throating job should cure the problem. If the entire chamber is bad, cutting the barrel back a few threads and rechambering should square that away.
Paul B.

quote:

Originally posted by Freestate101:
Brain Teaser for you.

CASE IN POINT: Rifle; Ruger #!, 6mm Rem.

On second look, that's a funny looking "1". If it is a No.1 then yes, it doesn't have a bolt handle in the traditional sense. But the rest of the reply should be solid.

Based on this new revelation, there might even be a burr where the extractor cut is located causing the expanded case to drag there. Just a thought to keep the others company.