Several years ago I imported a 416 Rigby, a restocked original Rigby on a magnum Mauser action. It was made for Iron sights and the LOP is too long for me so I had not shot it. I just discovered that 416 Rigby rounds do not feed well in the rifle. Each fresh round feeds from the box into the chamber well but the bolt closes with a hard feel. The bolt must be forced all the way down. I originally thought the chamber might be short so I trimmed a few cases to 2.85" and they still have the same hard feed. Is the chamber just too tight? Could another reamer be used to give me a true factory chamber so the rounds would feed as a DGR should??????

Are those reloads or factory loads? Sounds more like the headspace and chamber is a bit tight. Try sizing down a case a bit more and see if it goes away.

If this is a CRF, are you sure that the case head is "fitting in" the extractor or whatever the hell that thing is called? I was single loading my rounds in my CZ550 and there was a jolt at the end of the cycle. Some knowledgeable person on this board set me straight, but I was worrying about case length, OAL etc. etc. It was just me not understanding CRF!
peter.

404 - Most likely the case shoulder is pushed a little forward. This is a common situation with beltless cases. While this may seem like a problem, pushing the shoulder too far back with a FL die will result in excessive headspace. In extreme headspace problems, the case base may not achieve full contact with the bolt face and this may cause insufficient firing pin contact with the primer.

A few possible solutions to finding the problem - A chamber cast will remove all doubt, OR you can blacken a case, chamber it and find the area which is binding, OR you can fire form a case in the chamber and do some measuring.

With beltless cartridges, it is not uncommon to find a mismatch between chamber and new brass. Fortunately for you, you may only have tight brass - this is much easier to correct.

Thanks guys, I really want to shoot it. It feels to me that it is hitting on the shoulder. I blackened the neck/shoulder region and slid a case under the extaractor then replaced the bolt in the rifle and again, there is no scratching on the neck and a slight ring at the front of the shoulder. It tells me that there is a short chamber problem. I do have some carosafe here. How do you make the chamber cast?

lb404
I recommend you take your rifle to Champlin Arms in Enid OK. Let JJ Perodeau take a look at it. He is NOT a gunsmith, he is a GUNMAKER. He has experience with original British Rifles.

404, I have no idea how much force you are feeling when closing the bolt, however, a chamber/case mismatch is not uncommon with beltless cases. A chamber cast will ensure the chamber dimensions are correct (or not.) However, either way, this is generally no big deal. Once you shoot the brass for the first time, it will be properly formed to your specific chamber - no matter if it is SAMMI spec or not. After that, you will only need to neck size the brass in the future.

Again, this is not an uncommon problem at all. As several have suggested, if you have any concerns, have a competent smith check it out.

Factory ammo or reloads?

Did you try chambering brass sized WITHOUT necksizer button? To tight and could ber pulling neck/shoulder junction forwared slightly.

If you are sure its not neck hitting end of your chamber AND you will only shoot reloads Then just face off bottom of your dies 0.002.

Otherwise run a reamer in a couple of thousands so that factory rounds will feed.

404,

Presume you were using factory loads. If not, try some. If you have the problem with factory loads, go to a real gunsmith (see 450's post above).

Do not mess with your dies (if you have any) until your rifle is OK and you know what is going on.

Do not run a reamer into your chamber. That is gunsmith work.

Just my opinion, but I'd hate to see you screw up your gear listening to every swinging dick on the 'net. Go to the pro.

Don't discount incorrect ammo. I was just out this weekend shooting a friend's 505 Gibbs and an entire box of custom commercial 505 would not chamber. It came from a company known for good work normally. Another brand was just fine.

Thanks for your suggestions gentlemen,I appreciate your help. I was using my own loads for the rifle, I have no factory loads. I will try resizing without the expander buttor in. I slipped an unloaded but freshly resized round onto the bolt face them put the bolt into the rifle. Still does the same thing. I will try to more fully fully resize my brass as the ones I originally shot in this rifle have difficulty chambering. Looks like a trip to Enid is in order.