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I bought a used custom rifle and noticed the bolt is difficult to close when a round is placed in the chamber. Takes similar effort to chamber a round as you may have ejecting a hot loaded cartridge. I also noticed that the face of the unfired case is marked slightly from the bolt face. I tried two different types of factory ammo and had the same results. The gun has definitely been fired, just not by me. Is this the sign of a tight chamber and do you think the gun is safe to shoot? Will fired rounds be easier to chamber after they are reloaded? Never had this problem before. I am contacting the person I bought it from to get additional info but would like to hear any thoughts. ****************************************************************** R. Lee Ermey: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." ****************************************************************** We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, Which purportedly covers at least ten million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that didn't read it but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a President, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we'll be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke!!!!! 'What the hell could possibly go wrong?' | ||
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Factory or hand loads? does sound like a tight chamber to me. | |||
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These are factory loads, one remington 140 grain and the other is federal 175 grain bullet. ****************************************************************** R. Lee Ermey: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." ****************************************************************** We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, Which purportedly covers at least ten million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that didn't read it but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a President, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we'll be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke!!!!! 'What the hell could possibly go wrong?' | |||
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Sounds like a rifle chamber to the short side of standard. I had one that way in 7STW. Factory ammo was tight like a case that had been fired several times. I filed a little off a shell holder bumped the shoulder and it was fine. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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Make certain that the neck has clearence both radially and laterly. This will cause hard closing, and really boost pressures. Good luck! | |||
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What kind of action is it? If it’s a Mauser or similar CRF you are not supposed to feed rounds except from the magazine so the case head can rise up from below and get under the extractor. | |||
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Rick, Tha action is a Ruger 77. I fed from the Magazine even though it is not necessary. I can hear the extractor slip over the case rim so I don't believe that is the issue. My guess is that the chamber is cut tight. Will this correct itself once the brass has been fired? I know brass will expand but will it contract? ****************************************************************** R. Lee Ermey: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." ****************************************************************** We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, Which purportedly covers at least ten million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that didn't read it but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a President, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we'll be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke!!!!! 'What the hell could possibly go wrong?' | |||
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I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood what you meant. When you said you were having a hard time closing the bolt on a chambered round I assumed that you weren’t feeding from the mag. If it is tight on an unfired case it certainly ain’t gonna get looser after you fire it. | |||
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That's a fact. If it tight only because the headspace is on the short side you can bump the shoulder back a little. As I said might need to file the top of your shell holder or bottom of the die. If it just tight a couple turns with a chamber reamer should fix it as well. As was stated make sure the neck and throat is long enough. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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I can't sit here at the keyboard and say it's ok. Your concerned so take the gun back to the seller and say that you have a problem. If they offer to check the chamber then ok. They may blow you off too and say it's not a problem. If they don't help you then either ask for your money back or take it to a gunsmith to have it checked over. Before you do take it back try to clean the chamber and see if something is in there. A penlight helps a lot. Join the NRA | |||
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I would have my gunsmith check the headspace and if it's on the tight side, AND if it worries you that it's that tight (don't know if you handload or not), have him run a reamer through it and open it up a touch. Problem solved.... MKane160 You can always make more money, you can never make more time...........LLYWD. Have you signed your donor card yet? | |||
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I think it's fairly common for smiths to cut custom chambers to the short side of the SAAMI specs. On another issue, I was having trouble reloading for my three 7.65 Argentine Mausers. I don't know if they were all short chambered, or the Lee, and then Lyman full length dies I used were long. I ended up with a RCBS FL die, and even then the rounds were snug in the chamber; took some pressure to close the bolt. But... contrary to opinions expressed here, once fire formed, and then neck sized, the brass easily fits the chamber. flaco | |||
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Just curious, what caliber is the gun? Too tight of headspace is not dangerous unless you are having to hammer the bolt closed. It is more of an annoyance than anything. For instance, some wildcat chambers are intentionally set up to close tight to hold the case steady during fireforming. Unless the your chamber is a "match" chamber, it is quite possible that the brass could become loose when fired. All there has to be is enough slop in the chamber dimension to allow the brass to form "out". If it does, then that tight case will relax. Anyway, if the gun is other wise safe, and you're only shooting factory stuff, then a gunsmith can adjust the length of the chamber as previously mentioned, or, possibly gain you some clearance by matching and lapping the bolt lugs if that hasn't already been done. Good luck! | |||
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Geez, you ought to get together with the other guy who is having trouble getting his to open... You guys don’t use the same smith do you?  | |||
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