Rem 700 - chamber out of spec ?(

[Piney]

i recently acquired a Rem 700 .270 built in 2005. The gun has only had 40 or 50 rounds through it in that time. I started working up some handloads & realized new brass (Norma & Hornady) are very difficult to chamber. Most factory loads require a fair amount of bolt cam as well. The ones that don't have about .002 less headspace (as measured at datum).
My full length body die won't bump the shoulders on these cases regardless of setup. I shouldn't need to bump the shoulder on factory brass anyway in a SAAMI chamber. Once fired cases from factory ammo size no problem & they chamber fine. Any advice on die setup- I've tried adjusting the die from shellholder contact all the way down & it won't touch the new brass ?
I'm assuming this rifle was improperly reamed and/or headspaced. I'm thinking about a thicker recoil lug to buy me a little headspace before going all in & doing a set back, rechamber etc...Also, is it possible the chamber needs honing or polishing? If the gun didn't have sentimental value I would just build a custom on the action & be done with it.
Any input greatly appreciated....

 

[kendog]

Start with a head space check on the rifle. That will tell you which way to go towards a remedy. Maybe its the gun, maybe the dies.

 

[ROCKJAG4]

Start with a head space check on the rifle. That will tell you which way to go towards a remedy. Maybe its the gun, maybe the dies.

SHOULD THE HEADSPACE check out ok., try another die to see if that helps.if not try taking .002 off the die until it fits.
another way to check is, to put a feeler gauge under the base of the shell in the shell holder, to see if that helps before u cut ant off your die.
make sure u remove the expander rod fully to try this.

 

[Riesel]

Sounds like it is on the tight end of go gauge tolerance....like .001. Double check the bolt face and extractor to make sure they are clean and don't look like they are binding. From your comments I'm thinking you have an all factory 700, I would probably shave a thou off the bolt face for that teeny bit of room. Only do this after I tried all the ideas above ^^^^^^

 

[savagedasher]

Sounds like it is on the tight end of go gauge tolerance....like .001. Double check the bolt face and extractor to make sure they are clean and don't look like they are binding. From your comments I'm thinking you have an all factory 700, I would probably shave a thou off the bolt face for that teeny bit of room. Only do this after I tried all the ideas above ^^^^^^

I would have the head space checked . But don't mess with the bolt face Larry

 

[Piney]

Thanks for the suggestions. Wish I had a gunsmith nearby to run a check on headspace. I agree with the .001 off... It's close. Some factory rounds chamber fine & others cam a good deal. New brass is the worst. The Redding body die doesn't have an expander or decapper. It does FLS though. I've tried the competition shellholders & everything & neither Hornady nor Norma new brass will size at all. The once fired cases (factory ammo) showed no difference in headspace from unfired...that was my first red flag. Would a small base die help out here ?
I realize I can load down & just fire form the cases as is but I'm leery having to cam the bolt that hard....

 

[kendog]

This is simple stuff. If the head space is tight, just run a reamer in by hand to get it right. If the head space is good, check and see if the throat is cut Maybe the "smith" used a body reamer and didn't throat it. (dont laugh, I have seen this happen), After that, check to see if your press/shell holder/die combo is sizing the case enough. It must set the shoulder back. If it doesn't, trim the die so it works in your setup. It's OK to have a die cut short, one should use an ammunition gauge to set it anyway. Lyman, Forster, and Wilson sell them. Small base dies are gimmicks made up for Rem 740's, Win 100's and sporting BAR's, and other wimpy, low bolt carrier ratio semi autos. You don't need them. If you dont have a smith near, ship the barreled action to one to have it checked. Or buy the gauges and peddle them on ebay when you are done. Actually they are not bad to have around as they cover several chambers. Where are you located? I'll check it for you, USPS Priority is only two days away. Leave the bolt face alone.

 

[hogpatrol]

Borescope it and see if it's got a heavy carbon ring. It shouldn't but unless it can be absolutely verified to the low round count, anything is possible.

 

[Piney]

Thanks Kendog, I already made an appointment with a guy in Houston (Roberts Precision) to have the rifle inspected & probably accurized depending on his findings. He does really good work & specializes in Remington 700's & bench rest rifles. Think 3 of his rifles are in the top 50 competitors currently. He built me a 25-06 that is scary accurate.

 

[boltfluter]

You are in good hands with Aaron from Robert's Precision. Straight up guy and great Smith. Keep us posted on your findings.

Regards, Paul

www.boltfluting.com

 

[kendog]

You never know what the problem may be. It's hard to see it on the internet! I have seen at least two rifles with chamber/bolt misalignment that gauged good but would not close properly on a cartridge. One was a 1903 that I opened the bolt face radially about .004" and the other was a factory new Rem 700 PSS that the chamber was .025" off center in the barrel. That one went back to Rem. Tell us what your smith finds out, other than it needs accurizing work. Of course it will! ;-)

 

[Riesel]

Piney, is this a factory Remington 700? If it is, your smith should be able to hand ream the little bit so a cartridge will chamber. Be sure to take some of the brass that you have resized to use as a reference. Personally, I can't get all worked up "accurizing" a .270 but I would like for it to chamber cartridges. Yes, do keep us posted on the results.

 

[Piney]

Yea, Aaron does top notch work. The rifle is factory & has sentimental value, otherwise I would re-barrel it to an AI. It will be next week before I can get the rifle to him but I will post results as soon as he finishes with it. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[fguffey]

My full length body die won't bump the shoulders on these cases regardless of setup. I shouldn't need to bump the shoulder on factory brass anyway in a SAAMI chamber. Once fired cases from factory ammo size no problem & they chamber fine. Any advice on die setup- I've tried adjusting the die from shellholder contact all the way down & it won't touch the new brass

My cases do not have head space and I find it most difficult to bump the shoulder back on a case, more times than not the shoulder on my cases do not move, that is because my dies have case body support. But when I find my die and shell holder will not shorten the distance from the shoulder of the case to the case head I have to reduce the distance from the deck of the shell holder to the shoulder of the die. Meaning: The die and shell holder will reduce the length of the case from the shoulder t the case to minimum length, AKA as full length sizing.


To increases the shell holder and dies ability to reduce the length of the case from the case head to the shoulder I raise the case head off of the deck of the shell holder with a feeler gage. I can shorten the length of a case from the shoulder to the case head .011". To get an ideal what that means the shell holder and die should reduce the case in length from the shoulder of the case to the case head .005"; that is .005" shorter than a go-gage length chamber. When the .005" is added to the .011" the case is sized to fit a very short chamber. And then there is the remote chance the case has resistance to sizing, adding the feeler gage between the deck of the shell holder increases the presses' ability to overcome the cases ability to resist sizing.



F. Guffey

 

[Piney]

Thanks Guffy that's a great idea. I tried the competition shellholders with no luck. I need to break down & get a set of feeler gauges as I'm sure I'll need them in the future...

 

[DaveTooley]

Many times there can be an interference fit at the junction of the neck and shoulder. Each will have a different radius. Since you only have problems with new brass I'll bet that's your problem. Mark a case with a magic marker and chamber it. I'll bet you have a shiny ring around the neck shoulder junction.

 

[Piney]

Many times there can be an interference fit at the junction of the neck and shoulder. Each will have a different radius. Since you only have problems with new brass I'll bet that's your problem. Mark a case with a magic marker and chamber it. I'll bet you have a shiny ring around the neck shoulder junction.

i was thinking the interference could be at the body/shoulder junction. I just fired a couple of factory rounds & the datum line measurement was .001 longer than the problem brass....the problem is above or below that. I'll try the sharpie thing again..

 

[Piney]

Yep, I needed a magnifying glass but there is definitely contact at the body / shoulder junction. Didn't see any contact at the neck / shoulder.
Could this be a burr in the chamber or a poor reaming job ?

 

[yotehater]

Lapping the locking lugs can get you a little.

 

[hoz53]

Lapping the locking lugs can get you a little.

i have a rem 700 now that wont close on a go gauge. My dies will just size the shoulder back enough if i set them to camover. im not going to just run a reamer in to deepen the chamber because the chamber is cut very crooked. So if I rechamber i need to bore the old chamber out concentric with the bore. The barrel tapers quickly so there is just barely enough room to do this. FYI