New gun with new ammo and have zero headspace change after firing?

[Bart B.]

Get a GO headspace gauge for your cartridge then zero your Hornady case headspace tool on it. Then case headspace measurement will be the reading plus that of the headspace gauge.

If it reads -.002" then the case is .002" shorter than the gauge.

 

[_Raining]

So I understand why people say it may not need to be bumped after the first firing and may take a couple firing for it to grow to the max length. But I don't understand how that applies to the OP who said his Virgin Brass is the same as his once fired brass, that sounds like there is no growth happening at all and thus is already at max dimension.

 

[joshb]

Ok. How to strip a Tikka bolt:
This is an old 695. No worries! They’re all the same. T3, CTR, 595, etc.
Position bolt like this:

Grab the firing pin assembly and rotate it clockwise till it stops.(push top away from you.) Pull cover off.(It just slides to the right)

Find an Allen wrench that fits loosely into the square hole between the firing pin shaft and the cocking arm.


Grab the firing pin assembly holding the wrench in place, and rotate it counter clockwise until it falls into the big indent. It will close on the wrench. This releases pressure on the handle.

 

[joshb]

Push the handle out with your thumb. Some are tighter than others so you may have to wiggle the firing pin assembly while you push harder. It’ll come.

Once the handle is out, the firing pin assembly will slide out. You can put the handle back in to use the bolt to check brass and “bullet in the lands”. Without the pressure of the firing pin assembly, it may be loose and fall out. Don’t let it hit the concrete!



To put it back together, just reverse the process. When you need to rotate the assembly clockwise to get the cover back on, the Allen wrench gives you the leverage. Rotate clockwise until it stops, slide the cover back on, then rotate it counter clockwise until the cocking arm falls into the small locating indent.


You’re done! See? Easy peezy!

 

[Richard Coody]

So I understand why people say it may not need to be bumped after the first firing and may take a couple firing for it to grow to the max length. But I don't understand how that applies to the OP who said his Virgin Brass is the same as his once fired brass, that sounds like there is no growth happening at all and thus is already at max dimension.

well if that fired brass chambers easily that would be a wonderful thing. brass that doesn't grow.

sometimes you find that after the first firing the base to shoulder datum measurement is actually shorter than an unfired case.

at any rate until fired brass is tight chambering there is no need for a shoulder bump. set your die up to bump the shoulder before it is fully fireformed and you have shortened the life of that brass considerably.

 

[Uncle Ed]

I would not have a new reloader take apart his bolt to check case feel on chambering. Because as the brass is repeatedly fired the brass will get harder and spring back more. Meaning the initial feel method will change as the brass ages.

The OP has a Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge and can measure a fired case and a resized case and this is all he needs right now. Also if the OP buys a new resizing die everything can change in the sizing process.

If the OP can not bump his case shoulders back he might have a skinny chamber and a fat die or a bad shell holder. Meaning the die is not reducing the case diameter enough to squeeze the shoulder forward.

Therefore he either buys a stuck case remover and checks his shell holder. Then place a .020 feeler gauge between the die and shell holder until he feels resistance closing the bolt and then work down in feeler gauge thickness.

Or if he buys a new die he will be starting over and we do not know what the OP runs into.

KISS - Keep it simple stupid....................we have a new reloader and need to keep it simple.

 

[CharlieNC]

To properly size your brass, you need to define the chamber spec vs arbitrarily bumping brass. A simple method to measure the "zero headspace" is to partially insert a primer into empty brass, chamber, and gently close bolt to finish seating the primer. Remove and measure comparator to primer to obtain the zero headspace. Size brass .001 to .003, or as you wish, shorter than the zero headspace. No logic in arbitrarily chasing a moving target.

 

[Uncle Ed]

To properly size your brass, you need to define the chamber spec vs arbitrarily bumping brass. A simple method to measure the "zero headspace" is to partially insert a primer into empty brass, chamber, and gently close bolt to finish seating the primer. Remove and measure comparator to primer to obtain the zero headspace. Size brass .001 to .003, or as you wish, shorter than the zero headspace. No logic in arbitrarily chasing a moving target.

Where have I heard this method before?????

Measure a new or resized case from the case mouth to the base of the case, and write it down.

Now using a fired spent primer that is flat across it base start the primer into the primer pocket just using your fingers.

Now chamber the case and let the bolt face seat the primer and remove the case.

Now measure the case again from the base of the primer to the case mouth and write it down.

Now subtract the first case measurement from the second and this is your head clearance or the air space between the bolt face and the rear of the case. On a resized case the head clearance should match the amount of shoulder bump of the resizing dies setting.

And if you have a Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge and measure from the base of the seated primer this will be your chambers actual headspace measurment. And from this measurment you adjust the die for the amount of shoulder bump needed. And this method does not require taking the bolt apart and then going by feel closing the bolt on a resized case.

P.S. The fingers in the photos belong to me and have been posting this method for over 20 years.
And I call it the cheap bastards headspace gauge method. And most cartridges have .010 between the GO gauge and the Field reject gauge.

 

[CharlieNC]

Yep I read this method around 10 years ago, kudos to whomever originated it. This is the first measurement I take on a new rifle/barrel.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Yep I read this method around 10 years ago, kudos to whomever originated it. This is the first measurement I take on a new rifle/barrel.

You must be almost as smart, good looking and modest as I am.

 

[CharlieNC]

You must be almost as smart, good looking and modest as I am.

Well I'm certainly old enough and have my first and only wife for nearly 50 years now! So at least doing something right.

 

[noobie]

Good Morning,
If I may chime in"
number 1
Please do not attempt to strip a Tikka bolt, if you make a mistake it's near impossible to get it back together!
Number 2 I believe Tikka has a Euro CIP chamber not SAMMI
number 3- get a Wilson case gauge
Number 4 learn how to use it
Number-5 you haven't mentioned getting a case stuck, not sure were that came from, how did you ruin a heat treated , case harden Die ? I can't even do that.
Number-6 there's easy ways to set up Dies and then there is the interweb ways.
BTW welcome

Well ruined the die isn't the word. The case is stuck in it and won't come out. Was using the imperial lube. This was just case of lowering the die way too much trying to get the shoulder to bump. It was not going to bump period. The case is smaller than the minimum.

 

[joshb]

“On a resized case the head clearance should match the amount of shoulder bump of the resizing dies setting.”

Hmmmmm. I’m not in that boat.

 

[divingin]

Well ruined the die isn't the word. The case is stuck in it and won't come out. Was using the imperial lube. This was just case of lowering the die way too much trying to get the shoulder to bump. It was not going to bump period. The case is smaller than the minimum.

Get a stuck case remover. They're around $20, I think. As long as you some meat left in the case head, you thread the case head, and use a screw and spacer to draw the case out.

You can make your own with a #7 drill bit, a 1/4-20 tap, a 5/8" nut (larger may work as well, as long as it catches the die but not the case), a 1" to 1.5" 1/4-20 cap screw, and a couple of 1/4" flat washers (you may need fender washers if using a larger nut.)

Procedure: Remove the die from the press and secure in a vise. Back out the decapping rod as much as possible. Drill and tap through the primer pocket (try and make sure you get all the way through.) Place the nut over the case head. Put the flat washers on the cap screw, put the cap screw through the nut, and thread into the case. Keep cranking to draw the case out.

Good luck!

 

[Bc'z]

Well ruined the die isn't the word. The case is stuck in it and won't come out. Was using the imperial lube. This was just case of lowering the die way too much trying to get the shoulder to bump. It was not going to bump period. The case is smaller than the minimum.

STUCK CASE REMOVER!!
It's really rather simple, as the lube is still between case and die.
Screw die in press from bottom of frame so as case head is facing up.
Drill out primer pocket and tap hole. With a tap matching the thread pitch of bolt to be used. Place a socket over die I installed a washer over top of socket so as bolt head has something to get purchase.
As you tighten bolt case WILL COME OUT.
It cannot resist the force of the screw.
You may need a new decapping rod as i vent mine using less than intelligent method trying to remove case.
You can cut case open to retrieve expander button if you were using one.
Trust me it's simple, just keep drill bit and tap straight.

 

[Bc'z]

Get a stuck case remover. They're around $20, I think. As long as you some meat left in the case head, you thread the case head, and use a screw and spacer to draw the case out.

You can make your own with a #7 drill bit, a 1/4-20 tap, a 5/8" nut (larger may work as well, as long as it catches the die but not the case), a 1" to 1.5" 1/4-20 cap screw, and a couple of 1/4" flat washers (you may need fender washers if using a larger nut.)

Procedure: Remove the die from the press and secure in a vise. Back out the decapping rod as much as possible. Drill and tap through the primer pocket (try and make sure you get all the way through.) Place the nut over the case head. Put the flat washers on the cap screw, put the cap screw through the nut, and thread into the case. Keep cranking to draw the case out.

Good luck!

Ya beat me to it.
But repetition creates perfection!

 

[JFrank]

Well ruined the die isn't the word. The case is stuck in it and won't come out. Was using the imperial lube. This was just case of lowering the die way too much trying to get the shoulder to bump. It was not going to bump period. The case is smaller than the minimum.

Sounds like a Hornday F/L sizer

Did you brush out the inside of the necks prior to sizing?

Someone will be along shortly with pictures and arrows.

 

[JFrank]

I honestly thought of jamming a case in a die and doing a step by step for him.
But I think it'd be easier to just YouTube it.
That's how I learnt.

You sure could however
should he ever use that Die again? Or just move on like the rest of us did.

 

[JFrank]

I had one so tight one time I cracked the butcher block the press was mounted to.
I went a different direction after that.
Addendum- I doubt your new Dies will ever do that

 

[Riesel]

Well OP, are you learning anything??