180 VLD loose in neck after seating with tension

[davist]

I am loading for long range hunting for true 7mm WSM .315 neck useing a 209 bushing loaded round is .311 winchester brass anealed after two fireing . Short action loaded round is 3 inches .My problem is when I seat 180 VLD hunting bullet in case with boattail past the neck shoulder junction it is loose . I notesed the bearing surfice is larger adjacent to the boattail than it is in the middle . Is this normal

 

[mr45man]

Some like to refer to the larger portion
of the bearing serface as the "Pressure ring"
Unfortunately some bullets have this ring and some do not.
I think it is a defect and not a feature of some kind unless they are boreriders.
For a hunting round you could lightly crimp them.
John H.

 

[Milo 2.0]

You haven't developed the dreaded donut have you? Inspect your case necks, it should be visible.

 

[expiper]

try a smaller/tighter bushing,,,,no matter what a Redding bushing is marked it is usually .001"/or more smaller,,,measure your sized case neck,,,that will tell you what the "real" bushing size is,,,,that is what matters....this sized dimension should be at least .002" smaller than the "loaded" dia.....it sounds like you arent squeezin em enuff,,,,the "fat" pressure ring is expanding the necks back out and when you push the 'fat' part of the bullet in past the part of the neck they just "resized" the skinny part doesnt hav enuff grip !!!...Roger

 

[Keith Glasscock]

The neck should spring back after the pressure ring goes past. If it doesn't, you might have the necks too soft (over annealed).

What kind of neck tension do you have with a bullet inserted backward? Does the case grip the bullet without the pressure ring passing through?

This info would be helpful in diagnosing the problem.

 

[BoydAllen]

Your necks may be too soft, but, I have found this to happen when cases are not annealed and the pressure ring is below the neck shoulder junction. It was not so much that the bullets were not secure, but that there was a noticeable reduction in the effort needed to finish seating the bullet, as compared to when the pressure ring was in the neck. All in all, I think that lengthening the freebore/throat so that the pressure ring falls within the bottom of the neck is the way to go. Some time back, I helped a friend set up an annealing machine, that had the cases pausing in the flames of two torches for the annealing time. We were trying to make shoulder bump more uniform without giving up much bullet pull, as estimated by force required to seat bullets. By "sneaking up" on our anneal time, we were able to find a time that gave good bump uniformity without softening necks excessively.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Your necks may be too soft, but, I have found this to happen when cases are not annealed and the pressure ring is below the neck shoulder junction...

+1 to what Boyd says. I have a 7WSM (hunting rifle, Winchester brass) and after 3 firings, I have to anneal or the neck tension varies from "won't grip" to "who knows". I've had it happen on Lapua Dasher brass too, after 6 firings without annealing. I dunno if "bigger fire == <something>", maybe it's just the Winchester vs. Lapua brass, but I'd trying anneal some necks to see if that resolves the issue. I anneal after every two firings on all my brass now just to eliminate it as a potential issue.

 

[tclaunch]

lengtheng the freebore/throat so that the pressure ring falls within the bottom of the neck is the way to go.

I have spent more hard earned $ on reamers for this than anything else. This is why the "written in stone" .104" for a Dasher gets me riled up as I hate that freebore for this very reason.

 

[BoydAllen]

When you order a reamer, you can send a dummy round, that has your bullet of choice seated where you want it, to the manufacturer so that he can measure it on his optical comparator and produce a reamer that corresponds to your requirements for freebore length. For an existing chamber that is too short in this area, a throating reamer can be used (very carefully) to lengthen the throat. This is done all the time. While you are at it, if you have access to fired brass, you can size a case with your FL die and use it for the dummy round, and specify the fit that you want in the body. I prefer to use old work hardened brass, that was last fired with a hot load, for this, because it comes out of the die a little larger, and that is the dimension that I want to use for specifying body diameter clearances.

 

[davist]

First i want to thank you gents very much . Boyd i like where my bullets are seated because they fit my wyatts mag and are close to lands .I think I may have over annealed my necks may be to soft . Im going to start over with some new brass and see if that helps I am going to the high country and taking horses on an elk hunt .I would like my bullets to stay in place . what would be a good die for light crimp.

 

[BoydAllen]

Soft necks are probably the problem. I helped a friend with load development and setting up an annealing machine (for more uniform shoulder bump...it worked) for a custom 7mmWSM built on a titanium Remington short action. He shoots 175 SMKs very well with this rig, and his loads are set up to feed from a Remington magazine. He has not had your issues. The rifle is his favorite, and he has several. He used it to take all of his non dangerous game, with no more than one shot, on his last African safari. I am helping his brother build a similar, but slightly heavier rifle based on one of Stiller's clones and the Wyatt box.