243 not sure if over pressure or not

[Bkrips]

I'm building up a 243 round with h4831 and I'm getting a mark on the case head from the ejector pin. Also have makings on my bolt head just looking for some direction as to where I'm going wrong or if there's anything wrong at all. I have a few pics of the issues

 

[Bill Norris]

That head stamp does look a little warm to me. U might want to back off alittle and give it another try.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

It looks like there might be a small problem with an uneven area on the bolt face itself causing it. I say that because your primer shows no flattening. Probably not over pressure. Is it a max load ? Chronograph comes in handy for checking speed compared to what is expected. What bullet ? How much powder ? What gun is it ?

 

[Bkrips]

With that case I'm at 45.3 grns 0.2 off max according to hornady. I'm shooting 100 grn hornady spires. I'm seeing that little circle all the way down to 43 grn. now that I really check my brass. Higher the load more the circle is visible. Case body and neck show no signs of over pressure at all.

 

[uncle-buck]

I shoot that bullet .010" off the lands in a .243 hunting barrel with 43.2 gr. of H4831SC. MV is 2915 fps and is super accurate. Why push it so hard? You're gaining 150 fps, but may be wearing out your barrel and brass a lot faster.

 

[Bkrips]

I'll definitely keep that in mind, good point I'm not really gaining that much velocity. I'm fairly new to reloading and was just playing around trying to find my most accurate load. Funny enough 43.2 gr. Was my tightest group. Is it safe to say my brass with the ejector marks is all toast?

 

[uncle-buck]

I don't know for sure, but think it's probably ok. Better wait for someone else to reply.

 

[LC Tikka]

Isn't that powder slow for a 243?
LC

 

[gman47564]

That mark is a pretty good sign your over pressure.. how was bolt lift.. little heavier than normal?

 

[DaveTooley]

Isn't that powder slow for a 243?
LC

Not with a 100 gr. bullet.

 

[DaveTooley]

As long as your brass will reliably hold a primer it's still good.
You did exceed the yield point for that lot of brass. Thus the ejector pin mark.

 

[Twicepop]

I had a Remington 700 that left similar marks in the brass no matter how stiff it was loaded. I took a new (sharp) drill bit that was slightly larger than the ejector hole and chamfered the hole. A light twist and the sharp edge was removed, and no more marks on the brass after that.

 

[divingin]

It looks like there might be a small problem with an uneven area on the bolt face itself causing it. I say that because your primer shows no flattening.

I don't see a whole lot of radius left on the primer edge; not horrible, but not ideal either. No cratering at the firing pin mark, though. The ejector mark is kind of telling, but may be indicative of other problems. Hard to say if there's a problem or not without knowing more details, but 2 indications would have me looking closer.

 

[Bkrips]

That mark is a pretty good sign your over pressure.. how was bolt lift.. little heavier than normal?

Bolt lift was normal, when I first saw it I though it was a sign of over pressure but I looked back at my brass and was still seeing the mark down at 43 grn which is less than half way to max according to hornady

 

[jackieschmidt]

That mark is a pretty good sign your over pressure.. how was bolt lift.. little heavier than normal?

agreed. That mark means you are pushing metal into the space, as the bolt opens, the bolt face swipes it.

back off a little.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

I'm building up a 243 round with h4831 and I'm getting a mark on the case head from the ejector pin. Also have makings on my bolt head just looking for some direction as to where I'm going wrong or if there's anything wrong at all. I have a few pics of the issues

There is virtually no flattening of the primer, i have seen factory ammo with much, much more flattening. Even more than my reload's at max. So i think it's a surface area uneven problem around the ejector. Ps. I highly recommend R26 as it is like magic in my guns.

 

[sqrlgtr]

Higher the load more the circle is visible.

Looks like an ejector swipe with primer getting flat to me.If it where mine I would call it high pressure and back off....

 

[jsn]

That is the max load per Hornady 7th Edition, but Hodgdon shows 42gr as a max load for 100gr jacketed bullets.

What does the throat look like--freebore, some erosion to the lands, massive erosion, or lands ending abruptly and sharply at the neck?

 

[J F Johannes]

Nobody has mentioned a headspace issue yet. When I fireform new Lapua cases for my FTR rifle, which are about .006 -.008 short, if I don’t jam the bullets or create a false shoulder the case head slams the bolt face and leaves ejector marks. This can cause long term problems ie case head separation. @Bkrips how are you sizing your brass, are you sure you are not pushing the shoulder back too far? Are you fireforming or using brass from another rifle?

Jim

 

[Walt Schmidlin]

Hodgdon says 42.0gr max for a 100gr bullet in a .243W