6 dasher hard to close bolt

[enrique]

1. Use redding imperial sizing wax
2. It should be easy to size or you are doing something wrong
3. Have another reloader in your area come out and check your process or go over to their place.
I personally use Wilson sizing dies for all my reloads and they work great! If they don’t work then your gunsmith likely performed a poor chambering job and/or bad reamer

 

[William Vogel]

I was going to say that the reamer may have been used to make too many chambers and needs to be replaced or sent back to be touched up. The shoulder/body junction on the reamer might be worn and cutting too much radius profile. To me that’s the toughest cut the reamer makes and would explain having to bump the shoulder more. The brass would show the lack of a crisp corner after several firings when the shoulder typically gets sharp.

 

[Janeau]

Get rid of the Alpha brass unless you want your gun rechambered with their reamer.
Alpha have chosen to get a reamer out instead of fixing their brass. Its not all the gun that Alpha brass not working in - but in my book it should.
The fact they got a reamer out to fix the issues - is that there is enough people having problems, that their fix was to get the customer to pay for it by buying a reamer and modify their gun.

There is no way I will ever get my gun- any of them - chambered for a specific brand of brass. Alpha is out for me.

 

[Ackman]

Not enough information here. Is this fired brass, and fired only in that chamber? if so how long ago. I've measured Alpha 6BR, 6BRA, and Dasher at the .200 line and it's exactly the same as new gold box Lapua, actually about .001 smaller.. If the stuff chambered fine new, it ain't the brass. If it's been fired in a different chamber, well......About if the brass sat for awhile before rechambering........after shooting Lapua 6BR,in a chamber done with my reamer,, about a year later the brass wouldn't chamber all the way, bolt wouldn't begin to close. Some measuring, and the .200 line was unchanged, it was the the shoulder diameter had sprung back. FL sizing fixed that. A couple of the other posters mentioned the chamber, I ithink that's right. But again, really not enough information. Some people are quick to blame Alpha. But reamers aren't always what they're supposed to be, I got a 22-204 reamer that was cut undersized and a case wouldn't chamber.....it was a screwup. And some reamer prints say "dimensions are to +/- .001. That's too much.

 

[Ackman]

Thinking about it, more clearly, I don't see how a case could be fired and come out of the chamber needing an .008-.010 bump. Doesn't add up.

 

[Rich S]

As others said take measurements of fired and sized brass. I’d say your sizing die is close but not sizing quite enough. 0.010 further bump of the shoulder shouldn’t make much difference in the body diameter sizing. I’d measure at 200, shoulder and neck. Fired dimensions will likely be about 0.001 under chamber dimensions. If you have a borescope also check the clearance at the end of the neck with a piece of brass chambered. I’d also color a piece of brass with a shoulder bump of 0.002” with a sharpy. Chamber that piece several times as much as possible without sticking it. You should have a visual where it’s tight. Harrels has reasonable priced bushing dies that they will match to you chamber if you send them fire formed brass.

 

[Taterracing7575]

Run them through a Small Base 308 body die before sizing with the dasher fl die and I bet your problems will be gone.