• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

7mm brass won't chamber in gun (New Guy)

I am just beginning to reload my own 7mm rounds after "building" a 7mm Rem Mag rifle. I have once-fired, nickel-plated brass and I have once-fired brass that I purchased online. I have purchased everything I have read about online to start this process and I'm now the proud owner of LOTS of new, top of the line, 7mm reloading "toys." Today I started the process by cleaning the brass pieces that I was going to start with and realized that the ONLY brass that will chamber in my rifle are new rounds (Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 150gr). My once-fired rounds that I have fired through my rifle (same Silvertips) will not chamber, also my newly purchased, once-fired brass will not chamber either. I have read that I should not FL resize once-fired brass that was fired through my rifle because it has been "fire formed" to my chamber. And when I took a micrometer to the once-fired brass versus the new, out of the box round, there is a significant difference in the case-width by a few thousandths (indicating it is, in fact, fire-formed to my rifle's chamber). I'm new at this and I don't know whether I should start by attempting to resize the shoulder down a few thousandths at a time or if I should start by trimming the case mouth?? ANY help would be greatly appreciated. And I mean ANY help. I'm swimming upstream here :)
 
Who fitted & chambered your barrel?

Can you post a pic of the headstamps on the brass that won’t chamber?
 
Always everytime FL size the brass. If you just backed off the FL die and sized a portion of the neck you actually lengthen the case. Think about squeezing a tube of toothpaste in the middle. It flows both directions. Your shoulder moved forward. Take your expander ball while you adjust your FL die. Creep down with the FL die until you feel it touch the shoulder of the case. It will be a firm increase in pressure on the press handle. Check that case in your rifle. It will probably take another 1/8 of a turn to push the shoulder back far enough to have easy insertion. On a hunting rifle I'm not concerned about over working the brass. First it has to function.
 
Did you headspace the rifle?
I watched and helped as my buddy (gunsmith) did most of the real work on the gun. We did the glass-bedding on the stock together and he did the trigger for me. He said we did not headspace the gun, but we checked it and it’s less than 2 thousands (< 0.002in).
 
Last edited:
Who fitted & chambered your barrel?

Can you post a pic of the headstamps on the brass that won’t chamber?
My buddy and I worked on the gun. I helped glass-bed in the stock, he worked the trigger, I helped mount the scope, he did other work on it, etc. However, the barrel was factory seated and never removed. He said, "...It was recrowned with a target crown." Again, this is outside of my scope of knowledge. I've attached the pics of the brass that will not chamber. Thanks again for the help.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2240.JPG
    IMG_2240.JPG
    200.6 KB · Views: 132
  • IMG_2241.JPG
    IMG_2241.JPG
    186.8 KB · Views: 119
Last edited:
Where ever that reading material came from that said you shouldn't FL size brass that was fired in your rifle ,throw it away .....Lube that brass up and FL size it in a properly adjusted FL sizing die . If it doesn't chamber then ? Report back to us .
Good to know. I'm throwing it away now! lol. I'm gaining knowledge on precision rifle reloading from YouTube and this forum and rapidly learning that this forum is going to have to be my go-to source. YouTube is the equivalent of trying to get rich via an email from a Nigerian Prince!!!
 
I have had very bad experiences with nickel cases
Trying to find some older brass to use that has been fired through my rifle. I don't think I've put 25 rounds (total) through this gun in the 15 years I've owned it. I spent a lot of time deployed and very little time hunting. Now that I have the opportunity to shoot/hunt I'm finally making it a one-of-a-kind gun. Thanks for the info. If I can't find true brass around the house then I'll buy some and shoot it to fire-form it. Thanks again for the help and info.
 
Trying to find some older brass to use that has been fired through my rifle. I don't think I've put 25 rounds (total) through this gun in the 15 years I've owned it. I spent a lot of time deployed and very little time hunting. Now that I have the opportunity to shoot/hunt I'm finally making it a one-of-a-kind gun. Thanks for the info. If I can't find true brass around the house then I'll buy some and shoot it to fire-form it. Thanks again for the help and info.
I have a few mabey 80 or more I don’t kno how many fireing the have some are primed I will sell
 
Awesome you got the answers you needed...I only asked if you headspaced it in the event it was a Savage type barrel and you got it headspaced too tight...and since.you said it was screwed on by the factory, as others stated, full length resize and go shoot it!
 
Do they chamber without a bullet seated?
The first one or two firings they headspace on the belt....after that it is the shoulder.
 
Everyone, THANK YOU. I appreciate the info. Please keep all the info/links/data coming. I now have reloading "stuff" strewn from the living room, to my reloading room, to the back bedroom. I have placed two online orders today for pieces/parts I realized I'm not in possession of (i.e. 7mm shell holder, etc) and downloaded the latest Hornady Reloading Manual. Apparently, I am doing this project from Step 20 - backwards to Step 1, in that I don't even have a shell holder to start my process but I have dies, powder, calipers, etc!!!! But I'm slowly getting there and with everyone's info, links, videos and suggestions, I'm well on my way. Again, thank you gentlemen. Keep it coming!! V/R, Daniel
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,370
Messages
2,217,354
Members
79,565
Latest member
kwcabin3
Back
Top