Clickers - Fixed!

[rijndael]

In my other thread, you all helped me figure out that my Bisley chambered .308 was having clickers because my fired brass was measuring .4700" at the .200" line, but sized brass was .4695". That .0005" wasn't enough.

There were a few suggestions, like sending it back so it can be fixed correctly in a lathe, which I wanted to avoid because of shipping costs. There were other suggestions, like a dowel and sandpaper - spinning in a drill. Elsewhere, someone mentioned a flex hone.

I tried the dowel, but didn't really like doing it that way, it felt too imprecise. It was probably my technique. I then bought a 12mm (.472") Silicon Carbide 320 grit flex hone from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XUL0CW

After 20'ish seconds of spinning and moving it back and forth, I seem to have taken off about .0005" and the problem has been solved. My fired brass is now .4705".

Thanks for all of the pointers. This $20 fix was cheaper than shipping, and more importantly, I can fix it the next time too.

 

[Judd]

Congrats, glad you got it fixed…definitely an aggravating problem to have. I had a 6brx that I had to do that too.

 

[Wiresguy]

What are Clickers? Not anything I have ever heard of. Not trying to be a wise guy, or anything, just never heard the term before.

 

[rijndael]

The bolt "clicks" at the top of the opening stroke. It's where the bolt handle is positively engages the extraction cam on the action. It's often a sign of excessive load pressure, but not always.

 

[Wiresguy]

Thanks! There's always something new to learn.

 

[butchlambert]

I take an old die and cut about .100" off the bottom, then drill out the shoulder to allow the brass to go further in the die. I keep this in my loading box if I have trouble. It allows you to size further down on your brass.

 

[rijndael]

I take an old die and cut about .100" off the bottom, then drill out the shoulder to allow the brass to go further in the die. I keep this in my loading box if I have trouble. It allows you to size further down on your brass.

I wish I had the tools to do this.

 

[Fast14riot]

I take an old die and cut about .100" off the bottom, then drill out the shoulder to allow the brass to go further in the die. I keep this in my loading box if I have trouble. It allows you to size further down on your brass.

I have an older RCBS 45acp die gutted I use like a ring die for any 308/30-06 based cases.

 

[butchlambert]

I wish I had the tools to do this.

Drill motor, drill, and a hacksaw.

 

[rijndael]

Drill motor, drill, and a hacksaw.

The Forester die laughed at my hacksaw, it also laughed at a fresh Milwaukee blade in a Sawzall.

I found a smith who'll modify it for me, I'm going that route.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I take an old die and cut about .100" off the bottom, then drill out the shoulder to allow the brass to go further in the die. I keep this in my loading box if I have trouble. It allows you to size further down on your brass.

I made a similar die

 

[Dolomite]

In my other thread, you all helped me figure out that my Bisley chambered .308 was having clickers because my fired brass was measuring .4700" at the .200" line, but sized brass was .4695". That .0005" wasn't enough.

There were a few suggestions, like sending it back so it can be fixed correctly in a lathe, which I wanted to avoid because of shipping costs. There were other suggestions, like a dowel and sandpaper - spinning in a drill. Elsewhere, someone mentioned a flex hone.

I tried the dowel, but didn't really like doing it that way, it felt too imprecise. It was probably my technique. I then bought a 12mm (.472") Silicon Carbide 320 grit flex hone from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XUL0CW?tag=accuratescom-20

After 20'ish seconds of spinning and moving it back and forth, I seem to have taken off about .0005" and the problem has been solved. My fired brass is now .4705".

Thanks for all of the pointers. This $20 fix was cheaper than shipping, and more importantly, I can fix it the next time too.

@rijndael Did you run the hone all the way into the chamber or just the base area? did you run the honing tool fast or slow? I'm having the same issue.

 

[ricco1949]

@rijndael Did you run the hone all the way into the chamber or just the base area? did you run the honing tool fast or slow? I'm having the same issue.

My 20 VT reamer is tight in the last 1/3 of the chamber with LC brass.

I use a 10mm flex hone with lots of cutting lube at 600 rpm in the lathe to remedy it.

I concentrate on the back 1/3 but also running it to just short of the shoulder to make sure there's a smooth transition.

It leaves a nice finish.

 

[rijndael]

@rijndael Did you run the hone all the way into the chamber or just the base area? did you run the honing tool fast or slow? I'm having the same issue.

@Dolomite - Thx for the PM. I don't hang around here anymore, so it got my attention. I'll reply here in case it helps others.

I ran the length of the chamber body, but I favored time at the base by 2x or 3x. I didn't want to run it just in the base because I didn't want to get a lip, even if we're not really removing a lot of material.

I used a Milwaukee M18 drill, the top speed selector was on the slower setting. Definitely not super fast, but not super slow either. It took 20-30s to get a fix, so it's not removing material fast. And, it might take 2 attempts to remove enough to help your issue.