Headspace question.

[MOO1072]

My .308 Norma Magnum rifle project is finally complete. I collected the rifle from the smith yesterday and I am very happy with the job.

I've formed up some cases using virgin .300 win mag brass sized down in a .308 Norma FL sizing die and then trimmed to length.

One thing I did notice is that the cases when chambered were a tight fit. I like a little more room in a hunting rifle and rather than back the barrel out a few thou, could this issue be resolved by taking a few thou off the top of the shell holder?

Are there shell holders available that allow you to adjust headspace this way?

Thanks, Moo.

 

[tdboomer]

I believe Redding makes 'competition' shellholders that are different thickness; from 2 to 10 thousands. A set of five are less that $50.00. Check their website or any of the suppliers. I got mine for the 308 on ebay.

 

[Preacher]

You can trim the shell holder down, or trim the base of the die a little........

 

[Cheechako]

Moo

Don't be in such a hurry to modify dies and/or shellholders. First, find out why your brass is a tight fit. Then, correct whatever it is that is the cause.

Ray

 

[JayIdaho]

Are you sure that your brass is trimmed short enough for the Norma chamber?

The Redding "special" shellholders are THICKER than normal. So, they do NOT bump the shoulder back as far as a regular shellholder permits.

I'd try some 308 Norma cases before I modified my die or shellholder.

 

[MOO1072]

Thanks for the replies. They're all good advice.

I suspect that the rifle was smithed with a close to min spec headspace and I believe the issue of tight chambering is a result of brass elasticity issues in the when case forming using the virgin .300win brass.

To test this I necked down some .338 Win Mag brass. The shoulder on .338 Win is about .025" shorter than the .308 Norma. Sure enough, when chambered the bolt closed significantly easier.

I'm hoping that once I've fire formed my brass and then conducted another sizing operation, the issue may resolve itself.

If not, then given that shell holders are a dime a dozen I might try taking 10 thou off the top of my shell holder rather than run the risk of ruining an expensive die.

In relation to case length, my source,Speer #13) indicates a case length of 65mm and I've trimmed to 64.5mm.

Hope to post some photos of the rifle in the near future.

Thanks
Moo.