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New at reloading need opinion

I did my first rebarrel of a rifle and made it a 25 creed. I have only been reloading for about the past 2 months after slowly acquiring the necessary equipment. I keep running into pressure issues it seems at lower velocity then others. I have been using N555 the last 2 times out. 40gr at coal 2.738 using 127 hammer bulletsat 2710fps. With this bullet I hit lands at 2.749 from what I measure. Although box hornady load fine and they are 2.800 anyways. At 40 gr of 555 I start seeing markings on the brass. Is this something to worry about or do I need to back off? It looks like the ejector is striking I have many more questions but only because I have nobody to ask. Haha
20250819_223957.jpg20250819_223948.jpg
 
if you aren't happy with those speeds i'd recommend lapua brass or switching powders.

judging by your pics and without knowing more details i'd err on the safe side and say you overpressure. please back off that load and be careful sir.

I'd be happy to have a phone chat with you if you'd like in the morning, just shoot me a pm.
 
What action?

On virgin brass the only thing I've found to be consistent to show pressure is stiff bolt lift.

I've had ejector marks on starting loads that were proven to be low pressure.

Your primers are not flat.

Obviously reading pressure signs is very important for safety so tread cautiously and wear good eye protection, but i think you have room to go up with your powder charge.
 
Thanks for the replys I really do appreciate it. I forgot to mention primers are CCI 450. This is a stock remington action. To be honest I'm not sure what speeds to be happy with. This is a 22 inch prefered barrel. Box Hornady ELD-X shot 2770fps if I remember right. I figured if I could find an accurate load around 2750 I would be happy. I have tried H4350 and at 38.5 I started seeing hard bolt lift.
 
Thanks for the replys I really do appreciate it. I forgot to mention primers are CCI 450. This is a stock remington action. To be honest I'm not sure what speeds to be happy with. This is a 22 inch prefered barrel. Box Hornady ELD-X shot 2770fps if I remember right. I figured if I could find an accurate load around 2750 I would be happy. I have tried H4350 and at 38.5 I started seeing hard bolt lift.
do primers always look like that no matter the load?

personally thats alot of ejector for me, alpha brass can be picky in certain chambers. I'd be looking at lapua brass personally, very simple operation to neck down with a basic full length die.
 
do primers always look like that no matter the load?

personally thats alot of ejector for me, alpha brass can be picky in certain chambers. I'd be looking at lapua brass personally, very simple operation to neck down with a basic full length die.
Yes primers pretty much always look like that. New Hornady brass LRP Win primers. Alpha Win primers and now CCI. I did just get some Peterson brass to try. Yeah did I mention i don't know nothing and have nobody to talk to about resizing? Haha.. Will a stock Hornady 25cm die resize 6.5 brass? Or do I need a 6.5 die and bushings?
 
Lots of comments... Do you have a set of go / no-go gauges? Your chamber may be long. There's another thread here talking about primers that look like yours may be the result of oversizing or too long a chamber.
Do you get the same result with the "box Hornady"? How much are you resizing the case? (Difference in CBTS from fired). You mention hitting the lands at 2.749, but box Hornady is 2.800 -- that sounds to me like OAL measurements. If you're still acquiring tools, you'll need a headspace and bullet comparators. This will give you a much better idea of how much you're sizing and where your bullets are contacting the lands - different bullets have different shapes and can vary wildly on where they touch the lands even with the same OAL.
Tell us more.
 
Hmm. The primers are still pretty rounded.
That looks like a Rem with too much room around the firing pin tip. I.e., the primer is flowing back around the firing pin.
Bingo! The first thing you need to do is send the bolt away to have the firing pin bushed. What you are seeing is caused by too much clearance between the firing pin and the bolt body. Your primers themselves are not flattened. There are a few members on here that do a great job of bushing the bolts with quick turnaround times. Do a search on here for bushing Remington 700 bolts. They will also turn the pin down to .062". These mods will also prevent pierced primers somewhere down the road. Been there, done that. Nothing wrong with a Rem 700 action but they need a few mods. I wouldn't be surprised if the primary extraction is also off kilter.
 
I did my first rebarrel of a rifle and made it a 25 creed. I have only been reloading for about the past 2 months after slowly acquiring the necessary equipment. I keep running into pressure issues it seems at lower velocity then others. I have been using N555 the last 2 times out. 40gr at coal 2.738 using 127 hammer bulletsat 2710fps. With this bullet I hit lands at 2.749 from what I measure. Although box hornady load fine and they are 2.800 anyways. At 40 gr of 555 I start seeing markings on the brass. Is this something to worry about or do I need to back off? It looks like the ejector is striking I have many more questions but only because I have nobody to ask. Haha
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Be advised like me reloading for 54 years I got s0 mush reloading stuff I wonder how did I ever collect so much reloading gear? If your like most of us after many years you will be amazed at all that you have in your reloading bench!
 
Well I'm watching this thread very closely, I have the same problem with my loads also.
29gr of varget gives me very light dents from the extractor and ejector. my node seems to be at 31.4 and the dents are deeper there. my powder is old, I tried newer powder and 4895, same thing.
bat B action, kreiger barrel .275 no turn neck smithed by a well know smith.
First thought was my die was not sizing the .200 line enough, started with a harrells, got a redding, then a SAC, same thing. Loaded up some alfa brass, same thing. Not all but most have a hard bolt lift or clicker. a couple even had a swipe. Using Wheelers method to get set back and find lands, bullets are at touch.
I'm at a loss, and its on the shelf for now.
velocity at 29gr was a bit over 2700fps, 31.4 was 2925fps. 108 bergers
 

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^^^^^^ Have firing pin bushed. Rounded edges on the primers say to me there is not an over pressure here. But everyone sees pressure signs a little bit different. That said proceed with caution, things can escalate quickly.
Never bushed the firing pins on my Rem 700s. A lot of money to cure what I call a cosmetic problem. Never had a perforated primer in 50 years. The reloading manuals are usually conservative. I would go by them as a guide. My main Rem 700 I have been shooting it since 1969. I never had ridges as big as yours around the indent. As I go up in loads until I see ejector swipe marks as my first sign of pressure. It's been a while since I shot because of back surgery. I always could see a change in the primer indent rims as I went up in .2 gr increments. I used extractor swipes and primer appearance as a guide plus the manuals. I always tried to pick a powder that gave high fps in the manual. I have a 14 twist 6BR and a 14 twist 6BRX. I like 8208 or H322 powder. I always got good fps, small groups, no ejector swipe and don't remember ever having hard bolt lift. Hard bolt lift to me is a definite hot load. It means the case is expanded to the point it's hard to extract.

Go for safety, good groups at a decent FPS. An extra 100 fps doesn't improve anything. If your varmint hunting they don't know what the fps was that hit them.
 
Never bushed the firing pins on my Rem 700s. A lot of money to cure what I call a cosmetic problem. Never had a perforated primer in 50 years. The reloading manuals are usually conservative. I would go by them as a guide. My main Rem 700 I have been shooting it since 1969. I never had ridges as big as yours around the indent. As I go up in loads until I see ejector swipe marks as my first sign of pressure. It's been a while since I shot because of back surgery. I always could see a change in the primer indent rims as I went up in .2 gr increments. I used extractor swipes and primer appearance as a guide plus the manuals. I always tried to pick a powder that gave high fps in the manual. I have a 14 twist 6BR and a 14 twist 6BRX. I like 8208 or H322 powder. I always got good fps, small groups, no ejector swipe and don't remember ever having hard bolt lift. Hard bolt lift to me is a definite hot load. It means the case is expanded to the point it's hard to extract.

Go for safety, good groups at a decent FPS. An extra 100 fps doesn't improve anything. If your varmint hunting they don't know what the fps was that hit them.
same, my rem 700 vls 223 craters as well and i've never pierced one in 2,000 rounds. 99% being cci 400's with top end loads.
 
I did my first rebarrel of a rifle and made it a 25 creed. I have only been reloading for about the past 2 months after slowly acquiring the necessary equipment. I keep running into pressure issues it seems at lower velocity then others. I have been using N555 the last 2 times out. 40gr at coal 2.738 using 127 hammer bulletsat 2710fps. With this bullet I hit lands at 2.749 from what I measure. Although box hornady load fine and they are 2.800 anyways. At 40 gr of 555 I start seeing markings on the brass. Is this something to worry about or do I need to back off? It looks like the ejector is striking I have many more questions but only because I have nobody to ask. Haha
View attachment 1688245View attachment 1688246
2 of the cases look like an ejector smear mark. Definite pressure.
1755890202697.png
 
Yes, it gives a bad "cosmetic" look. It can, and sometimes does, cause pierced primers. To each his own, but I prefer to head problems off at the pass instead of having them happening at the worst possible time - or anytime for that matter. A very easy and inexpensive potential problem to cure.
 
Well, I'll bring up something that it seems every one else missed.

You're seating a mono bullet 0.011" off the lands.

With mono bullets you typically start at 0.050" off the lands.

This gives them a jump to help get momentum going to engrave the rifling into the bullet.

Yeah, I know, what is 0.04" going to do?!
But we are measuring in milliseconds here.
 

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