Problem with .308

[smoooth]

"So even if it chambers just fine,and I shoot it,its still hard to eject?" (Sorry, I don't know how to insert quotes besides copy&paste)

Sounds like a hot load as joshb stated above. Once you get your brass properly resized, dial the powder back 1.0gr and see if that helps free up that sticky bolt.


"i shot it 3 times,it shouldn't have hurt the chamber right?"

Your chamber should be just fine.

 

[smoooth]

"Load was not hot"

I beg to differ. If the round chambered just fine and the bolt closed with ease but once fired you had to beat the bolt open to get the case out your load is HOT. Been there, done that. Just because the primer didn't burst or the gun didn't explode does not mean that you still don't have a hot load and excessive pressure.

There seems to be a lot of missing information here like ANY LOAD INFO??
Is this a factory rifle or custom?
Barrel - factory or custom?
Round count on barrel?
Has the barrel been cleaned recently?
Has the chamber/ throat been cleaned recently?
Bullet seated into the lands? (causes higher pressure)
Powder type?
Die brand?
ETC.

 

[joshb]

Yup. We need more info to diagnose. Try this: Take a unfired factory case/cartridge that "chambers just fine" and measure the diameter at points , starting just above the rim, moving towards the shoulder. Then do the same with your sized and fired brass and compare the measurements.

 

[josebd]

will do,i dont have the load info with me right now,i started way below the max,no where max,especially with the lc brass,this is a first for me,ive been reloading for at least 15 years or more

 

[Ggmac]

Lc brass is generally thicker = less case capacity = higher pressures IF using data from previous loads using commercial brass .
What rifle , custom barrel , and what chamber ?What load ? What length ,
Military used brass can be fired in almost any weapon , full auto brass is awful and needs much resizing with small base dies . Even then it may not give you more than a couple of reloads .
Case capacity varies greatly between LC of dif years .

 

[argrendel]

To use a quote, just hit the reply word bottom right of the text.

 

[josebd]

savage 12 ftr,30 inch criterion barrel,.015 off lands,168,175 bthp

 

[digrazir]

The solutions are really pretty simple, first option, small base dies with a reduced load because you are using Lake City military brass once fired with an unknown to you history. Or second option, new brass that can be fire formed to your rifle, probably the best option. The third option is to keep on doing what you are doing which is not working. Ray

 

[Liven The Dream]

Long story.

LC Brass may have been fired in Machine Gun or a Gas Gun ?
SB Die , Body Die , shoulder set to other brass Fired in your rifle.
Back off the load. Have you trim to min. OAL ?

I once got some brass off this Forum Guy said once Fired .308 Lapua ??
It was Pressure Tested Loads in a Gas Gun ...
Don

 

[josebd]

im getting away from the lc brass,shot some hornady superformance 150 sst this morning,5 shots at 100 under 3/4 inch,going to reload the hornady

 

[SheepDog]

I agree with Smoooth.
If the round chambered easily then it fit in the chamber. If it then had to be beaten out of the chamber, the pressure was too high for the conditions it was used. The bullet may have been tight into the lands or the case volume too low but something in the load or conditions forced the chamber to expand beyond the elastic limits of the brass.

 

[Ned Ludd]

There could be a number of reasons you are experiencing this issue, none of which will be definitively diagnosed over the internet. What can be said with certainty is that problems involving case dimensions are usually pretty easy to solve, if you actually bother to take measurements of your cases. You can blindly set up resizing dies according to the manufacturer's specs for a long time and likely never have a problem, because their setting usually push the shoulders back a lot farther than is needed. However, you may have encountered one of the rare times that a little more effort will be required than just setting up things the way you have in the past. My point is, dimensional measurements of your cases before/after firing and [sometimes] during the loading process will almost always tell you what is going on with the case. Knowing that is halfway to fixing any issues that might arise, regardless of the source.

 

[Hasbeen1945]

If the case chambers and then want come out after firing. Sounds like high pressure. Just like reloading a case fired in your rifle. If it want chamber after reloading it. You did something wrong.

 

[M-61]

Load was not hot

I was looking to see if you gave the load of powder but I don't see it. (every rifle is different anyway)

But the bolt being hard to close and the bolt being hard to open are two different possible situations.
Hard to close bolt is your brass OR seating the bullet WAY out. The brass having been fired in a different chamber makes it different for sure.
So did you take any empty fired (not sized case)... and try to chamber it...what happened?
Easy in? easy out?
Chamber a resized piece and chamber it. What happens?
Load a bullet...mark it with a Sharpie. Chamber it. What happens and what do you see? Is the bullet JAMMED in the lands for example.

Finally and most important that hard to OPEN after firing is a red flag for high pressures. (usually..it stops me immediately) It's possibly a sign (and there should have been some others) that you have reached the max + on pressures.

 

[joshb]

Somethings not right and we're not getting answers. I like to help but the op is not cooperating. I'm out. Josh

 

[josebd]

I no longer have this brass,I'm using Hornady and just got some lapua today