Tell me if im wrong.

[Mtstalker]

So i was shooting with a guy a while back and the brass that he shot had a shiny mark about 1/8th of the way around the case head where the plunger contacts the case head. This was on factory and reloads. I told him it should be fine since there are no ejector marks and primers look fine. So i decided to have him chamber a reload and eject it and sure enough without firing it the case had the faint shiny mark. That should be from the base not getting sized quite enough but told him not to worry unless they get hard to chamber or he gets bolt click. So am i wrong that if there are no ejector marks (half moon) or flattened primers it is fine and probaly just a rough plunger?

 

[Mtstalker]

I forgot to mention they were ejecting easy with nothing out of the norm.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

The bolt face includes an extractor and an ejector, there isn't a "plunger" anywhere in the anatomy of a bolt.?

https://bordenrifles.com/product/plunger-ejector-kit/

 

[Mtstalker]

Wow Lapua40x. 2 sites and 2 comments that make you sound like a jack wagon. And on both you get proven wrong. Maybe you should get some more experience. And yes we figured it out it had some crud built up inder the spring and the spring is a bit long and causes it to take a bit of force to compress it.

 

[Barlow]

I had the same thing happen the other day with a Ruger 77 Int. 308. The extractor grove in the bolt face made a shiny scrape mark on an occasional case head at the start (lowest) load and the top (max) load. No hard bolt lift, primers were fine, primer pockets still tight. Immo there is no issue. Barlow

 

[Mtstalker]

This was a ruger m77 mii

 

[DRNewcomb]

I think I can picture what you are describing. Could he be jamming the bullet in the rifling? How hard is it to depress the plunger? Can you depress it with your thumbnail?

 

[Mtstalker]

No you cant depress with your nail. Bullets have a .100" jump. Might need to find a softer spring or take a coil off.

 

[msinc]

I have found several rifles that had blasting media stuck in the ejector well {for lack of a better term}among other places. Many gun companies use a carbide blast media to finish certain components, the bolt body being one of them. It looks like black or very dark sand and is sharp and irregular in shape. It really sticks everywhere it can. I think they just don't take the time to properly clean it all out before final assembly. Run a piece of wire down into the ejector well and a good soaking with solvent followed by compressed air usually gets it all out.
If they left some in the bolt you might want to go ahead and clean out the entire action.

 

[Barlow]

This was a ruger m77 mii

It's a Ruger 77 International 308 mannlicher. Barlow

 

[Mtstalker]

.

 

[Canadian bushman]

I think your intial guess was correct. It looks to me like a ejector swipe from a very stiff plunger spring.

Its harmless.

I prefer mine on the light side. Little better bolt feel on closing and it just kinda dumps the case the the side on extraction.

 

[DRNewcomb]

No you cant depress with your nail. Bullets have a .100" jump. Might need to find a softer spring or take a coil off.

A lot of folks prefer to have a very soft ejector spring. (Some remove the ejector altogether.) Drops the brass closer to the rifle; easier on the brass. The test I've used is if I can depress the ejector plunger with my thumbnail.

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

you guys forget, things are different in California. Idaho as well sometimes. Here we use a plunger for something else...

 

[AR Shooter]

For F-Class I prefer to remove the ejector all together with the M700 action. Easier on the brass.

 

[fguffey]

So i decided to have him chamber a reload and eject it and sure enough without firing it the case had the faint shiny mark. That should be from the base not getting sized quite enough but told him not to worry unless they get hard to chamber or he gets bolt click

Sounds great, but the reloader has to decide how much of the case head gets sized when the ram is raised. The deck height of the shell holder prevents me from being able to size the case head .125" above the case head, and then? there is the radius on the bottom of the die. And as always there is the case head thickness from the cup above the web to the case head, no one measure that but me. I have cases with case head thickness of .260" and I have case head thickness of .200". What does that mean? Reloaders have not decided if the case head thickness has an effect on effort when sizing cases.

F. Guffey

 

[Mtstalker]

Yes so a thicker head would take more effort. So would a harder lot of brass.

 

[Lapua40X]

Wow Lapua40x. 2 sites and 2 comments that make you sound like a jack wagon. And on both you get proven wrong. Maybe you should get some more experience. And yes we figured it out it had some crud built up inder the spring and the spring is a bit long and causes it to take a bit of force to compress it.

Well, I do apologize if you were disturbed by my initial comment. I am of course pleased to learn that you found the source of the ejector marks on the case heads.
I'm certain you realize my reference to the anatomy of the bolt was limited to those portions of the bolts face, sans firing pin, that come into contact with portions of the case head.
The plunger that compresses the ejector spring is not exposed to the case head.
Incidentally, "jack wagon" is one word; ;"jackwagon". I'll leave it at that .......

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

The plunger that compresses the ejector spring is not exposed to the case head.

Wrong again.

https://support.remington.com/@api/deki/files/228/01700schematic.png?revision=1