Tight closing chamber?

[Hotburn76]

The new Savage 204 has only seen FL sized once and all the rounds since then have been partial neck sized. So far the cases I have been using have been just neck sized three times I think and for the first time the other day I noticed the bolt had just a little resistance to it. I would say I can still close it ok, maybe while sitting and just using two fingers pushing. Mainly curious as to when is a hard closing bolt to hard? They are trimmed good, so it is only the shoulder doing it, just curious as to when I should bump the shoulder a tad?

 

[Bob3700]

When you start to get hard bolt closing you need to bump the shoulder back.

In a bolt gun, get your Stoney Point gauge and adjust your FL die so that you just bump the shoulder .001-.002". That should provide a smooth, effortless bolt closing.

Give that a try and see how it works.

Bob

 

[Hotburn76]

Thanks! Can a hard bolt closing cause a unsafe condition or a accuracy issue? Or just be annoying and cause wear on your action?

 

[rayjay]

I have come to the conclusion that neck sizing is vastly overrated. Get something to measure your shoulder bump and set the shoulder back .001 or .002 everytime. Then your cases will be consistent always.

 

[BoydAllen]

People seem to commonly assume that when their cases get tight that it is just at the shoulder. Many times, more often than not, there is a problem in front of the head, as well as at the shoulder. As far as disadvantages of a tight bolt close go, if the lugs are not properly GREASED, the lugs may gall, a more serious problem than a little wear.

 

[Rustystud]

Clean your gun thoroughly. Does the bolt open and close freely w/o a case? If not it may be your gun and not your brass.

Measure your shot cases. Then measure your resized cases. Are your dies sizing the neck, shoulder,and web. Is the OAL to long?Use a tool for measuring headspacing. If the shoulders need bumpng back push the shoulder back .001 then try again. Brass tend to have a memory brass may have to be sized below spec by .002 as the brass springs back.
Rustystud