9mmSkeeter
New member
I recently got into reloading 308. I bought a bunch of discounted brass from a secret source (shhhh) - various brands, mostly LC, some Winchester, some PMC, Lapua, etc etc. and I bought four pounds of various known 308 powders.
I also purchased a Lyman 3-die set (quick Neck Sizer as well as Full Length Sizer and of course the bullet seating die). I love Lyman Carbides, about 80% of my die sets are Lyman.
I made the smart decision of building about 50 test loads using three or four different powders I was able to acquire and once the snow finally melted I was going to go shoot my Smithy AR-10 on a beautiful sunny day. Drove an hour and got there, and the !@#%^ wouldn't chamber a single round. I had to pound the bolt open with a cleaning rod and hammer (thank God I brought those), marred the finish on the bolt, and then "mortared" the rounds out by slamming the buttstock on the bench with the charging handle held. It stuck them in there tight too.
Did this about 6 times with various rounds/brass, nothing worked.
So being a good internet user I decided NOT to post about this, found out that the full length size was something I needed to do. I previously just used the neck sizer.
Proceeded to pull all the rounds and re-size, and re-load a handful. None of them chambered. Borrowed a buddy's bolt action, would not chamber there either.
Called S&W. They said to try factory ammo and if that didn't work, send it in.
Finally found a box of PMC FMJs sitting around and purchased them at an inflated price. Wouldn't you know, it chambers. So I took out my trusty calipers. Because you know, it has to be about dimensions, right? Everything lined up. The length all the way up, the width, the neck width, the bullet.
So now I'm stumped. Here's a pic of how my AR marks the brass when I finally am able to eject it :
https://ibb.co/f10651C
I've loaded tons of 30-06 before with no issue. I wonder what the deal is here? Is this still an issue with Smith & Wesson?
Thanks in advance, I'm really not sure what to do at this point.
I also purchased a Lyman 3-die set (quick Neck Sizer as well as Full Length Sizer and of course the bullet seating die). I love Lyman Carbides, about 80% of my die sets are Lyman.
I made the smart decision of building about 50 test loads using three or four different powders I was able to acquire and once the snow finally melted I was going to go shoot my Smithy AR-10 on a beautiful sunny day. Drove an hour and got there, and the !@#%^ wouldn't chamber a single round. I had to pound the bolt open with a cleaning rod and hammer (thank God I brought those), marred the finish on the bolt, and then "mortared" the rounds out by slamming the buttstock on the bench with the charging handle held. It stuck them in there tight too.
Did this about 6 times with various rounds/brass, nothing worked.
So being a good internet user I decided NOT to post about this, found out that the full length size was something I needed to do. I previously just used the neck sizer.
Proceeded to pull all the rounds and re-size, and re-load a handful. None of them chambered. Borrowed a buddy's bolt action, would not chamber there either.
Called S&W. They said to try factory ammo and if that didn't work, send it in.
Finally found a box of PMC FMJs sitting around and purchased them at an inflated price. Wouldn't you know, it chambers. So I took out my trusty calipers. Because you know, it has to be about dimensions, right? Everything lined up. The length all the way up, the width, the neck width, the bullet.
So now I'm stumped. Here's a pic of how my AR marks the brass when I finally am able to eject it :
https://ibb.co/f10651C
I've loaded tons of 30-06 before with no issue. I wonder what the deal is here? Is this still an issue with Smith & Wesson?
Thanks in advance, I'm really not sure what to do at this point.