Cartridge Sticking in Chamber

B

bassrods1

Inactive
7mm mag, model 700 Remington action with a Sendaro barrel. New rifle. Had a gun smith tighten the chamber and put on a muzzle break. Using brand new RCBS dies. Using Berger bullets, cases have been fire formed to match the chamber. The COAL is 30 thousandths off the lans and grooves.
The loaded rounds will go in and out of chamber with ease, but once fired will stick unless lubed along the cartridge length.
Anyone have any ideas on why these cartridges would be sticking in the chamber after firing?
 
We'd need the exact load data to have any idea but, generally speaking and barring any physical deformities in the chamber, there's only one reason a case sticks in the chamber after firing.... the load was too hot.

The steel comes closer to returning to it's original dimensions than does the brass... so the brass is now bigger than the chamber. *SQUISH* Brass stays in the chamber.
 
The load is H4831sc 65.0 gr. with Fed 215 primer and 168 Bergers with no sign of pressure.. Even loads that are loaded at H4831sc 63,5 gr. will stick..
All shots are cold bore, rifle has had over 200 rounds shot out of it..But all case sizing shots was lubed. with the 65.0 load I'm getting groups under 1/2" 5 round groups..
I started having the sticking when I was working out my load .
 
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The load is H4831sc 65.0 gr. with Fed 215 primer and 168 Bergers with no sign of pressure.
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Well, not exactly. Hard extraction is a pressure sign.

If you were working up loads and at some point they got hot enough that they started sticking, then back off until they don't. Then back off a little more for good measure in case you have to shoot them in really warm weather.
 
The primer is NOT flatting out and the bottoms of the cases show no marks, and I have used this load for a budys 7 mag with no sticking or signs of over-loads..
 
A shooting buddy of mine has a Remington 700 from their custom shop. The chamber is so tight he cleans after every 5 rounds to stop heavy bolt lifts. Are you F/L sizing or neck. I found full sizing with .001 headspace more accurate & trouble free, then neck sizing.
 
1. Your buddy's rifle is not your rifle.

2. Hard bolt lift is a sign of high pressure. One of several.
Before they went big time and got a PV rig, Speer increased loads until they got ONE "pressure sign", reduced that load by 6% and printed it.
A friend thinks half a grain, 1% or less, is enough of a reduction. His velocity is high, his brass and barrel life short.

Now, just how did your gunsmith "tighten the chamber?"
 
The only way I can think of "tightening the chamber" is to shorten the shank length. This of course would require relieving the shoulder too. If he just removed a couple of thousandths on each, it may require reaming the chamber for minimum headspacing and this would be followed by polishing the chamber.
 
He took about 1/8" off the end of the threads and re chambered it, before that it was so long I would not reach the lands till the bullet was out of the case..

Jim: the bolt lift is good till you try to pull the bolt back, with lube it works good.. All shots are cold bore and even after cleaning it will stick after only two shots..
 
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Bassrods,

Sticking cases are a sign of too high pressure:

You wrote above:
"The load is H4831sc 65.0 gr. with Fed 215 primer and 168 Bergers with no sign of pressure.. Even loads that are loaded at H4831sc 63,5 gr. will stick..
All shots are cold bore, rifle has had over 200 rounds shot out of it..But all case sizing shots was lubed. with the 65.0 load I'm getting groups under 1/2" 5 round groups..
I started having the sticking when I was working out my load . "
==========================================

The maximum load in the Sierra manual for their 168 gr matchking is 64.7 grs of H4831 sc. This seems quite specific and precise.

It's just about certain your load is too hot in your rifle!
 
99 look in the Berger book, and all books are set well under what most guns can take.. I have been loading for over 50 years and shotting long rang (2400y) with many loads and cal. .Most times you can go over book loads one to two grains.. One of the first signs of over load is the primer I have been told and seen in the past..
Or the backes of the cases for bolt marks or just in front of the belted case..
Witch I have none of this type of signs, and even with lube it works good..But with light loads they stick as well.

4V50 The only thing he may not have done is the polish..
 
Most times you can go over book loads one to two grains.
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This doesn't appear to be one of those times.
He took about 1/8" off the end of the threads and re chambered it, before that it was so long I would not reach the lands till the bullet was out of the case.
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Tighter chamber and bullets seated into the lands = higher pressure.
One of the first signs of over load is the primer I have been told and seen in the past.
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It depends on the load and the rifle. There's a reason that there are more signs than just one. If the primer were always the reliable first sign of pressure, what would be the point of anyone knowing any other pressure signs? The primer may OFTEN be one of the first warning signs, but clearly it's not ALWAYS the first warning sign or no one would have ever bothered to work out the other pressure signs.
...Speer increased loads until they got ONE "pressure sign", reduced that load by 6% and printed it.
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You've got your one pressure sign. Reduce your load until it goes away, reduce it a little bit more to give yourself some margin in case of other variables like warm weather, etc. and you should be good.
I have been loading for over 50 years and shotting long rang (2400y) with many loads and cal.
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With all due respect, if you already knew everything you need to know about reloading, you wouldn't be asking the internet for advice.
 
I aint seen no picture of bassrods chamber job yet. It could well be that the workmanship is a bit lacking. Combine rough work with a full house load and you are going to get stuck brass.
 
A rough chamber could definitely cause sticking. One look at the fired cases should tell if there's a deformed chamber and it should be almost as easy to look at the chamber/brass to see if the chamber's rough.

Assuming the chamber is not messed up (the first response in the thread mentions that possibility) or roughly finished then it's a pressure issue.
 
Although not a fan of polishing chambers, I have seen chambers that looked as if they were reamed with a tap. They all had sticky extraction problems. Question #1 Did you fire and have this problem before it was worked on? #2 If everything was moved back, was the extractor clearance checked?

Usually, if a load is too hot and makes the case stick, it is because the firing pin is swagged around the primer. It does not sound like that is the problem with the description you have given. With out the gun in front of us, we are just guessing.
 
You'll see scratches on the case if it's not polished. We were told to polish our chambers to mirror bright and that took some time on a lathe with the polishing sticks we made in the first semester.

You can make your own polishing stick. Get a 6" piece of 1/4" brass and cut a 1" slot on the top. Dome it and then after putting the barrel into a padded vise, use strips of emery paper (start with rough grit and work you way to finer grit) on the polishing stick on a handrill (assuming you don't have access to a lathe), polish the chamber.
 
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