Remington 700, 308 Win

R

Renegade19sc

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I have recently purchased a new Rem 700 in a 308. Has anyone ever heard of a new Rem gun being out of spec when it comes to the head space in the chamber. Reason for my question I have reloaded some new rounds for the gun and have experienced case expanding. I have also shot factory loads out of the gun and haven't observed any signs of case expanding. The rounds that I have loaded are within specs when it comes to head space of the casing. The load is 41.5 Gr of IMR 4895, with a 150 Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet. The O.A.L. is 2.800 and all of my cases fit good into a Lyman case gauge.
 
New R700's seem to have very tight chambers when new. My Varmint would frequently encounter hard extractions with my reloads. Now that I have about 1500 rounds through my rifle the stuck casings are far less common. Might be some residual rough surfaces in the throat from manufacturing as well. I hear many folks complain about the new R700 sticky case syndrome. I doubt you have any type of headspace issue.
 
I don't understand your question. ALL cases expand when fired.
Your load is at the lower end of the Nosler scale (40.5-44.5 grains) and within OAL so I wouldn't expect issues with over pressure unless there's other problems.
 
What are you measuring when you say cases expanded, and what values are you getting for your reloads vs. factory ammo?
 
My rifle chamber does the same thing, also using the Lyman case gage, I think it's a good thing, better for your brass & accuracy. Your loads aren't hot, cases will not expand as much. better to have a fairly tight chamber. On a fired round your bullet shouldn't drop into the fired neck.
 
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"On a fired round your bullet shouldn't drop int the fired neck."

Whoa there. I wouldn't say "drop" but a bullet should fit easily into a fired case neck. If the throat is that tight and a round with a thick neck finds it's way into the chamber, pressures will rise substantially.
 
Yes, but if the bullet drop's in, the throat is large for best accuracy & brass life. My friends cases the bullet can drop into a fired case with FC(Federal) & ADI cases they are thicker then most. He doesn't reload, so I F/L size using his once fired brass, fired in my rifle the bullet will not drop in, it can though with very little pressure.
 
"...On a fired round your bullet shouldn't drop into the fired neck..." Does on a non-resized case.
"...head space of the casing..." There's no such thing. Cartridges do not have headspace.
If you're thinking case expansion is unusual you're incorrect. All cases expand and stretch, lengthwise, upon firing. It's how the case seals the chamber. The case will normally stretch most on its first firing too.
41.5 of IMR4895 is a tick below minimum. Not enough for it to be anything but manual variations though. Start load is 42.6 for a 150 grain jacketed bullet.
 
Cartridges do not have headspace.
Click to expand...

Not quite true. The headspace on the 308 round is measured from the center of the shoulder to the back of the rim. That's what case gages measure.

To the OP: If factory cases work and your reloads don't then its the reloads. If the reloads fit your case gage then they should be put together correctly.

So if they are put together correctly, and fit the gage, with the load you use, then your problem is your brass. Switch brass and try again.

I do question the "out of spec headspace" statement. What is out of spec? How did you measure the specs?

I was running sniper schools using M1C/Ds (30-06 for the NG, and M21s (308) for the RA. Some of these idiots would not pay attention in what ammo they grabbed. I found some weird spent cases and determined they were using 308s in the Garands. That would be out of spec headspace. But the only thing that happened was poor accuracy.

I don't buy the out of spec head space theory. All brass expands with its fired. its suppose to to seal the chamber. After firing it contracts allowing for easy extraction. It appears your brass is not contracting properly (hard to say without examining the brass, but a good guess).

Buy some new Winchester brass, reload it with the same load and bullet, and I bet you'll find you problem solved.

People over think headspace. Study Hatcher's Notebook on the subject and you'll find that a bit of excessive headspace isn't really that bad (except for accuracy)
 
What I am going off of is flattening primers after fired. Also I have a Forster Gauge and the bolt will close on the "no go" gauge. I guess my question should be would the bolt closing on the no go gauge be the reason for the primer flattening and pressure signs.
 
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For the no-go gauge to fit your chamber, I would think your chamber is to long. Will cause poor accuracy & case problems. I would call Remington if it's a stock rifle.
 
The accuracy is reel good it is stacking the loads. The only thing that made me wonder about anything was the flattening of the primers.
 
OK now we are getting somewhere.

Low pressure loads can cause the primers to back out. To check this, stick a primed unloaded piece of brass into a revolver and fire it. The primer backs out.

Pressure and heat causes the brass to expand. When brass expands properly it also expands in the base causing it to grab the primer tighter, holding it in.

If the brass doesn't expand it allows the gas to push the primer back against the bolt, flattening it.

That's why you don't have the problem with factory brass, its hot enough to expand the brass allowing it to hold onto the primer.

Up your powder charge and I bet you'll eliminate flattened primers.
 
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