kilotanker22
New member
So I might have goofed up a little.
Loading for 300 PRC in a Browning X-Bolt rifle. Hornady brass, annealed after every firing. Load that I have used for a couple weeks now (30+ firings) and to this point have had no sign of trouble with.
Last weekend I was shooting and one of the pieces of brass gave me a hard bolt lift and did not want to extract. As the bolt cammed open, the extractor slipped off of the rim of the case. I was a little horrified at first, cause this has never happened to me before. Well, needless to say mt range trip was done for the day.
I got home and put a cleaning rod down the bore and gave it a rap with a hammer and the case popped right out. I was surprised it took so little to dislodge the case. Anyway, I set about trying to figure out why this happened. I could have just started load development over again, but I feel it is important to investigate when things do not turn out as planned.. This way, maybe I can prevent myself from making the same mistake in the future.
I measured the case and to my surprised it was .001" longer than usual when coming out of the chamber. I figured this could maybe explain the heavy bolt lift. I set about measuring the ammunition that I had not fired yet, and imagine my surprise when they are already at the length that most cases come out of the chamber after being fired.
I assumed the the lock ring on my die was not tight enough. The die had adjusted itself at some point. Presumably when I was installing or removing the die from the press. Before adjusting anything I decided to review my notes. I was appalled that I had written the incorrect number down when I recorded the cartridge base to datum measurement. In this case I knew what the correct measurement was, but I had recorded it incorrectly.
I have since loaded a few test rounds with the appropriate dimensions to test this afternoon.
My question is, Have any of you experienced this? Can annealed brass fail to contract enough to extract a case if the dimensions are too big and it does not expand enough to begin with?
Loading for 300 PRC in a Browning X-Bolt rifle. Hornady brass, annealed after every firing. Load that I have used for a couple weeks now (30+ firings) and to this point have had no sign of trouble with.
Last weekend I was shooting and one of the pieces of brass gave me a hard bolt lift and did not want to extract. As the bolt cammed open, the extractor slipped off of the rim of the case. I was a little horrified at first, cause this has never happened to me before. Well, needless to say mt range trip was done for the day.
I got home and put a cleaning rod down the bore and gave it a rap with a hammer and the case popped right out. I was surprised it took so little to dislodge the case. Anyway, I set about trying to figure out why this happened. I could have just started load development over again, but I feel it is important to investigate when things do not turn out as planned.. This way, maybe I can prevent myself from making the same mistake in the future.
I measured the case and to my surprised it was .001" longer than usual when coming out of the chamber. I figured this could maybe explain the heavy bolt lift. I set about measuring the ammunition that I had not fired yet, and imagine my surprise when they are already at the length that most cases come out of the chamber after being fired.
I assumed the the lock ring on my die was not tight enough. The die had adjusted itself at some point. Presumably when I was installing or removing the die from the press. Before adjusting anything I decided to review my notes. I was appalled that I had written the incorrect number down when I recorded the cartridge base to datum measurement. In this case I knew what the correct measurement was, but I had recorded it incorrectly.
I have since loaded a few test rounds with the appropriate dimensions to test this afternoon.
My question is, Have any of you experienced this? Can annealed brass fail to contract enough to extract a case if the dimensions are too big and it does not expand enough to begin with?