Issues with reloading 6.5x47 Lapua

[Koray.ibbz164]

Hello fellow re-loaders.
My reloading has come to a a halt as I am now having chambering issues.
It has gotten to the point where i have to slam my bolt forward (forcefully) to close the action. When i mean forcefully, i need to hit the thing several times with an open palm.
I started shooting/reloading with virgin 6.5 lap brass. I would fl size, clean, anneal and reload with no issues whatsoever. The brass has now seen approximately 3-4 firings which has now i assume allowed the cases to stretch and form.
Once a case is sized and chambered without a seated projectile there is no issue, bolt closes up nice and easy, they way it should be. Once a projectile has been seated i cannot chamber it at all. I have tried bumping the seating die down to the point where the ogive is almost in the neck of the case...same thing, wont chamber. I have adjusted my fl size and bumped that down further...same thing.



Rifle: DTA SRS A-1
Calibre: 6.5x47 Lapua
Brass: Lapua
Projectile: Berger VLD 6.5mm 130Gr
Die Sets: Redding Type S - Match Die Set


MINIMUM CASE LENGTH




AFTER FL SIZING SHE SITS IN THERE JUST FINE




AFTER SEATING SHE SITS PROUD....hard to tell by the photos but its approximately 0.163" higher than the non-seated case











Any ideas? I'm struggling to get my head around this... Do i need to turn down the necks?

 

[oldfatguy]

What is your round count? Might have a carbon ring in the throat.

OFG

 

[65guys_steve]

Some of the 6.5x47 FL sizing dies are not deep enough to fully resize the case near the head (lower part of case) causing chambering issues. Because of this issue, about every 3-4 firings, I use a spare 308 FL die but remove the top cap completely along with the depriming rod and expander button. It's long enough to reform the lower part of the case, but won't touch the shoulders of 6.5x47 case. Give one case a try, and see if it resolves your chambering issue.

 

[BobinNC]

Not sure what your problem is but there are some things you can check:

Redding Competition Bullet seating die is Not for Use with Compressed loads. Try making up a round without powder and primer, FL size as normal, and seat the bullet as normal, and see if you still have trouble cambering a dummy round. If you still have trouble, the next thing to check is neck tension. Brass flows, and it will flow forward towards your neck. If your neck is too tight, the action of seating the bullet can form a bulge, that really cannot be seen, at the junction of shoulder and case body. You may have to inside ream your cases or use a different bushing when sizing the neck as your cases age from repeated firings.

If FL resized case chamber easily, then your problem is not related to the FL die itself, but might be in your selection of the bushing for sizing the neck, which is another area for you to investigate.


Before somebody says that the Redding Competition Seating die is fine to use with compressed loads, just look here, marked in Red: http://www.redding-reloading.com/online-catalog/19-competition-bullet-seating-die

 

[vman]

I have witnessed the issue in the flesh... here is my input.

The load is 37.0 grains of Varget, so not compressed.
The issue is not related to engagement with rifling as we can seat the ogive into the neck and the issue still exists.
If you size a case it will chamber fine without a projectile. The moment you seat a projectile into the case, the cases wont chamber.

We have managed to shoot these cases and loads fine for a few firings and just suddenly this issue has cropped up.

A suggestion is to neck turn the brass but we havnt tried this yet... need to order some extra bits for my 21st Century neck lathe.

 

[MarinePMI]

+1 for using a body/small base die. I've seen this happen before with dies that don't quite size the entire case...

Are you crimping? If you are, the crimp may be happening too soon, and causing a slight bulge at the shoulder. This would cause the case to have problems going fully into the chamber. Just a thought...

 

[NXS338]

Sounds like you have a thick neck issue here, you need to take a new piece brass load it and measure neck diameter then check one that wont chamber. I bet you find the brass has flowed toward the neck and given you a thick neck condition which wouldn't show until you seat the bullet. you can use a neck reamer to remedy this if turning outside of neck is an issue. This chamber probably has a borderline tight neck to begin with and it doesn't take much to make it not want to chamber. Are your cartridges showing any increase in pressure signs when this happens?

 

[JLR]

Definitely sounds like either you don't have enough neck clearance in the chamber, or there is a pretty substantial carbon ring at the throat. The carbon ring theory is an easy one to check as you should be able to see a healthy scuff mark on the bullet. I've seen it happen on a number of rifles.

 

[steve123]

How much neck expansion on a fired case compared to sized with bullet seated?

How far back are you bumping the shoulder?

Why did you decide to try 7mm bullets in your 6.5? Just kidding

 

[dieselten]

Your problem is donuts in the base of the neck. If you then seat a bullet in the case and the full diameter section touches the donut, the case neck will enlarge.

The cases can not be fixed easily (probably at all). The solution is to seat the bullets out far enough so they do not touch the donuts.

Easiest way to see if you have donuts is to try and push a bullet all the way into a fired and un-sized case. Bullet will touch at the base of the neck.

 

[Mildot77]

Your problem is donuts in the base of the neck. If you then seat a bullet in the case and the full diameter section touches the donut, the case neck will enlarge.

The cases can not be fixed easily (probably at all). The solution is to seat the bullets out far enough so they do not touch the donuts.

Easiest way to see if you have donuts is to try and push a bullet all the way into a fired and un-sized case. Bullet will touch at the base of the neck.

Im suprised no one has mentioned the dounut at the base of the neck before! this would be my take. it can only be the neck as until you seat the bullet everything is fine. Once the bullet is seated you have the issue, which can only lead to a dounut in the neck.
You can get an inside neck reamer to take the dounut out.