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Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

samnev

First Sargeant
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Mar 16, 2010
    4,078
    230
    Surprise, AZ
    My brother just bought the above SPS last friday along with new Winchester brass which we checked with a Wilson Case length Gauge. After loadin 5 rounds of 308 we chambered a round and it was very difficult to close the bolt handle. Then tried the brass without a projo, same problem. Lugs were properly lubed & rifle was properly cleaned before hand. Did the same thing with new 308 Lapua brass without a projo in it, same problem. When brass was extracted it also had longitudinal scratches on both brands. Seemed to have <span style="font-weight: bold">very</span> tight head space. We moved the shoulder back about .005 still above minimum dimension on Wilson gauge and it seemed to help some. But we shouldn't have to taylor the brass for his rifle. Neither brass caused problems in any other of our 308's We suspect a factory head space problem. Has anyone else has the same type of problems?
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

    The way to find out is get a .308 GO headspace gauge and it should be able to close on it without forcing it in any way. Do not force it as the gauge is hard steel.
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

    We brought it back to the shop he bought it from (they also do gunsmithing) and asked them do do what you suggested but they didn't have 308 headspace gauges, go figure. It was to late to call the distributer so we ave to wait until today to see if they are sending him a new SPS or sending it back to the factory. My brother is now leary of any SPS.
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

    Have you tried to chamber a factory loaded round?
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical


    I know you should not have to, but you can get one from Brownells or Midway for $20 or $30. I like having them. In fact, I bought a full incremental set of 10 gauges. If I lived by you I would check it out.

    I am curious how you were able to move the shoulder back 0.005? Most dies will not allow this as they hit the shell holder. It makes me think that the brass is not being resized normally.
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

    Are you sure its the brass and not the bolt face or extractor itself? I picked up a LE shop 223 a month or so ago and the bolt was very hard to close but on further inspection it was because the extractor was too big and crowding the case head. Was an easy fit I ordered 3 from Brownells and it fixed it right up. Not sure why brownells would have the right part and not Rem but oh well.
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Poke</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Are you sure its the brass and not the bolt face or extractor itself? I picked up a LE shop 223 a month or so ago and the bolt was very hard to close but on further inspection it was because the extractor was too big and crowding the case head. Was an easy fit I ordered 3 from Brownells and it fixed it right up. Not sure why brownells would have the right part and not Rem but oh well. </div></div>

    This happened to me as well. Its more than likely the extractor pushing through the case rim which will give the false impression of short headspace.
     
    Re: Problem with NIB Remy SPS Police Tactical

    The brass we started with was new Prvi Partisan 308. When we set up the dies we smoke the case and adjust the dies so the resisizing goes to the shoulder which is not always touching the shell holder as was the case this time using Lee 308 dies. Usually they do touch the shell holder. Then we adjust a bit more for some rollover. Then we checked the brass in a Wilson case length gauge. Which checked out between min & max on the bottom cuts. The same for the top neck cuts. We check the OAL = 2.010. When we ran into the problem we moved the dies adjustment down. The OAL increased to 2.015 (max trim length) which we assumed was from the brass being moved from the shoulder area. The brass case head was now just slighly above the Wison case lenth gauge minimum cut. Yesterday we timmed the brass back to 2.005 and readjusted the die down ward very slightly, still not touching the shell plate. The head of the case is now just a tad above the min cut the OAL is 2.008 and the brass now alllows the bolt to close normally. The strangest part is we checked the rifle with new Lapua & Winchester brass I had and the bolt closes normally as does it on new Federal 168 grain match ammunition I had. We can only assume something was no quite correct with the Privi brass even though it checked out with the Wilson gauge. Very strange, I've never seen this before in over 40 years of reloading. WE did borrow a set of head space gauges and the rifle closes normally on the go but not on the no go. The brass still gets logituinal scratches. We can see the parking on the guide rails being worn off.