question regarding slight bulge above case head with pics.

[Ryguy]

I decided to bring a Remington 700 Sendero Special,.270 Winchester out from retirement from 1995 or so. I inspected 100 once fired factory cases from the rifle and noticed a slight bulge just above the case head. I have never dealt with this before and I am wondering if these are OK to load or if I should re-barrel the thing. Clearly the chamber is loose and if I remember correctly, the gun is rather inaccurate with factory ammo (3 MOA). I was going to see if I could get it down to 1 MOA or so with handloads but after seeing the bulge, I am reconsidering. If I go the re-barrel route it will be 300 WM or something. I can't sell the gun because my late father gave it to me. Have you guys seen this before and if so, are they OK to load?

Measurements: 0.464 at the case head. 0.469 at the bulge.

 

[HodgdonExtreme]

It's fine, load em up.

I use Winchester 22-250 as base brass for my 6xc, and they do the same thing. A little worse in fact.

However!!

Do be mindful of what your sizing die does to them. If it removes the bulge, the brass won't last too many loadings, as it'll be bulged/reformed each time. In the case of the 22*250 --> 6xc, the xc is just meant to be a little fatter down there, so once it bulges the first time, it stays that way.

Regardless, your brass is good for a while.

 

[witchhunter]

Your chamber is bigger than your dies, not a problem other than you will be working your brass a lot. Use the bent paper clip tester on your brass to check for separation as it gets more loadings on it.

 

[918v]

All chambers are like that. They are larger than the case so the round can chamber. The case expands to seal the chamber and you end up with a bulge. Sizing dies to not remove the bulge because you want to size the case just enough to allow it to chamber. This prolongs case life.

If you don't like the bulge, use brass with a larger diameter case head like Lapua. It is bigger to start so it bulges less.

 

[bigedp51]

918v is 100% correct, American made brass runs on the small side in base diameter and what you see is normal.

Below are two different brands of .303 British brass fired in the same Enfield rifle, the Greek HXP case has a smaller base diameter than the Privi Partizan case does. Before jumping to the conclusion you have a defective rifle and chamber measure the base diameter of your brass. Your .270 cases simply have a base diameter smaller than .470 and your chamber is fine.

Get some new brass and a good runout gauge and see where in the reloading process your reloaded ammunition starts showing excessive runout. Having a case neck gauge to measure case neck thickness variations will help a great deal also. You can't shoot tight groups with bad brass or poorly made brass.

 

[Ryguy]

Thank you for the information everyone. I'll go ahead and load them.

 

[BuzzBoss915]

Yeah, that minor "bulge" is rather normal. My problem is "3MOA". A rifle that can't hold at least half that accuracy is pretty much a waste of time. What you need to do is find out why. My first centerfire was a 270 and after much expenditure and effort, I found that cutting edge accuracy was just not in the cards. .277" bullets are not noted as match quality. But for western conditions, it can be made into a serviceable big game hunting rifle....unless something is materially wrong? I completely understand the sentimental considerations, but after a sober analysis, if you cannot dial in reasonable accuracy, you might want to look into a new barrel with a 280Ackley chamber. BB

 

[sifer1]

i have the same issue, and i will have to bang the bolt back to get the case out of the chamber. then if i resize them they will not load in the chamber. is it a sign that the case is starting to wear out?????

 

[Aftermath]

i have the same issue, and i will have to bang the bolt back to get the case out of the chamber. then if i resize them they will not load in the chamber. is it a sign that the case is starting to wear out?????

That being said, having to "bang the bolt back" sounds like you are way over pressured. Then, if a resized case doesn't load in the chamber, you are not resizing correctly...possibly your cases have lengthened and need trimmed. If you have to "bang the bolt back", stop shooting that ammo.

 

[roostercogburn98]