Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

[rickcis]

Hi Folks. I have a problem that maybe someone has the answer to. I have been reloading for about 8 Months now and I reload .308 in an M1A1 using both .308 and 7.62X51 Brass and 168 Sierra Match loads. I use the Dillon .308 gauge and check every round I reload. It shoots with no problems with the M1A.

I recently purchased a Remington 700 SPS Tactical and I tried to load one of my rounds in the chamber. It went in with alot of resistance and I could hardly close the bolt. There were scrapes on the side of the shell casing and a circle etched on the primer. I re-measured the round with a digital caliper and all were within specs for a .308 cartridge.

I am stumped at this point.

Any Ideas???

Thank is advance guys.

Rick

 

[flagg888]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Do you full length resize, or just neck sizing?

 

[Ol Rob]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Do you full length resize? May need to bump them a little more, or less than for you other rifle. YMMV,
Rob

 

[Queequeg]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

I found my bolt (same rifle)was a little raspy at first, leaving some marks on the case head, and the chamber was a little snug with some reloads until I zeroed them in. Are the sticky rounds once fired from that rifle. I found some new rounds were a little snug as well. Check your bolt face with a q-tip for any burrs that can be polished off and since all chambers are not the same adjust your sizing die down until the case just fits!

 

[our gang]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Don't use the same cases for a semi-auto and a bolt gun. Problem will vanish.

 

[rickcis]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Full length resizing with Dillon was used. I am using a Dillon 550B to reload.

Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate it.

 

[Queequeg]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

That is exactly how I load for my SPS .308. Sounds like a little tweakage will have you in business.

 

[jttrim]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

I have a custom winchester with a rock barel. Even when sizing with my body die the bolt was hard to close. I had to mill my shell holder to allow the die to size the last 1.5mm of the case.

 

[mingo]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Invest in a Wilson .308 case gauge, will save you a lot of head-ak

 

[rickcis]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Well guys, I made a discovery tonight.

It seems that all of commercial casings fit the Remington Nicely. It seems that all the Military casings are about .002 of an inch thicker than the rest and they are the ones giving me trouble. They all fit into the Dillon gauge perfectly. All the military casings fit too tightly. I did not know the Remingtons are built to those tolerances. My M1A eats everything.

 

[our gang]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Betcha if you got brand new LC Match 308, it would chamber fine in the 700. But like I said, segregate your brass for different rifles and the problem will go away. Would not dream of using the same brass for these two even though they are both 308s.

 

[Spanners]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

I have the same problem as you, but with 2 bolt guns.. 1 will eat the ammo, 1 won't
I've found that a couple of my sets of dies won't work in the 550 without modding.
A set of 223 and 308 dies that when touching the shellholder are not bumping the shoulder back at all.
Simple fix to put them in a lathe and skim 40-80 thou of the base

 

[our gang]

Re: Reloading Problem with Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Somebody (Redding or RCBS) makes special shell holders just for this problem. They come in various increments to bump back the shoulder.