This rifle has a TL3 action, proof prefit 6.5cm barrel with about 1500 rounds on it by now. Since I first acquired it, I’ve been running it almost exclusively with Lapua brass handloads and a little factory Hornady here and there. Over the course of a couple years, I never had a failure to extract and never noticed weak ejection.
Recently I loaded up a batch of ammo with the Hornady brass I acquired over the last couple years. Low and behold I started getting stuck cases and weak ejection.
I cleaned the chamber, cleaned the extractor and the channel it rides in. The loads aren’t overpressure, and the stuck cases weren’t what I would call truly stuck. They came out with a light tap from a cleaning rod. Anyway I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was going on.
Today I really dove into it, and found something interesting that may or may not be related to the stuck cases, but is definitely related to the weak ejection.
The Hornady 6.5cm brass that I measured has rim grooves that measure anywhere from .391-.398
Lapua 6.5cm brass has rim grooves that are .405-.406
Not only are the Lapua cases more consistent (no surprise), but the increase in diameter allows the extractor in the TL3 bolt head to actually positively hold on to the cases.
On the flip side, the Hornady brass is so narrow in this dimension that it is completely loose, and will just fall out of the bolt head. Based on saami drawings, I believe that the Hornady brass is technically within spec, though on the low end.
Obviously the simple answer is to just run Lapua brass. Mostly just curious if anyone has noticed anything similar or along the same vein.
Recently I loaded up a batch of ammo with the Hornady brass I acquired over the last couple years. Low and behold I started getting stuck cases and weak ejection.
I cleaned the chamber, cleaned the extractor and the channel it rides in. The loads aren’t overpressure, and the stuck cases weren’t what I would call truly stuck. They came out with a light tap from a cleaning rod. Anyway I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was going on.
Today I really dove into it, and found something interesting that may or may not be related to the stuck cases, but is definitely related to the weak ejection.
The Hornady 6.5cm brass that I measured has rim grooves that measure anywhere from .391-.398
Lapua 6.5cm brass has rim grooves that are .405-.406
Not only are the Lapua cases more consistent (no surprise), but the increase in diameter allows the extractor in the TL3 bolt head to actually positively hold on to the cases.
On the flip side, the Hornady brass is so narrow in this dimension that it is completely loose, and will just fall out of the bolt head. Based on saami drawings, I believe that the Hornady brass is technically within spec, though on the low end.
Obviously the simple answer is to just run Lapua brass. Mostly just curious if anyone has noticed anything similar or along the same vein.
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