13 replies to this topic

[KNOCKED UP]

Today I took my 19 year old grandson, and his Ball and Chainto the gun range, He was shooting the remington 700 7mm magthat I gave him for his birthday.He shot about 15 rounds, Very good shooting,Then he couldn't get his bolt open,I tried also.So I shot the stuck round, and had him put the gun in the truck,and shoot my Remington 742 30-06. When I got home, I tapped it open with a block of wood.The brass was stuck just above the belt.Any ideas?You can see the shiney ring in the picture.Tom

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[OrneryOlMofo357]

Stuck cases/hard to lift bolts are usually signs of high pressure. But since you fired the round after it was chambered, maybe the case was not fully resized? Why did he try to open the bolt prior to the shot? Any missing info? My Howa has a tighter chamber than the Tikka, and only fully resized cases will interchange. I would put an empty resized case in and make sure that the bolt closes easily before loading more. Good luck.

[KNOCKED UP]

Grant,Look at the picture,The shiney ring is around the belt. It could have been high pressure before I reloaded it.But I don't see how it could be from resizing.By the way, I picked up a bunch of 223 brass, for youthe guy that shot it said that it was new.Tom

[Bisley]

He's not saying the shiny ring by the belt is from resizing, he means that if for some reason the case was not fully resized, it can make it hang up and hard to open/close. Maybe the handle on the press was never completely bottomed out while sizing, or some other silly reason. Some guns have tighter chambers than others. I had an H&R .243 single shot that I had to be very sure it was completely and thoroughly sized in order to get it to chamber. My Howa and Savage are way less finicky. If your case was not properly sized, it should also have been pretty difficult to chamber, but still easier than clearing it since you have more leverage when closing the bolt than opening it. It may very well have been a lot tougher to close than your son thought but he just didn't notice. It would be a lot easier for a 19 year old to close a tight case than us old guys, but much, much tougher to open. I am guessing that is probably why he was trying to open it before shooting it too, because he knew something just didn't "feel" right after closing the bolt. Right?

[KNOCKED UP]

Absolutly Bob, I do understand what you are saying,I am sure my grandson did it exactlyThe way you said.When I get home I will measure everythingAnd resize it again and check it in the chamber.I don't think I will reload that brass anyway.Tom

[OrneryOlMofo357]

I doubt that the fault was with the brass Tom. Just try a few resized cases in the rifle prior to reloading them, and you should be ok. Good luck.

[KNOCKED UP]

Got it Grant, Thanks.Tom

[HOG]

I polished the chamber of my 7mag. made a difference on chambering and ejection. Just a thought too.

[tawnoper]

Sure you didn't have the safety on? Some of the 700's will not cycle the bolt when the safety is on.If you could close the bolt on a tight fitting round you should be able to open it with the same amount of effort. After the shot is when pressure will stick it in the chamber.

[Frank]

Well, it's been a lot of years since I handloaded for my 7mm mags. Not to mention my lousy memory. But here goes.My GUESS (a disclaimer) is, it is either the brass NOT being properly full length sized, a head space problem or the extractor. I suspect the first, since it sounds like the rifle has had a few rounds through it over some time with your "reload" comment, & extractors being a less likely problem... even though it still could be (the problem).Also, the "shiny ring" is above the belt, typical of improper sizing on belted mags... aka; the shoulder not being set back far enough. In other words, after just a couple of reloadings, the area just above the belt can easily become swollen if the die is not properly full length sizing the brass, and is also the area you stated that the brass was stuck on & pic shows.IF the full length sizing is correct, then it is a headspace problem... which I would be more suspect of on a newer or less fired rifle than one that has been fired semi often, previously. Other than that, just make sure your brass are trimmed back to proper length (another common mistake), and that the O.A.L. of the round is not too long. But semi doubt these 2 being the problem, but wanted to mention.If you are not a backyard gunsmith, which I ain't, a real gunsmith or the manufacturer itself may need to look at it. Maybe?Good Luck on getting it resolved soon, on whatever the problem is.

[KNOCKED UP]

I think it was my own fault resizing, I probally didn't push the press all the way.The rest of the rounds were fine.Thanks everyone for your wisdom.Tom

[docskinner]

Getting in late - but the ring around the base looks like signs of case head separation - Could be overpresure. Remeber different rifles will space to the rifling differently. Atiny jump to the lands in one rifle is okay pressure. Same COAL can be right at the lands in different rifle. or into teh lands, and suddenly overpressure.

[Shoot-it]

One time hunting with a friend his 7 mag had a case head separation and it broke right there above the ring.We rammed another empty into it and the broken case came out.That does work sometimes his brass was just reloaded way to many times and were brittle I think..Have you found out what happened was the case not re-sized all the way ???

[KNOCKED UP]

I think the problem was that I didn't press it all the way when I resized it.Tom