Author Topic: Troubled 243 (Read 555 times)

kenscot · « **on:** December 10, 2005, 11:49:47 AM »

This rifle is giving me fits! At first I could not find a 100gr bullet it would shoot well, had to settle for 85 gr bullets that it will shoot into 1/2" groups.
This I can live but it has another annoying habit that is driving me crazy. I reload and about every 10th round is very difficult to chamber. I full length resize my cases, trim them to proper length. I took 50 once fire cases and resized them and tried chambering them with the same bad results. Then I took 50 new unfired pieces and chambered them without a hitch. Could it be my dies? Any ideas?

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 10, 2005, 04:58:58 PM »

Kenscot

How does factory ammo chamber , It could be that the dies are just over sized or that the chamber is under sized .

What brand of dies are you using .

How many rounds have you loaded with the dies .

You may want to check the spec's on the brass before and after sizing to see what is changing .

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 10, 2005, 05:07:16 PM »

Also you may want to try smoking one of the re-sized brass with a candle to see where it is hanging up .

May be a neck sizing problem .

kenscot · « **Reply #3 on:** December 10, 2005, 07:23:34 PM »

the factory ammo chambers fine for the most part, aslight hang up here and there but no where close to the reloaded cases. it feels like the case head has trouble pulhing down on the ejector plunger and getting under the extractor as the bolt is camming as I push the handle down

victorcharlie · « **Reply #4 on:** December 11, 2005, 01:10:59 AM »

If you remember, the original .244 came with a 1 in 12 twist and did not shoot the heavier bullets very well. The .243 came out with a 1 in 10 twist and would supposedly shoot the heavier bullets.

Sounds like your rifle is not stabilizing the heavier bullets. Increasing velocity may help as that would increase the rotational speed of the bullet. Finding a 100 grain bullet with less bearing surface may help as well. You don't give any load data or bullet information, what powder and bullet combinations have you tried?

As for the case not feeding correctly......It could be a rough spot or burr in the chamber itself but the fact that 9 out of 10 feed fine would make me think the chamber is ok.... One of the things I'd do is plaster cast the chamber and see if you can see anything wrong. Is it possible the OAL is longer on the one that sticks from the bullet touching the rifling? Have you checked case neck thickness? IMO,your going to have to get out the mic and measure to figure this one out.

kenscot · « **Reply #5 on:** December 11, 2005, 01:55:45 AM »

Well it is not cartridge OAL since I have been hand feeding the case empty no I have not checked the case necks yet and to be frank if the chamber was tihgt there that I would have to turn the necks every time I reload the cases I would dump the rifle the one othe odd thing is that when I run the case that get stuck back through they will chamber fine several time and the stick again so it is no like it is one or to bad cases to my thinking it has to be something with the rifle. Yes i had sent back to remington and they said it checks out fine

victorcharlie · « **Reply #6 on:** December 11, 2005, 02:23:15 AM »

The plaster casting might give you some clues.......not that hard to do but it can be messy. Sure sounds like something in the chamber..if your reloading process is good.......might try polishing the chamber and bolt face.....Have you weighed the cases that stick? What about the primers, are they backed out any? Any case lube still on the brass?

Might have to have a local smith check it........

Sorry, I will admit I'm guessing......maybe one of the other fellows will have seen this problem and will respond.

Savage · « **Reply #7 on:** December 11, 2005, 03:51:29 AM »

Is your problematic brass from the same lot? Are you using a good solid O frame press. If your brass is not from the same lot, you might have some thicker cases mixed in causing the problem. Could be that the occasional thicker case could cause enough springing in a turret or C frame press enough to prevent full length sizing of the case. Tricky problem, hope you get it sorted out.
Savage

Steve P · « **Reply #8 on:** December 11, 2005, 06:34:14 PM »

Are you letting the ammo chamber out of the magazine? On most bolt action rifles, as the ammo feeds out of the magazine, the case head seats behind the extractor on the bolt. If it does not seat up behind the extractor, you can have problems closing the bolt, etc. I have a bolt action rifle that will not take Winchester brass. The Remington brass works fine, but the case head on the Winchester brass is just different enough that my bolt will lose a piece of brass once in a while leaving it in the chamber or partially in the chamber. Remingtons, Federal, and most other brass, never a problem.

First, I would check to see how your ammo is feeding up out of the magazine. Is it going in behind the extractor on your bolt ok? Does it sometimes hang up before fully seating in the bolt face?

Next thing I would check is the sizing die. Do you have it adjusted properly. I have a new Winchester Model 70 and RCBS die set. I had one in four brass where I had problem closing the bolt. I had to readjust my sizing die to bump the shoulder just a little to make all reloads chamber easily. Didn't want rough bolt closure on a quick second or third shot if needed in the woods. I ended up checking each of my reloads before putting them in my ammo pouch to take into the field with me.

Lastly, see if the symptoms are related to brand of brass. They may be in spec. but could be different enough to cause you problems.

Good luck,

Steve

Siskiyou · « **Reply #9 on:** December 12, 2005, 11:42:16 AM »

Was the "once fired brass" fired in your rifle? Many years ago I was given 10 boxes of once fired .243 brass from a relative that did not reload. At the time I did not examine the brass closely. We were visiting on a vacation and I did not check the brass until later.

He did mention that the rifle was leaking gas. He offered the rifle to me and I turned it down. It was a Mossberg bolt action that had been made in the 50's or 60's. But I was foolish enough to take the brass.

At home I noticed the brass was far over length. When I ran a bent paper clip in the case I could feel the start of head separation. It hurt but I crushed 200 cases. The point being is that case problems can have a number of orgins.

kenscot · « **Reply #10 on:** December 13, 2005, 01:55:35 PM »

The once fired brass was fired in my rifle, I have checked OAL of my cartridges. It does it with both remington and winchester brass. Being a remington the extractor does not pickup the rim until it fully chambers. This is where I am beginnning to believe the problem lies. I can chamber one piece of brass ten times without problem and then it will happen and consequently it will chamber hard the first time and the be fine for several more chamberings before it happens again.