.257 115gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claws - bad batch

[Rum River]

I was having trouble with case neck tension. Turns out the base of the bullet mikes .257", the rest of the bullet shank mikes .255". When seating, the oversize base swages out the inside neck dimension. By the time the oal is correct, the base itself has passed completely through the neck, leaving an inside dimension .002" larger than the diameter of the bullet.

I measured an entire box, plus another half a box, all measured identical. I have left a message for customer service, but the greeting said they're open Monday through Thursday, so I won't hear back for at least a few days.

Found a review on Midway USA from 3/12/2008 detailing the identical problem. The ad also said that Trophy Bonded has discontinued the bullet.

Anybody had similar problems with Trophy Bonded Bear Claws?

[Dand]

No experience with them at all. But I do recall that some bullets can be intentionally made that way.  Seems like one manufacturer used to make .264 cal bullets that way for the .264 Win Mag, and folks trying to use those bullets in other cartridges had the same problems  you describe. I think it was one way to control pressures - called a 2 diameter bullet.

[Autorim]

How are you deternining OAL?

[Rum River]

Thanks for the responses.

Dand,
I did some searches and found info on what you described relative to the .264. In my case the TBBC's mike .257" only at the very base. Go towards the tip less than 1/4" and the bullet diameter has already shrunk to .255". If the plan was for a 2 diameter bullet, they sure aren't leaving a loader much to work with.

Autorim,
I took a fully prepared case with no powder or primer, and seated a TBBC to an overall length of 3.700". I then chambered that round and measured. I repeated for a total of five. They measured 3.676", 3.667", 3.656", 3.658" and 3.656" respectively. The magazine length limited me to 3.630", so I went with 3.630", knowing I was well off the lands. The bullet length is 1.148", the case length 2.840", the neck length .220". This places the base of the TBBC .138" below the case neck, leaving only the .255" diameter portion of the bullet loosely contained in a neck .002" larger.