Author Topic: lock up problems- help (Read 643 times)

tripper · « **on:** September 20, 2005, 07:19:33 PM »

I belief I saw somthing on this before but can not find it so here goes again.
rifle- 260 rem, all rem. brass
Symtems, on occasion gun will not cock unless I close the action very firmly. Somtimes I have to open and close the action 2-3 times before it will lock up and cock.
What I have tried-
resize a bunch of brass trying each one in the gun and some will not work with normal closeing of the action. I tried resizing again and still no go but if I resize another brass it will work fine.
Next step- I take a brass that works the way it should and put a primer in it and I run into the same lock up and cocking problem. primer pockets are clean and primers are seated. The round before and after work fine.
I have checked head thickness on the brass but one thing I haven't done yet( just thought of it) is to seperate the good from the bad after fireing and see if it is the same brass each time.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 21, 2005, 04:24:40 AM »

Just a suggestion, check the case length.

tripper · « **Reply #2 on:** September 21, 2005, 09:02:47 AM »

that is one of the steps i have done but forgot to mention. thanks for the answer though.

KYODE · « **Reply #3 on:** September 21, 2005, 10:23:27 AM »

it kinnda sounds like the case shoulder is not being pushed back far enuff.......OR that the expander ball, when pulled back out of the case during resizing, is pulling the shoulder back out just far enuff to cause problems on lockup with SOME cases. do ya lube inside case necks?

single shot actions such as these are kinnda sensitive to proper size die adjustment. if the case is too long from shoulder to base, they gun may not lock up correctly. have ya tried slightly adjusting the die down to resize a lil more?

hmmmm.......if it's only some cases, possibly some of your brass has stretched more in shoulder to base length, and the sizing die is not bumping those particular shoulders back enuff.

shoulder position is important in these imo. push em back too far and you excessively stretch brass, or even cause misfires in old model contender actions........or not bump em back far enuff, and the G2 or encore action will not cock. i've had both things happen to me. :?
just some ideas you might check

tripper · « **Reply #4 on:** September 21, 2005, 04:56:25 PM »

I do not swab the inside of the case neck with lube. I use one shot and lay my brass out on a lube pad and run the spray pointed into the necks and then across the top of the brass and then roll them back and forth across the pad. The expander ball has been tight at times coming back out so you may have a point on pull the shoulder backout.
I found something tonight that further backs you thoughts of lack of lube in the neck. It was on a brass that i tried bumbing the shoulder back a little more on. I didn't bother to lube the inside of the neck at all. When the round wouldn't work I started looking at every thing real close and discovered the base was slightly sprung. So what I will do now is throw any that act up and make sure the inside of the neck is lubed good from now on. We'll see what happens.

KYODE · « **Reply #5 on:** September 22, 2005, 02:14:04 AM »

hmmmm.....sounds like that may be it. ya might try a lube like hornady unique or imperial sizing wax. a lil Q-tip of that inside the necks will probably lube better. as a matter of fact, i like the rub on lubes better than the sprays now. it is a lil slow, but works better for me.

i also use a lyman case neck dipper quite a bit. it uses the dry mica powder for a lube.

i've heard of people polishing the expander ball. never tried it, but that may help also.

ideal size die adjustment will let the brass fill the chamber, and stick out of a removed barrel enuff to fill the barrel to frame gap minus .001-.002". you can use a feeler gauge get the barrel to frame gap, n the first one ya close on that will pull out with little resistance is the one.
you can also set the amount of needed brass protrusion from the chamber of a removed barrel with the feeler gauges.

and.....i set my dies off the shellholder a known amount with the feeler gauge. the die setting is always repeatable, or you know what increments you are adjusting up or down to get the proper die setting to make the brass fit that particular frame/barrel combo.

good luck

tripper · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2005, 07:23:15 AM »

thanks kyode, I had set the die up the same way i did my 7-30 tc and that has worked great. I had set it to just touch the shoulder on a onece fired case.
I use to use a rub on lube but got away from it because the one shot didn't leave the residue on the case. guess I''ll go back to it and pick a neck luber. Looks like I will have to ship off the brass polisher to. When I went to empty it lastnight it was making more noise then normal and smelt and felt kind of warm. Wouldn't you know I just threw the box it came in away.

tripper · « **Reply #7 on:** September 27, 2005, 04:34:01 PM »

just a up date on my lock up problems. between tweeking my die a little more and making sure the neck was well lubed my problem has gone away. thanks for all the suggestions guys.

KYODE · « **Reply #8 on:** September 27, 2005, 06:12:25 PM »

:agree:

tcman · « **Reply #9 on:** September 28, 2005, 05:29:06 PM »

The best method I have come across for neck lubing was to get some SMALL steel shotgun shot, clean it up good and then put it in a small container, like a skoal can or smaller. Then pour some motor mica in and shake it up. Then I simply stick the case mouth into the mica shot and give it a quick turn. Tap the case on the container a time or two to make sure a piece of shot isn't hung up on the inside of the shoulder and you're good to go.

The motor mica will not affect the powder and it is basically slick as cat gut.