encore wont close on hand loads

[luckydawg13]

hello
i went to the range yesterday to try out some new hand loads in my 308 win encore barrel
my barrel wouldn't lock up or when it did i could not pull the hammer back
factory loads work fine i think i moved the shoulder back on the case when re sized
them would to much lube on the case do this i ask this because i did have a lot of lube on
the pad the lid came off when i went to put put some on the pad
 so can i pull the boolits and re size ? or are the cases bad now
thanks for the help

[necchi]

You can pull'm and re-size,
You mention a pad when lubing so I presume your using RCBS stuff. If you had too much lubed when sizing, many times you'll see little dents in the shoulder area call "hydrolic dents". In and of themselves these dents aren't bad if their small, they'll shoot out or come back out when fired.
I use the RCBS pad method also, the RCBS lube washes off with water. Cleaning, washing, drying, my cases after sizing are a part of my process.,
 
Just turn the die down further in your press and get a FULL full length re-sizing and hopefully your trouble will disappear.
 
Next time try a sized case before ya load'm and mark this one down as lesson learned. 
 

[Luckyducker]

All that lube is a mess more than a deterent for the action closing properly, and, BTW, I would advise you to get rid of the lube pad and get some Imperial sizing wax for case lube.  Your cartridges have to be out of spec for them not to fully chamber in the rifle.  Are these cases fire formed in this chamber?  If not, they could need to be run through a small base die, although if it were mine I would just buy new brass and toss the  others in the scrap brass can.  If indeed they  have been shot in this barrel your loaded rounds are either too long for the headspace of your chamber ( need shoulder set back more) or they are too long overall and need to be trimmed, or lastly the bullets are seated to a COAL that won't fit.  I had an Encore barrel chambered in 264Win that wouldn't accept brass shot in a custom Mauser in that cartridge no matter how far down the case the die sized them, but new brass worked like new money.  Hope you can resolve this situation.

[luckydawg13]

thanks for the help i will pull and resize and get some of that impeerial sizing wax
if that dont work ill get new brass

[Savage]

There's nothing wrong with using a lube pad for lubing cases. It's just like everything else, it has to be done properly. If your cases didn't get stuck in the sizing die, and don't have lube dents in the shoulder, there's nothing wrong with your lubing operation. I use the Imperial Wax as well as the spray lube and RCBS lube pad, depending on my mood at the time. They all work equally well when used properly. Your problem is a sizing problem, pure and simple. You may have to full length size for your Encore if setting the shoulder back a little more doesn't solve your problem. Keep adjusting your sizing die down a little at a time until the cases chamber easily. Your brass should be fine.
Savage

[luckydawg13]

. Your problem is a sizing problem, pure and simple. You may have to full length size for your Encore if setting the shoulder back a little more doesn't solve your problem. Keep adjusting your sizing die down a little at a time until the cases chamber easily. Your brass should be fine.
Savage

100% right i just pulled all my boolits out resized washed my boolits off had powder
on them relubed made a dummy round up works fine
thanks for your help

[gman628]

You need a headspace gage, if you want to know where to get one for your Encore, send me an email as I can't mention the business' name on this forum.  With a head space gage, you can accurately get your head space to .001 tollerance
 
GD

[luckydawg13]

pm sent to ya

[necchi]

You need a headspace gage,

Single shot rifles are a bit different than Bolt guns, they Head Space off the receiver.
I shoot handirifles, these are known for tight chamber bodies and long necks, it seems as though the shoulder on all of them vary, almost like they start with a die that's set really deep then run it until it's just sammi spec.
Anyway's the point is, a good FL sizing at least with the handis assures the brass will fit.
 
Proper concentricity goes along ways to improving accuracy. More so I think in singles than worrying about a shoulder fit like it matters in a bolt gun. Don't get me wrong and start a different topic, a good fitting shoulder can help alot, but if the body chamber is snug and a guy doesn't wanna spend another $100 on body dies an other tools, taking care to keep the neck and bullet straight is a major +.

[Tom W.]

Don't feel like the lone stranger, I did the same thing when I had my .22/250 barrel. Some would chamber and others wouldn't...I pulled the bullets and re-resized the brass, and all was well after that...

[wallypedal]

Ditto on what everybody said, but one thing to add:  If you have a regular sizing die with a decapping pin and expander, you could be sizing correctly and then pulling the shoulder forward IF: the expander drags because of it's shape, it is not polished enough, the necks are dirty or carboned up inside, or whatever you use or do for inside neck lube for sizing/expanding isn't doing the job. You really want a consistent and smooth feel to the press when the expander is pulling back through. I use one of the little benchtop things that holds powdered graphite and has 3 brushes for doing the inside necks. If you size a case without the expander in place and it feeds, and then you size it again and expand it and it doesn't feed then it's something to consider.
Wallypedal

[Sourdough]

One other thing to check is case length.  A lot of my once fired factory cases are too long just from that one firing.  I have to trim the cases.  I shoot a TCR and that is it's only real finicky issue.  Case length has to be within proper tollerances.

[anachronism]

Go ahead and use your current set up. There's no need to buy anything more. You probably do need to set the shoulder back a bit. As far as the lube goes, wipe the case luber from the shoulder & neck areas before sizing. There will be enough left for proper sizing. After sizing, clean the case really good, and check your case length and trim if necessary. You should only check case length on a fully sized case. I've seen some guys try to measure the cases before sizing, but that is incorrect.

[goodconcretecolor]

I had the same problem with my son's 243 Handi rifle. I found that most of my problem stemmed from failure to lube the inside of the case neck prior to resizing. I had tried small base dies and several other things before hitting on the neck lube.

[SHOOTALL]

Get a lee case trimmer and get all cases the same length . Full length resize , load and crimp in seperate operations . Lube cases , I put a small amount of RCBS case lube on a clean surface ( I have a glass pipe cap ) then every so often get some on my finger tips and rub  it on the cases being careful to not get any on shoulder then then on the first case to be sized i place a very small amount inside the case mouth . If the cases seem to get harder to size i put some lube in another case mouth to lube the expander . I start with clean cases BTW. 
 Take a magic marker and coat the bolt faces and close the gun on a finished round , the bolts should have marks at least 1/2 way up to be getting good lock up on a Contender it may be the same on an Encore.

[JustaShooter]

Get a lee case trimmer and get all cases the same length . Full length resize , load and crimp in seperate operations .

I'd say full length resize, then trim.  Otherwise, the resizing can cause differences in the finished case length.

Just sayin'

Just a Shooter

[SHOOTALL]

If your case is to long it won't fit , if your cases are different in length and you seat and crimp set up on a short case when you pass a long case thru. you can deform the shoulder and neck area and cause a chambering problem.