.308 'no goes' in Stevens 200

[Ranger J]

I purchased a new Stevens 200 in .308 and was looking forward to taking it out to the range.  I have a Handi rifle in the same caliber that I have shot and hunted with for several years with good results.  I reload for the Handi and as long as I trim the cases to proper length have never had any problem with one not chambering.  Before I took the 200 out I was running some rounds through it to see how the action worked when one wouldn’t chamber.  I took that round back to my reloading area and pulled the bullet thinking that perhaps I had got distracted and either not sized it or had not trimmed it.  I did both of these again and reloaded the case.  I took it back to the 200 and tried again.  Still a no go.  I put it into the Handi and it chambered easily.  I know that the Handis often have ‘generous’ chambers and the Savage line are known for being the opposite.  When I got to the range the next day I ran into about a half dozen other rounds that also wouldn’t chamber while the majority did just fine.  I am using a Lee resizing die and it doesn’t seem any particular brand of brass that does this.  What is going on?  I marked all the ‘no goes’ and have relegated them to the Handi.  I have some new Remington brass to load for hunting season and I will give them all a run through to avoid any surprises.  I have a similar Savage rifle in 06, which I load for also with Lee dies with no problems at all.  Anybody got any ideas.  The brass for both guns might be considered ‘field run’.
RJ

[myarmor]

Are you using the same fired brass between the Handi and Stevens?  If so i would seperate the brass you shoot from each, and only use it for that rifle.
Are you Full Length Sizing, or only neck sizing?
-Aaron

[Ranger J]

I’m full length resizing.  It may be that the Stevens is just that much tighter in the chamber.  As I’ll probably just use the 200 during deer season and I actually enjoy shooting the single shot more, having a different box for brass for each gun may be what I have to go to, even if it is a pain.  Getting another brand resizing die could also be an option providing I knew for sure that it would resize smaller than the Lee.
RJ

[josebd]

turn ur die in a 1/8 at a time to see if that helps.i had to go a extra 1/4 with my 22-250,which is a tack driver!!!!!!

[myarmor]

I personally neck size when all possibile. I like to keep my fireformed brass specific to the barrel it was shot out of, and only neck size and trim when needed. Even though I have a couple rifles and/or barrels in the same caliber. It's not to bad, just right on the box with a Sharpie which rifle/or barrel it was fired out of. Keep a notebook with data for each barrel on seperate pages.
I personally have had good sucess with Lee dies, though I admit they are rough around the edges as most all Lee products are. I do like the Collet sizer though

[PA-Joe]

Have you tried new rounds and do they chamber? It may be a COL or neck setback issue. Are the rounds just sticking in the mag (too long)? Will they chamber when hand feed?

[Ranger J]

Thank you Josebd.  I took an empty ‘no go’, checked it again just to make sure it still wouldn’t chamber in the 200.  It wouldn’t.  Then I turned the die down a little more and resized it again and presto I had an easy chamber.  I guess I was not actually resizing that last 1/8 inch or so of the brass and as they were shot in the more generous chamber of the Handi that last 1/8 inch wouldn’t allow the occasional piece of brass to chamber in the 200.  Come to think of it a similar problem got me to loading with a press.  The first caliber I loaded for was a .44 mag.  I had my infamous all over the place .44 Handi and a Deerfield (great gun).  I was using a Lee classic as in the past I had loaded thousands of shot gun shells with one and was familiar with it.  The loads that I fired in the Handi would reload and easily and rechamber in it but when I tried to load them in the Deerfield they wouldn’t come close to fitting.  After a while I figured out that the classic would only ‘neck’ resize the brass and as the Handi had a larger chamber (as well as a too large bore) when I tried to put them in the Deerfield they would only start.  When I bought a press and some RCBS dies (full-length resize) the problem went away.  I should have thought of checking how far I had the .308 dies turned down.  Now everything is OK.  I loaded 20 rounds last night and all slide right in.  Thanks again.
RJ