6.8 western from 7 SAUM brass

Dashizzle37 said:

This a fairly new rifle. I would say roughly 70 rounds down the barrel. I fired 20 factory rounds and have successfully loaded 165 ablrs shooting sub moa consistently. I haven't had any weird issues other than occasionally the bolt closes a little rough but not often enough that I'd consider it an issue. And it does it with both factory and hand loads. Its a new seekins precision Havak ph2. Im not completely new to hand loaded but i am absolutely new to fireforming. The primers are fairly old as i bought them from a ol boy who had them for who knows how long. Primers are so hard to come across i figured I better just snag em up. Other than that all components are new. View attachment 617860View attachment 617861

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Copy all that.

Does that primer feel like its backed out of the case at all? Almost looks like it could be.

Wilderness Blacktail said:

Copy all that.

Does that primer feel like its backed out of the case at all? Almost looks like it could be.

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It feels flush to the case. Doesn't seem to have backed out.

Dashizzle37 said:

It feels flush to the case. Doesn't seem to have backed out.

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And all the other primers looked like that? Like very mild.

Wilderness Blacktail said:

And all the other primers looked like that? Like very mild.

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All primers look good. The other case i had an issue with that didn't fire, the primer looked expanded on one side and not the other. Deformed is the best way I can explain it. Unfortunately I didn't handle it long enough to get a picture.

Dashizzle37 said:

All primers look good. The other case i had an issue with that didn't fire, the primer looked expanded on one side and not the other. Deformed is the best way I can explain it. Unfortunately I didn't handle it long enough to get a picture.

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That is very odd. I think I would cull those primers.
I dont know that a primer could make a mild/normal load exhibit very high pressure like the case that died tho.

Wilderness Blacktail said:

That is very odd. I think I would cull those primers.
I dont know that a primer could make a mild/normal load exhibit very high pressure.

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Wilderness Blacktail said:

That is very odd. I think I would cull those primers.
I dont know that a primer could make a mild/normal load exhibit very high pressure like the case that died tho.

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I'll pull apart the other loads. Hopefully some new cci will and a lighter load fix the problem. Thanks for your help.

I think I would create a specific post on this and see what comes from it. Something is going on here and Im not sure the primer could do it.

It would make sense if somehow a heavier bullet was used, much longer C.O.L and bullet was heavily jammed or the charge got increased heavily (dont think thats possible as I wouldnt think theres enough room)

Dashizzle37 said:

Hey all,
I am new to this forum business and am trying to figure out sizing 7 saum to 6.8 western. I have successfully fireformed 18 pieces of brass from 7 saum to 6.8 weatern. However there is a reason I only have 18 pieces. One case did not fire and it seemed it may have been a bad primer I disposed of the case and have continued when I have had time. Yesterday evening I shot 10 more of the loads I used for fire forming 54 gr of imr 4350 and speer hotcore 150gr bullets. Seated just over spec as it seemed to be jamming the lands. On the 8th case the primer flattened and it almost looks like the case tried to separate. I'm not real sure why this happened as all other cases are forming perfectly. Any idea why this might be happening? It going to bug me unless there is a reasonable explanation. Hope someone can help me out with more knowledge than myself. Thank you!!!View attachment 617768View attachment 617769

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with a primer like that tells me your case was short and your bullet wasn't jammed. when sizing down your 7saum brass best to back your die out a 1/4-1/2 turn and only partial size the neck, a false shoulder is best option and will eliminate the case head separation. make sure your bullet is jammed tight into the lands. roughly .015- .020 into the lands not just touching the lands. you are not over pressure that primer backed out of case and slammed bolt face and when case expanded it forced the primer back into the case, common problem when cases are too short.

Wilderness Blacktail said:

I think I would create a specific post on this and see what comes from it. Something is going on here and Im not sure the primer could do it.

It would make sense if somehow a heavier bullet was used, much longer C.O.L and bullet was heavily jammed or the charge got increased heavily (dont think thats possible as I wouldnt think theres

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can1010 said:

with a primer like that tells me your case was short and your bullet wasn't jammed. when sizing down your 7saum brass best to back your die out a 1/4-1/2 turn and only partial size the neck, a false shoulder is best option and will eliminate the case head separation. make sure your bullet is jammed tight into the lands. roughly .015- .020 into the lands not just touching the lands. you are not over pressure that primer backed out of case and slammed bolt face and when case expanded it forced the primer back into the case, common problem when cases are too short.

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I will give that a try. When I sized the cases I only did the neck but the whole neck. It will be easy to pull the bullets and reseat farther out. I will give it a try this weekend and post back on here how it went. Thank you for you help.

Dashizzle37 said:

I will give that a try. When I sized the cases I only did the neck but the whole neck. It will be easy to pull the bullets and reseat farther out. I will give it a try this weekend and post back on here how it went. Thank you for you help.

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if possible pull bullets and expand necks to 30 cal. and then back down to 6.8 with the die backed off leaving a false shoulder, adjusting your die so the case has slight resistance when chambering and then load long with bullets touching lands. this is the best way to avoid any issues. if expanding up isn't possible just jam bullets as described earlier and you should still feel resistance when chambering a loaded round.

can1010 said:

with a primer like that tells me your case was short and your bullet wasn't jammed. when sizing down your 7saum brass best to back your die out a 1/4-1/2 turn and only partial size the neck, a false shoulder is best option and will eliminate the case head separation. make sure your bullet is jammed tight into the lands. roughly .015- .020 into the lands not just touching the lands. you are not over pressure that primer backed out of case and slammed bolt face and when case expanded it forced the primer back into the case, common problem when cases are too short.

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This is what I would put my money on. The case was pushed forward during firing, possibly out of the extractor, or it was never in it, then it went off. The case wall expanded and gripped the chamber, then pressure slammed the primer against the bolt face, causing the flat primer. Then, the increasing pressure slammed the back portion of the case, that is stronger due to being thicker and didn't expand as much to grip the case wall, and this caused the case separation, and shoved the primer back in, creating more of a flattened look.

As stated, create a false shoulder on the cases, and jam the bullets into the lands for good measure to make sure that doesn't happen again. If they were jammed, it may have only happened to the one because the strike of the fireing pin may have pushed the bullet deeper in the neck, allowing the case to go forward, due to not enough neck tension.