300 weatherby help

[AZTrapper]

I am posting this for a friend he has a 300 weatherby that now is having a high pressure problem. He is using the same lot numbers on powder and primers same bullets same cases etc. he is using either reloader 25 or retumbo powder. I believe he is loading 87 grains of powder ( I may be wrong) he has shot this load for several season with no problem at all with pressure signs bolt sticking or primers at any time of year. Now the bolt is very hard to open, so he backed off by 2 grains and still has a little problem. Both loads show no signs on the cases of pressure primers flating out etc. Besides backing off on the powder more does anyone have any ideas to maybe sometype of mechcanal problem with his gun. Or any ideas? He doesn't have a computer or I would have him here and he lives a 150 miles from me so we talk on the phone. Any ideas or help would be great

Bill
AzTrapper

 

[britz]

I don't load the 300 wby, but I do load the 300WSM and had a similar problem. I loaded on the upper levels but not too hot, neck sized and suddenly found hard sticky bolts around the 3rd-4th loadings of the same cases. I full length resized and that seemed to help ( I was trying to bump the shoulders back a little but I had trouble setting up the die in a hurry so I simply FL resized). I have heard several people feel it necessary to aniel the case necks after several loadings. I haven't tackled that task as of yet.

After repeated firing the case shoulders get stretched farther and farther forward and make the bolt work a little too hard to chamber the round.

Good luck, Mark.

 

[Hired Gun]

Can you post his exact load.
Case:
How is it prepped. Neck size only or shoulders bumped etc:
How many firings oh these cases:
bullet:
OAL:
Powder/amount:
Primer:
Action /barrel: Winchester 70 / Mark 5 / Vangard etc 24 or 26
Is the factory freebore intact.
Usual velocity:
Extreme spread for 10 shots:
Last time it was cleaned to perfection.

I'm certain that while answering these questions the cause of problem will pop right up.

 

[AZTrapper]

When I talk with him later I will ask. On thing I got wrong was the bolt opens fine it's pulling it back to eject the case is the problem.

 

[Steve Shelp]

AZTrapper,
I suspect it is a sizing issue after several firings of using belted brass. Take 1 case that has been fired and came out with the hard extraction you talked about. Have your buddy run that empty case through his sizing die and insert the case back into the chamber and try to extract the round?

Does it still give a sticky feeling when hitting the extraction cam at the top of the bolt throw?

If so, this is a classis sign of stretched brass not springing back enough to allow good extraction on belted cases. Two things you can do to fix this. There is a collect type sizing die made for the .532 case head brass that specifically squeezes down the small area in front of the belt that std sizing dies don't reach or are to big to properly size that area down. I have a sneaking suspition this is where your issue lies. Do you see a bright shiny ring right in front of the belt on the case body?

The other option is to simply discard this brass and get new stuff. Being this is a hunting gun this is probably your best and cheapest option.
Now keep in mind I'm assuming some things here also. You reported your buddy has shot this load for several years without a problem. So I'm assuming it is a good reasonaably safe load. But if he does simply replace the brass it will be a matter of time before the same thing happens to the "new" brass also and he will have to replace that brass also. To gain some more case life he could reduce his charge a grain or two and extend the ammount of time that the cases become hard to extract.

Hired Gun also has a good point.... make sure that rifle is really clean. Not just your average cleaning practice, but get in there with some agressive cleaners and see if there isn't a hidden buildup of carbon or copper that his current solvents or cleaning routine are not getting out. You can't "assume" it's clean, you have to know it is clean. Maybe best to get a gunsmith with a borescope to take a quick peak and report what he sees.

Just some suggestions. hope it helps.

Steve

 

[kraky2]

I have a little experience with the collet die mentioned above. It works great IF THAT'S THE PROBLEM. We got it for a friend who has a "generous" chamber on a custom 300 wby.
The bottom line is we had trouble chambering sized brass and found the problem is swelling just above the belt. NO FL DIE is designed to size all the way to the belt because the die manufacturers are afraid someone will bump the belt back slightly and this can cause a big headspacing problem. So if you have a generous chamber eventually the bulge will appear above the belt. Just measure above the belt. You should be at .512" or below for case diameter after sizing. If you are at .513 or over that is very likely your problem.
If he gets the die it works real well and takes the dimension back to about .510 or so which is factory dimension.

 

[AZTrapper]

It was a carbon build up

Well i sent the answers to my friends problem, so he took the easy way first and found out it was a carbon build up. He changed the way he was cleaning and changed what he way using and was shocked to see how much was really still in there. He wanted me to thank those who posted ideas!!!!!!!!!! He is back shooting the load he used and back to being one happy hunter!

AzTrapper

 

[Innovative]

AZTrapper,

You said that your bolt opens fine, it just doesn't pull back. Thats because your bolt hasen't actually opened up "all the way". The last little bit of bolt lift is where the bolt cams your case loose from the chamber. This extraction problem is because your case is stuck to your chamber wall. This symptom is especially common with belted magnum calibers.

If you measure the diameter of your cases that stick and compare them with new cases, you'll see what I mean. The pressure ring (just above the belt) is not getting resized enough; and when you chamber a round, your bolt is camming your handloads into a press fit. Read my website, and you'll see lots of tech tips like this that will solve this problem and many others.

- Innovative