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Bolt won't close on bergara with factory ammo

I have a new Bergara. Did your new Nosler round fit the DBM. If not then I can see why you were jammed. I currently am loading the Nosler 142gr ABLR and there is .073" difference between just touching the lands and fitting the DBM.
It's the b-14 hunter so no DBM. I just fed straight into the chamber though. But compared to the hornady OAL seemed to the naked eye to be about the same.
 
If the picture is accurate & the bases of the two cartridges are Even ? Is the one on the right the one that chambered?? But was tight?? Did it extract with relative ease??
It appears that the shoulder is pushed back & the bullets definitely jammed into the lands —-
If chamber & all is clean,
And it were Me!! I would seat the bullet deeper (enuff so that the Channellure is almost completely obscured by the mouth of case) and see if it will make Bolt closing smooth & easy - !!! If Yes - Good, if Not - contact Manufacturer or seller to take back rifle -

Bolt operation/closure & opening for extraction should be Easy & Smooth - if not dere is truly a problem
The bases were likely not even as I was trying to capture the Mark's on the bullets. I did suspect that perhaps I had bumped the shoulder, but had a couple other guys look at them as well and it didnt appear to be the case. Lesson learned though take the darned calipers with me when shooting every time from now on. I usually shoot at home so isnt a problem but was at the in-laws for a family get together.
 
Measure the throat and the Nosler ammo and compare. Also measure the twist. 8" is pretty standard for the 6.5. 9" or more would indicate it was designed specifically for light ammo.

Also, look on the barrel for info regarding twist and throat. Also look in the info that came with the rifle.
Checked with cleaning rod and confirms 1:8 twist as advertised. Being factory chamber I'm starting to wonder if this was just the very first one cut with brand new reamer, likely right at the tightest end of the tolerance, has not had a chance to wear out and get sloppy yet.
 
Another silly thought. I was reading your posts in this thread and noticed that you said the marks on the bullet were only on one side of the bullet. That's really wierd!

It suggests that bergara chambered the rifle off center (impossible to believe), or there is something in the chamber or throat that is pushing the cartridge off side. Thus is the first time you ever shot the rifle. Did you clean it first? Manufacturers and gunsmith often put heavy packing grease in bores and chambers to prevent them from corroding in shipment and storage. If you didn't clean it properly, that might explain everything.... .
After pulling the stock and scope to try and get the best view possible without a bore scope, I think this is exactly what the problem was. I didnt think to clean a brand new rifle but have learned my lesson. The plan was shoot 1 round then clean for the first 5, then after every 3 till I burned through 40 rounds.

I cleaned it today, and there was crap all in the chamber, looked like exactly what you said, that thick packing grease that metal products often have slathered all over...can't remember off the top of my head what its called.
Surprisingly filthy bore for a rifle that's never been fired.
Got it all cleaned up, looked down it again and to the naked eye ( young eyes I might add with better than 20-20 vision) it looks just fine. I'm sure a borescope would reveal tooling marks and more but I would think a burr large enough to cause the scraping seen on the bullet pictured would certainly be visible. So my conclusion is Susqutch nailed it, grease in the chamber pushing case off center just enough to contact a single land, compounded by the extremely long bearing surface of this particular factory loaded ammo.
Still need to get dies for 6.5cm, but as soon as I do I'll load up some dummy's and check it all out
 
I'm out shooting right now, and the bolt wont close. Brand new bergara b-14 6.5 creedmoor, never fired. Trying factory Nosler 120 gr ballistic tips. Tried to chamber one, bolt wont close, tried another and another. Very tight. Forced it on one and drag marks on bullet. Not firing it because from what I'm seeing it looks to be jammed .250" When I get home I'll start taking measurements to see what's going on, but just from my description and the picture below what say you?
One chambered, one not.View attachment 123871
Bit strange for Bergara...however...I bought a set of Redding Competition Shellholders (actually several for different calibers) they are an inexpensive fix.....vs micrometer dies. There are 5 in the set each in 2000's increments. 70.00. Not what the wealthy here might recommend but sure have helped me.
 
Checked with cleaning rod and confirms 1:8 twist as advertised. Being factory chamber I'm starting to wonder if this was just the very first one cut with brand new reamer, likely right at the tightest end of the tolerance, has not had a chance to wear out and get sloppy yet.

That whole business of reamers wearing out and chambers getting sloppy is grossly over stated. Yes, reamers do wear, but they don't end up undersized to any extent worth even thinking about. They just lose their sharp edge and stop cutting smoothly. Yes, the can get under size but only if they are re-sharpened. Most OEM's don't bother resharpening. It's very labour intensive and it's cheaper for them to just get another reamer. They might send it back to the reamer maker, but again it's easier and cheaper to just grab another reamer. For those that do go back to the reamer maker, sharpening usually involves pushing the reamer shoulder back to maintain the dimension.

The BIG issue with factory reamers is that they usually use non-piloted reamers. The result is often a chamber that is not perfectly concentric with the bore. Factories don't have time to be centering barrels and fitting precision bushings. Even if they did, they can't afford the skilled machinist to do it.

That said, Bergara is hardly a high volume OEM. They make and sell custom rifles and barrels. I would fully expect that every rifle they make is made by a skilled machist who takes the time to custom fit bushings.
 
Not too long ago on this site there were pictures of Berger ammo that was damaged. 300 win mag. New ammo. maybe they are slipping. Hard to believe, but maybe they are having quality problems.
 
I really doubt it is a quality issue with either Bergara or Nosler. I just think that particular cartidge/chamber combination do not work.
"The so called Delta - L problem, which means in reality that the delivered ammunition was manufactured with maximum tolerances, but your chamber has those of minimum." Like Varberger said.
 
That whole business of reamers wearing out and chambers getting sloppy is grossly over stated. Yes, reamers do wear, but they don't end up undersized to any extent worth even thinking about. They just lose their sharp edge and stop cutting smoothly. Yes, the can get under size but only if they are re-sharpened. Most OEM's don't bother resharpening. It's very labour intensive and it's cheaper for them to just get another reamer. They might send it back to the reamer maker, but again it's easier and cheaper to just grab another reamer. For those that do go back to the reamer maker, sharpening usually involves pushing the reamer shoulder back to maintain the dimension.

The BIG issue with factory reamers is that they usually use non-piloted reamers. The result is often a chamber that is not perfectly concentric with the bore. Factories don't have time to be centering barrels and fitting precision bushings. Even if they did, they can't afford the skilled machinist to do it.

That said, Bergara is hardly a high volume OEM. They make and sell custom rifles and barrels. I would fully expect that every rifle they make is made by a skilled machist who takes the time to custom fit bushings.
That makes a lot of sense
 
.... .. .. .. Surprisingly filthy bore for a rifle that's never been fired..........

Actually, I NEVER EVER deliver a rifle without first firing at least one round through it. Near as I can tell most smith's and gunmakers do the same. When I build a rifle, I always do a final check to make sure it works as expected. I've never had a problem, but I would never want the owner to find something I missed. Afterward, I clean the rifle. I've heard some BS about smith's not cleaning in order to provide proof they tested it. But I don't buy that.

Some makers like Cooper actually mount a Scope and test fire the rifle with 3 or 5 rounds to establish an accuracy standard.

I'll bet the filthy bore was just a factory proof round or three. Then it was packed with anti-corrosion grease and shipped.
 
After pulling the stock and scope to try and get the best view possible without a bore scope, I think this is exactly what the problem was. I didnt think to clean a brand new rifle but have learned my lesson.........
I cleaned it today, and there was crap all in the chamber, looked like exactly what you said, that thick packing grease that metal products often have slathered all over...can't remember off the top of my head what its called.............So my conclusion is Susqutch nailed it, grease in the chamber pushing case off center just enough to contact a single land, compounded by the extremely long bearing surface of this particular factory loaded ammo.

No sweat. Glad I could help. Also glad you never fired it. Enjoy your Bergara. I bet it's a fine rifle anyone would be proud to own.
 
S
I'm out shooting right now, and the bolt wont close. Brand new bergara b-14 6.5 creedmoor, never fired. Trying factory Nosler 120 gr ballistic tips. Tried to chamber one, bolt wont close, tried another and another. Very tight. Forced it on one and drag marks on bullet. Not firing it because from what I'm seeing it looks to be jammed .250" When I get home I'll start taking measurements to see what's going on, but just from my description and the picture below what say you?
One chambered, one not.View attachment 123871
second time within a week I've heard of this issue with a Bergara rifle and factory ammo. The other one was with Hornady factory ammo I think.
 
I'm very confused now. I don't have one, but I've read that the 6.5 Creedmore will make any rifle shoot better. Is there anything you can believe in anymore?
 

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