Sticking brass

[pdog shooter]

Interesting
You know, one of the characteristics that I liked about Peterson may be a weakness, when turning the necks it "felt" different than other brass. sizing felt different. Don't know if softer is the correct word but it is different, much different than, say, winchester. I would buy it again if available, just stay off max.

 

[.30-06]

I was wondering if it's softer.... appears it is.

 

[Rich Coyle]

I have 50 peterson brass that I believe is ruined and its "fat" brass. Load was for 6.5 creedmoor, 42gr H4350, length to .002 lands. Full resize and it chambers fine. Fire it and that bolt will not open, pulls past extractor and drive out with rod. And that's with reduced load safely off lands. I cut one open and could see no sign of thinning. If it were the shoulder I could understand but it's the body webbing area. That load was so accurate. Any ideas?

Never experienced this with 22-250, I'm new to the 6.5

I didn't read past the above quote and maybe posted this before. I'm getting old and don't remember like I used to. I had the same problem. The gunsmith replaced the extractor and viola it functions correctly.

 

[pdog shooter]

I didn't read past the above quote and maybe posted this before. I'm getting old and don't remember like I used to. I had the same problem. The gunsmith replaced the extractor and viola it functions correctly.

I did have to clean the extractor, several times, to remove the brass that was ripped off of rims. Then drive the brass out with a rod.
I wouldnt want to read that far either

 

[Mikecr]

Whenever you're advised about needing more clearances, you should consider it bad advice.
More clearance is NEVER a fix in the long run. Especially if it's excess clearance that caused a problem to begin with.

This is how it works:
On firing a good stiff load the case expands to chamber everywhere. The chamber then expands some and your brass goes right with it. When load pressure drops the chamber and normal hardness brass springs back. If the brass does not spring back far enough you're left with an interference fit. This is seen as popping extraction with good extraction timing, or extraction failure with marginal timing.
Three additional factors in play here:
1. Lacking sufficient barrel steel around the chamber for the cartridge (chamber expands too much).
2. Poor breech support (breech end of chamber expands too much).
3. Excess clearances (brass expands too much).

Ultimately, with popping extraction, the brass had expanded too much. This, either because of the gun build, or excess sizing on your part.
'Too Much' means excess yielding.
Yielded brass does not ever spring back to a dimension that it was beforehand. Yielding also breaks grains in the metal, realigning with spring back to the last place it was (when yielded). That's why brass will go right back there on next firing (even with a reduced load and excess sizing). It's character changes.

 

[pdog shooter]

Whenever you're advised about needing more clearances, you should consider it bad advice.
More clearance is NEVER a fix in the long run. Especially if it's excess clearance that caused a problem to begin with.

This is how it works:
On firing a good stiff load the case expands to chamber everywhere. The chamber then expands some and your brass goes right with it. When load pressure drops the chamber and normal hardness brass springs back. If the brass does not spring back far enough you're left with an interference fit. This is seen as popping extraction with good extraction timing, or extraction failure with marginal timing.
Three additional factors in play here:
1. Lacking sufficient barrel steel around the chamber for the cartridge (chamber expands too much).
2. Poor breech support (breech end of chamber expands too much).
3. Excess clearances (brass expands too much).

Ultimately, with popping extraction, the brass had expanded too much. This, either because of the gun build, or excess sizing on your part.
'Too Much' means excess yielding.
Yielded brass does not ever spring back to a dimension that it was beforehand. Yielding also breaks grains in the metal, realigning with spring back to the last place it was (when yielded). That's why brass will go right back there on next firing (even with a reduced load and excess sizing). It's character changes.

most likely I will prove your point about 21st or 2nd this month.
photos and documentation

 

[manitou]

IMO once your velocity is significantly over book, you are likely wading in the waters of excess pressure. Very often custom barrels show book top velocities with loads significantly below the published max.

Exactly! I just worked up a load for a custom 280ai and am getting max velocity 1.5 gr under book max loads!

 

[NVGuide]

I had your exact issue several years back with an older gun that had sat in a safe for more than a few blue moons.
I fixed mine by polishing the chamber with a medium grit polishing compound using a wooden dowel and a small piece of cotton rag. Cut a slice in the end of the dowel and put the small rectangle of rag with compound on it in the cut. They should fit snug in the chamber and the dowel should be long enough to put the end in a cordless drill.
This process was given to me by an old gunsmith friend of mine and it worked like a champ.

 

[Mikecr]

A polished chamber should reduce case stretch, possibly alleviating hard bolt turn.
But it won't affect case expansion that leads to interference fit and popping/failing extraction.
There is a difference here.

 

[340PR]

Just for grins, run a borescope into the chamber. Very often some corrosion has gotten which will lock onto the brass when fired.

 

[pdog shooter]

nosler resized right, fired not resized peterson left

 

[pdog shooter]

All have gone thru resizing process.
Fired nosler on the right, fired peterson on the left.
peterson x4 and nosler subjected to same treatment same adjust.
peterson selection based on damage to rim and head. Most likely driven out with rod.
Webbing area inspected no thinning detected, (I cut one open)

 

[pdog shooter]

Small base arrived early.
Interesting that it didn't even wipe the sharpie, nearly turned the reloading bench over.
Next up is firing and hopefully reloading, but the cows are in the way, might be Monday.
Also, forster press has thinner shell holder which should allow die a little more down stroke

 

[.30-06]

when you full length sized before the small base.... with a stripped bolt, could you work the bolt open and closed lightly with your fingers, or was there resistance? Sometimes dies are undersized.