Stuck Case in Chamber

[coueskiller43]

I'd be interested to know what the load was.
I see a yellow box on your bench there. Seeing that it's a 6.5 PRC and your stated velocity is into pressure I'm guessing you are running 156's? What's your barrel length?

 

[DirtNap35]

I'd be interested to know what the load was.
I see a yellow box on your bench there. Seeing that it's a 6.5 PRC and your stated velocity is into pressure I'm guessing you are running 156's? What's your barrel length?

You are correct. Berger 156s with 59.2 of N565 and .020 OL. This firing is the 3rd firing for brass. When I did a pressure test with virgin brass I took it all the way to 60.1 before I got a hard bolt lift. My virgin brass has a base to shoulder of 1.645. The 2nd fired brass measures 1.653. I bumped shoulder to 1.649 and those load fine. I have some that came out 1.650 and those are the ones I have to put force on bolt to close. I've noticed on those firings I get a hard bolt lift to extract case and my velocity spikes around 20 fps, but yesterday it spiked 43 fps. Barrel length is 26"

 

[cajun]

That's what can happen when you run a hot load. Something changes. Dirty chamber, hotter weather. Maybe some moisture.

 

[WapitiBob]

Yeah I know I'm into pressure but I've ran this load for over 300 rounds and never had any issues that concerned me. But yes after this I will back it down a little. This load shot so good which was why I was ok with the pressure I was seeing.

I've been there, it's way into pressure in my opinion.

 

[Critter Picker]

I've been there, it's way into pressure in my opinion.

View attachment 609135

What he said!!

I used to think my .243 loads were warm, they are barely tepid.

 

[DirtNap35]

Update. I got the new extractor today. I removed the old broken extractor, removed the ejector, and removed the fire control assembly. I wanted to see what my shoulder bump was when removing all resistance. It's what I thought I wasn't sizing my brass properly. A base to shoulder (BTS) that gave resistance was 1.649. I was running all brass at 1.650 or 1.651. At 1.648 the bolt handle would fall under its own weight. So I sized .002 from there and finished at 1.645-1.646. Which seems crazy because that's virgin brass measurements. I feel pretty confident that my mistake was related to sizing not powder charge. Yes this is still a hot load but this should remove my sudden increase in pressure issue.

 

[Bob Wright]

I've not seen that much brass transfer to the bolt face ever. Wow. It could be a brass chemistry issue or as mentioned too hot. That is pretty impressive though.

 

[DirtNap35]

@Bob Wright Yeah I should've paid attention to that. I cleaned it up and looks like new. Going to range this weekend and will see if I have any pressure issues with my current load. I feel pretty confident everything will be back to normal.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Here's a hot tip. Size your brass correctly AND run a reasonable load and you'll have less issues. The animal or target won't know the difference.

 

[DirtNap35]

Here's a hot tip. Size your brass correctly AND run a reasonable load and you'll have less issues. The animal or target won't know the difference.

Oh wow great tip dude on sizing. Mind is blown with your knowledge. Thank you.

There is nothing wrong with running a hot load as long as I feel safe behind it. The grouping, the velocity, and the ES/SD this load produces I will continue to run it. I don't really care if I only get 5 firings out of the brass or if I only get one firing out of the brass. My goal is to run the projectile fast as possible with the tightest group and the tightest ES. If it doesn't produce what I want I will try another barrel or go another cartridge to get the performance I want.

This load is at the upper limits of pressure and when I made a mistake with brass sizing it caused the issue. But you know what this **** is fixable and I learned exact measurements I need to be to keep pressure safe. So you can take your comments and go elsewhere.