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.

 

[cajun]

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.

Well there is something wrong with it. You just saw it and yet you have no problems doing it again. This is why there is saami and standards for ammo. This is why the max pressure is below the breaking point of the brass. Because sometimes stuff happens. We are humans. We screw up. Environmental conditions change. Carbon rings form in barrels. That is why barrels speed up. When you run on the ragged edge you have no safety margin. It's also hard on your equipment. Honestly it's just not worth it. If you want to go faster get a bigger round you can run at moderate pressures and still get the speed.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

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

You're welcome.

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.

Why? What is running your load and rifle at or past max buying you over a load that is safely in the pressure norm for that cartridge...in any condition? Other than the headaches you described previously...
If you need more horsepower, step up to a cartridge that will safely do so to achieve the numbers you desire. Again, the animal or target won't know the difference if you squeeze out 50-100 fps.
You speak of new barrels and a lack of care for your brass. That sounds expensive and irresponsible to me, but it's your money, you do you. Remember, you're the one that came here looking for help and advice.

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.

I've made mistakes head spacing before as well. I'm glad you figured out what you need to chamber correctly. Continuing to run high pressure and expecting different result will lead to the proverbial banging your head against the wall strategy...more headaches.

Well there is something wrong with it. You just saw it and yet you have no problems doing it again. This is why there is saami and standards for ammo. This is why the max pressure is below the breaking point of the brass. Because sometimes stuff happens. We are humans. We screw up. Environmental conditions change. Carbon rings form in barrels. That is why barrels speed up. When you run on the ragged edge you have no safety margin. It's also hard on your equipment. Honestly it's just not worth it. If you want to go faster get a bigger round you can run at moderate pressures and still get the speed.

Exactly

 

[Rotten]

When I first started reloading I always wanted the fastest most accurate load possible out of my 7mag.
Would push it 3 or four grains over book thinking that the guys writing the book are just being extra conservative with the data.
It worked well for awhile until I started to have case head separation and blown primers.
I still like running on the hot side but learned after awhile that slowing things down is much better on all of the components and rifle.
And that extra fps isn't really worth it and the game never got up and described how much deadlier the load was.
I understand the need for getting everything you can out of stuff but in my experience the juice just isn't worth the squeeze in the long run.
That goes for hot rodding engine's as well. It's a lot cheaper to keep the pistons in the engine.

 

[DirtNap35]

@FireFlyFishing i really didn't ask for advice or help regarding my load dev practices. It was a question about the missing part on bolt face. Some people like to follow saami, some people like to follow conservative books and that's totally fine. It's not for me. I do appreciate everybody's concern over this. I'll be at the range tomorrow and will see if I'm at pressure. If I am I'll be back and I'll eat crow.