I can get the bolt being hard to close due to not pushing the shoulders back enough. But I'm not sure that would account for the extra pressure. I guess possibly if the case could not move forward at all it could drive the case into the bolt face. Did you fire some of the other properly sized rounds after this? The other thing I have seen cause pressure out of the blue on a previously safe load is a carbon ring. It will build up and then suddenly your normal load is showing pressure signs. This can be dangerous if you are already running really hot.
Stuck Case in Chamber
- Thread starter DirtNap35
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FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
And yet, your loading practices could be the culprit to your original question about broken parts on your rifle.
What brass are you running? If you have thick brass you may need to download even further.
DirtNap35
Well-Known Member
ADG. When I was going through my virgin brass I did a pressure test and I took it to 60.4 before I got a hard bolt lift. Tomorrow I'll be running 10 shot groups of 58.6, 58.9, and 59. 59.2 is where I got the case stuck last week. Tonight I'll clean the barrel and action really well.
Viht lists 55.9 with that powder and the 156 berger as max at 2815 with a 24" barrel. So yeah your a little over max lol. Fyi the powder manf's do pressure test their data.
DirtNap35
Well-Known Member
All reloading books have to be conservative for legal purposes. Need to keep in mind that Viht is running saami length of 2.953 and I'm running 3.042 overall length which has a huge impact on pressure.
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
Take a look at ADG's website. They recommend downloading published loads by 10%.
DirtNap35
Well-Known Member
Yeah I'm aware of that but take it with a grain of salt. For example as previous member mentioned max load for Viht is 55, reduce that by 10% and you're at 49.5 and case capacity of like 70%. I assure you nobody on the planet is running a 6.5 PRC with 49.5 grains of powder.
MagnumManiac
Well-Known Member
Amazing!
I gave you the answer on page 1.
Cheers.
I gave you the answer on page 1.
Cheers.
That is highly overblown. Hogdon for example lists their pressures. On a 65k max saami pressure their loads will run 60-64k. Yes loading long makes a difference.
hesse
Well-Known Member
All I can say is that it takes a big person to admit that they missed something. every one figures out what works best for them. that is what is so great about reloading. I agree if you don't get what you want change your barrel or cartridge. I have
Marky_mark
Well-Known Member
Your shooting a prc
Thats the problem
Measure your case growth at the .200 line for fired brass and new brass
You probably misinterpreted the heavy bolt lift
But what you seen was the first indication of a clicker
You need to ream the chamber
Thats the problem
Measure your case growth at the .200 line for fired brass and new brass
You probably misinterpreted the heavy bolt lift
But what you seen was the first indication of a clicker
You need to ream the chamber
DirtNap35
Well-Known Member
Well I'm here to eat crow. My reloading practices are apparently ****.
I'm at a lost of what's causing spikes in pressure. I reduced my charge from 59.2 to 58.2. Everything was going good but then I spike in velocity.
3035
3029
3036
3060 - for some reason this one was a little tight on closing. My headspace shouldn't have been an issue as all these were .003 below virgin brass.
Then I went to my next load of 58.6. Same thing spike in pressure.
3042
3036
3087 - no idea why this spiked.
3047
Loading last night I had one piece of brass where the primer fell out. All my brass besides the first 4 shots are sized at 1.646 which is same measurement as virgin brass. I'm trimming to length of 2.021 but book says 2.015, could that be the issue? Should I just throw away my brass and start new? Oh and I cleaned my barrel last night to remove all the carbon. I did spend time shooting a box of factory to foul barrel.
I'm at a lost of what's causing spikes in pressure. I reduced my charge from 59.2 to 58.2. Everything was going good but then I spike in velocity.
3035
3029
3036
3060 - for some reason this one was a little tight on closing. My headspace shouldn't have been an issue as all these were .003 below virgin brass.
Then I went to my next load of 58.6. Same thing spike in pressure.
3042
3036
3087 - no idea why this spiked.
3047
Loading last night I had one piece of brass where the primer fell out. All my brass besides the first 4 shots are sized at 1.646 which is same measurement as virgin brass. I'm trimming to length of 2.021 but book says 2.015, could that be the issue? Should I just throw away my brass and start new? Oh and I cleaned my barrel last night to remove all the carbon. I did spend time shooting a box of factory to foul barrel.
DirtNap35
Well-Known Member
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
How did the factory ammo shoot? Did you take any headspace measurements from the factory brass?
I hate to say it, but yes, your ADG brass is probably not in great shape. I say yes, start over with some fresh brass. Fire form the new brass with very mild loads and then start your load development. Or, use brass from the factory loads already fired if you're looking to save some coin. Any of the thick brass brands will require lower charge loads as discussed in previous posts.
I always trim my brass to book spec. Some may scoff, but I never have issues when doing so. Additionally, I'm in the lee factory crimp camp and need consistent neck lengths for a proper and consistent crimp. Even if I didn't crimp, I would and have trimmed in this fashion for decades now.
Here's something to consider. When I started loading for auto loaders, I learned you really can't mess around with pressures and case sizes. Your window for consistent operation of the weapon is quite small relative to a bolt action. Jumping back into bolt actions, you can get away with more as far as custom sizing your brass to your chamber and running hotter loads than in an auto loader. However, that doesn't mean crazy hot loads...it just means hotter than gas gun loads. At the end of the day, I want my bolt gun to run like a sewing machine just like my gas guns, but with more accuracy and precision in the load. When I'm out hunting and chasing some monster bull the last thing I want is my rifle to break and/or have heavy bolt lift because my loads were too hot.
