Unique Reloading Issue, Ruger American 270 Win

[jeffreywehrle]

Try a factory load as a test you may have the bullet too seated too far out seat it a little deeper, or use a lighter weight shorter bullet as a test ,,,,as a test. then continue to work at the problem my rifle is fine it shoots every time...

 

[jeffreywehrle]

270 is a very good caliber 308 and 300 mag are good too in my opinion they are the most versatile .. I have shot all 3 at whistle pigs at more than 1000 yards .. I kill hogs at that distance because I sighted in the guns at 1 inch high at 100 yrds then I shoot them at 1000 and make a note of where to hold over on each caliber on my cross hairs ... I have shot 22-250 and 223 at that distance they are good too but since I don't eat hogs who does??? I don't care if they are cut in half by the larger calibers.

 

[Gunpoor]

thatguyshm,I had (gave it to the youngest son) a Tikka T3 Lite chambered in 300WSM and I bought new Win. brass for it and they would not fit in the chamber and I could not push the shoulder back enough to chamber them until I ground a little off the sizer die body, then, after a trip through the sizer die, they fit better than a glove. There is no sin in grinding down the body a little as long as it isn't over done.

 

[lloydsmale]

buy or borrow a small base sizing die. Ill bet it cures your problem

 

[sll]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was doing a search to see if anyone had this same issue. My son bought one of these very guns a while back and I ran into the same issue. What I have found is it is not an issue with the brass, but how long your COAL is. I cannot load to SAAMI specs for this rifle (3.340") because the bullets jam into the rifling HARD.......I had to seat to 3.200" before it would chamber smoothly. Once I do that it cycles fine and groups are good. I have never had to do this for any other rifle before in all my years of loading.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was doing a search to see if anyone had this same issue. My son bought one of these very guns a while back and I ran into the same issue. What I have found is it is not an issue with the brass, but how long your COAL is. I cannot load to SAAMI specs for this rifle (3.340") because the bullets jam into the rifling HARD.......I had to seat to 3.200" before it would chamber smoothly. Once I do that it cycles fine and groups are good. I have never had to do this for any other rifle before in all my years of loading.

shoot it a couple of thousand times.... the throat will be about right then.... My brother is rather fond of rugers and has had a couple of rather short throated ones. His #1 in 300h@h is that way if I remember correctly.....

 

[hunterbob]

I had this happen with a 270 and a 308... one bullet had the canurel (ridge) around it. I crimped it when I loaded the bullet ,,, so it bulged the shoulder of the case just enough so the round wouldn't bolt in good. Another thing is make sure you have a good caliper to measure with, not one of those plastic dial ones; they're not accurate at all.

 

[swyer74]

Sorry I'm getting to this thread so late.
I load for a model 700 of mine and my partner's Ruger American, both in 270 Win.
I find that the Ruger has a very compact chamber. When I work a load in 130 gr SP for hers, I am running a COL or about 3.187 just to be off the lands. This is very close to the minimum with very little jump to the rifling. This is particular to this gun, I am finding. I find I can chamber longer factory ammo with more slender bullet shapes, like the Winchester super X in SP. However, I suspect that is strictly due to the shape allowing them to go way into the rifling before contact with the ogive. The ogive on both begin at the same place on the COL.
Hope you figured out a solution to this when this post was more current!

 

[Laelkhunter]

Hello all,

Long time lurker here. I have been loading for years, and I come from a long line of loading. This gun has made me extremely miffed and quite PO'd. A friend of mine received a Ruger American in 270 win. I do not like the caliber for very petty reasons, and honestly have never fired a round from one. That being said, I am reloading for my friend, and have come across a very difficult situation.

I have loaded several rounds for this firearm, and none will allow the bolt to close easily. I have looked at this from every angle that I honestly can. I need help in every way imaginable. I reload precision rounds all the time, from 223/5.56, 257 wby, 308, 300 wm, 338 fed, 7mm rm, anything you can imagine. This certain 270 has me pulling my own hair out.

Here is the problem laid out pretty simply. The bolt wont close. I've started from scratch. I've used RCBS fl resizing die, and a Lee die. I've seated with both as well. I've miked the case of a factory round that will fit. It works smooth as butter. My reload is every way the same. The factory round is Remington round nose, 130 gr. I am loading 150 hornady sst's. I have seated the round up and down, nothing will chamber easy. I can force the bolt closed if I'm using around 3.210" COAL, with book being 3:340", as well as the Hodgdon site saying 3.285" COAL. Nothing works. So I thought maybe it was the round. I tried one for my 6.8 SPC, 110 vmax at 3.210", still a no go.

I have trimmed all brass to 2.530", so I thought maybe that might be the problem. I took one down to 2.505", without any projectile, just resized and slid into the chamber. Still wouldn't close down. So at that point I started on the brass itself. I took a once fired, in his other 270win rifle, and it slid in. I resized, measured and it was at 2.548", which is over the length of 2.530". So I trimmed it down after sizing, and it wouldn't close.

I have tried several different types of brass. I have miked everything out, every part that may oversize. Everything is at or under the factory case that chambers with no problem. I have never had this issue before. The same exact case measurements from a once fired vs the factory will not allow easy bolt closure. I have worked the projectile in and out. I have trimmed short, allowed long. I can't think of anything that can change this.

I am intrigued at this point and can not give up until I have figured this out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here are my steps:

1. Polish in walnut medium for several hours, brass-o as additive.

2. Full length resize in both LEE and RCBS 270 Winchester dies.

3. Trim cases to 2.530" length.

4. Chamfer and debur.

5. Clean primer pocket.

6. Seat with LEE hand primer CCI large rifle primers.

7. Charge with Supreme 780 at 55.0 gr, 150 Hornady SST's to depth from 3.210-3.285".

8. Fail at chambering.

9. Swear excessively. Throw random objects.

10. Scratch head.

So any help will be amazing. Anyone have any issues like this? Anyone loading for a Ruger American? If I need to add any information please let me know. Thanks

Seth

Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but #1 above "tumble with Brasso", if it is the original brasso don't use it for polishing brass for ammunition. It contains ammonia which will weaken the brass, and that could lead to serious problems.
If you wish to use tumbling (or vibrator) to clean brass, buy a polish designed for brass that will be used for shooting.

 

[hunterbob]

Sorry I'm getting to this thread so late.
I load for a model 700 of mine and my partner's Ruger American, both in 270 Win.
I find that the Ruger has a very compact chamber. When I work a load in 130 gr SP for hers, I am running a COL or about 3.187 just to be off the lands. This is very close to the minimum with very little jump to the rifling. This is particular to this gun, I am finding. I find I can chamber longer factory ammo with more slender bullet shapes, like the Winchester super X in SP. However, I suspect that is strictly due to the shape allowing them to go way into the rifling before contact with the ogive. The ogive on both begin at the same place on the COL.
Hope you figured out a solution to this when this post was more current!

Yes that can happen but I still think its a neck angle issue, that's not allowing the cartridge to go into battery... If the neck angle is 22 degrees and its slightly distorted it won't go in or it will go in hard..... I haven't heard him say he used a go/no go gauge on the brass casing after he resized it. There's also another no go gauge, for the completed cartridge too. and ; what kind of a caliper is he using for measuring with... he needs a digital caliper ... those plastic dial type are not accurate.... He needs to get with someone that's been reloading for a while to help him.

 

[bigedp51]

I was a Jack O Conner fan and alway thought my .270 was the worlds greatest non-belted magnum.

Chambers and resizing dies vary in size, as an example I have a standard Lee full length die that will reduce the body diameter more than a RCBS small base die in the same caliber. If you have a skinny chamber and a fat die you will have problems. If you have a out of spec shell holder you can have problems and variations in between.

But the original problem could have been solved with a black felt tip marker and a accurate vernier caliper. Then checking where the rub marks on the case were and measuring the case.

With a Hornady cartridge case headspace and measuring a new unfired cartridge case, a fired case and a resized case any shoulder bump issues would be resolved.

From reading the postings the OP could not see the forest for the trees. And the most I ever had to remove from the top of a shell holder was .005 in 47 years of reloading.

 

[Reloader222]

Here is a a useful guide to correctly setup the sizer die for your rifle:

GS CUSTOM BULLETS - SIZER DIE - CORRECT SETUP METHOD

 

[bigedp51]

Reloader222

Don't take this the wrong way but masking tape would not fix the problem when the OP could not get the bolt closed on a full length resized case.

A fired case from the same rifle would rechamber without effort, and after full length resized it would not chamber.

I bought a .270 right after I got out of the service in 1973 and my RCBS FL die worked fine. My uncle had a custom .270 made in Czechoslovakia. And "his" fired cases sized in my RCBS full length die would not fit. I brought his rifle home and ended up buying another shell holder and lapping .005 off the top to get the cases to chamber.

Below is a good illustration of what happens when full length resizing and the effects on a fired case. And even a simple Wilson case gauge would have told the OP what the problem was with cartridge headspace. Also only two case gauges I know of also check case diameter. I load for three different AR15 rifles and use a JP Enterprize case gauge to check my resized cases and loaded rounds. This gauge is made with a finish reamer and also checks case diameter, and Wilson and Dillon gauges do not.

 

[hunterbob]

Reloader222

Don't take this the wrong way but masking tape would not fix the problem when the OP could not get the bolt closed on a full length resized case.

A fired case from the same rifle would rechamber without effort, and after full length resized it would not chamber.

I bought a .270 right after I got out of the service in 1973 and my RCBS FL die worked fine. My uncle had a custom .270 made in Czechoslovakia. And "his" fired cases sized in my RCBS full length die would not fit. I brought his rifle home and ended up buying another shell holder and lapping .005 off the top to get the cases to chamber.

Below is a good illustration of what happens when full length resizing and the effects on a fired case. And even a simple Wilson case gauge would have told the OP what the problem was with cartridge headspace. Also only two case gauges I know of also check case diameter. I load for three different AR15 rifles and use a JP Enterprize case gauge to check my resized cases and loaded rounds. This gauge is made with a finish reamer and also checks case diameter, and Wilson and Dillon gauges do not.

Exactly what I was trying to say,,, great post with this picture .. most reloaders never know this