ammo trouble

[killer243]

i went to the range tonight and on the way i picked up a box of horandy 100 btsp and a box a federal softpoints. when i went to load the federals the bolt was tuff to close and i tried all of there shells and all of them were like this.... i was afraid to shoot a round off because i never used this ammo before. the horandy's loaded like a charm and shot well........ do you think it is ok to shoot the federal's?? i mean the bolt closes and all i was just worried about it.... any help is great

[Vapodog]

There's probably nothing seriously wrong with the Federals but when the bolt closes with difficulty there's a darn good reason to exercise caution.

I'd return them to the store you bought them from unless you are able to discern the problem and know that it's not serious.

[gmwemr]

I understand the caution, but one thing to note; if you were to reload shells the most accurate shells would be the ones that fit tight to the action. When reloading the first 2 or 3 times you only need to reshape the neck of the brass. This allows the next shot to be conformed to fit the action and in turn makes it much more accurate.