Shell's too long?
 

I have a 444 Marlin. The lever was really hard to close for the last 1/4 inch. Reloaded some shell last nite and tried them in gun. Screwed up and made one a little too short. The bolt closed like silk. Troed factory loads and still hard too close. Measured factory loads after chambering one and found the bullet had been pushed in a bit. Anyone ever find factory loads too long?

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Holy Cow, never on a lever or straightwalled case. Lots of things you can check. Did you trim your brass? Is bullet loaded COL longer than SAAMI specs?

Perform the split case technique. Find out where the bullet hits the rifling. Are you crimping. Are you belling too much. Goodness, that a first for me.

I have a older 700 in 7mm08 that you have to seat real deep. Alot of factory loads are too long. But I like it that way myself. It shoots awesome. But its rare to see levers like that.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Sounds like your chamber is a might small. I would take this rifle to a gunsmith and have him check it out. A small chamber on a leveraction could cause problems when reloading. Actually, it can cause problems with any action. Be very careful about apporaching listed max loads as they may be too hot for your particular rifle.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

but 06, how would a small chamber on a straightwalled case push the bullet back?

RE: Shell's too long?
 

A really short chamber? Remember that a bullet is the diameter of the grooves in the barrel, so the bullet must be contacting the rifling and pushing it back into the case. I would say the chamber is cut WAY short.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

I agree charlie, only way it could be happening. I thought he was saying the diameter of the chamber not the cut to the rifling. But this is a rare thing if this is happenign. A lever usually has a whole lot of freebore.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Ifthis happening with factory loaded ammo and not reloads. I would say the chamber is too short or the factory loads are too long. Measure the factory loads to make sure they are not too long. If it is reloads sticking I would say you didn't full length resize the entire case. Re-set your dies in your press.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Ok, let me clarify...

It sound like the overall length of the chamber is too short.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

I got ya sorry about that.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Maximun overall length is 2.57in and 2.56in work perfectly in my gun. Do you think this is a problem? Hope not as the gun really shoots!

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Ok, I see, your trying to load to max specs? If 2.56 works then nothing should be wrong with teh gun. But I would load down to 2.55".

Like I said, I got a 7mm-08 that if you load to 2.8" you would never get the bullet in there. In fact, longest I can load is 2.73". Very short cut chamber. Which is fine with me.

As long as you have some cannalure on the bullet to crimp, your fine.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Sounds to me like you're trying to shoot an incompatable bullet in your gun. I wouldn't rule out a short chamber, although I doubt thats what you'll find.I don't shoot a 444 but I do shoot a 45-70 and I'm aware of the types of problems you can have with strait wall cartriges. For example I ordered some 440 grn lbt solids from cabela's and when loaded to the crimping groove they wouldn't chamber. This is a marlin 1895 by the way,.I used my rcbs lathe type case trimmer and shortened some cases .060 " and then reduced my load slighty and they were awsome. Since you didn't say what factory load gave you the problem it's really hard to help you pinpoint the cause. as was mentioned above, too much case mouth expansion followed by a heavy crimp can also make for difficult chambering. Inspect your chamber carefully before fireing with any ammo.

RE: Shell's too long?
 

Why not measure your chamber for the Max OAL for your particular bullet? The way I measure the Max OAL of a bullet choice is to close the action ,insert a cleaning rod down the bore until it bottoms out on the bolt, mark the rod. Open action and insert the bullet you want to load(bullet only not a cartridge) hold the bullet against the rifling with a pencil or something, re-insert the rod until it touches the bullet tip, mark rod again. the difference between the marks is your max OAL for that bullet. Note it can change with a different bullet weight/shape.
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