DJ2065

I had a guy reload some rounds for me. When I cycle a round, the bolt is hard to lock all the way down. When I remove the bullet, the slug is barely scarred near the crimp point of the brass. I know the slug is being forced into the rifling. I took the bolt out and could see tiny shavings from the outer part of the slug. I'm worried about damaging the throat of the barrel. How harmful is this? I've only fired a couple of the rounds. The factory Corelokts I have cycle easily, so I'm using them, instead.

Jimimac

You need to check the overall length of those rounds. I wouldn't shoot those rounds if the bullet is making contact. Not good.

driftrider

DO NOT SHOOT THOSE ROUNDS!!!

If you have to cram them into the rifling to get them to chamber, you're setting yourself up for potentially dangerous pressure spikes. Effectively, such a condition can act as a bore obstruction.

However, just forcing them into the rifling won't damage the bore. Remember that the gun, when fired, slams the bullet into the rifling a whole lot harder than you ever could. The problem comes in the fact that the bullet is jammed in tight against the lands, which can allow the chamber pressure to build up to unsafe levels before the bullet begins to move. Normally bullets have a little "jump" to the rifling, so they are already moving and have some momentum. Plus, since they are moving, the volume of the chamber and bore are increasing as the powder burns, which moderates pressure. Some handloaders prefer to seat the bullets so that they just touch the rifling (but the bolt still closes easily) for best accuracy, but care must be taken with the load workup because pressure signs can occur sooner with the bullets seated as such.

This is the problem with having "a guy" handload for you. You never know for sure what you're going to get, or if it'll be safe for your rifle. The load he made for you is probably identical to the load he makes for one of his rifles and might chamber fine in his gun. Whereas your gun probably has a shorter throat than his so while he can get away with seating the bullets out farther, your gun can't.

Mike

gunnermhr

Listen to RR. You can paint the bullet with a sharpie and chamber one and then extract it and look. You will see if the bullet is into the lands. I doubt it's jammed too much or the bullet would stay in the barrel when you open the action and you would have powder everywhere. I would pull a bullet and and chamber the empty case. If it chambers tight you need to bump the shoulder back a bit. I'm guessing thats your problem. Usually you wont notice a bolt closing real hard if your bullet is into the lands. If it does close hard because your into the lands the bullet will stick in the barrel.

DJ2065

I've examined the bullets more closely. It appears to me that the casings are a tiny fraction longer than the Rem. factory loads I compared them to. But heck, I'm about blind, anyway. I did the sharpie thing. The projectile is the only part of the ammo that is making any contact (where where the taper of the bullet starts). To clear things up a little......the action is only hard to cycle when I try to lock the bolt down. Other than that, the ammo cycles easily. The rounds also chamber easy after I have cycled all of them through the gun once. The guy that reloaded the rounds used the same load he'd made for me previously. The previous rounds worked fine. However, he had my gun when he reloaded the first batch of ammo for me. That's why I was thinking bullet seating depth.

Jimimac

Don't shoot them if the bullet is making contact. That's a bad deal.

I'm not too big on having one guyload ammunition for another guy. It's best to just shoot factory ammo to avoid the situation you currently find yourself in.

spaniel

A mark back by the brass on the bullet is too far back for rifling -- that would mark at the ogive, where the taper of the bullet reaches full diameter.

As someone mentioned DO NOT FIRE THESE ROUNDS until you figure this out as having the bullet jammed into the rifling can increase pressure dramatically. Did any of the brass from the rounds you fired show ejector marks, cratered primers, or other signs of pressure?

There is no way to tell if the rounds are too long just looking at the tips. You really need to measure them from the base of the case to the ogive with proper tools to figure it out.

The other possibility is the brass was not resized enough for your gun.

bigcountry

People touch the rifleing all the time with bullets, but it shouldn't make shavings. But you sound like you have used the sharpie to see its not the case mouth. I sure wouldn't shoot them.

eldeguello

Are the reloads substantially longer than factory ammo? I never crimp my reloads, and crimping is not nbecessary. There are several potential causes for hard bolt close. One may be bullets seated too long, but it could be due to other causes as well.

Take one of those reloads, and cham,ber it closing the bolt completely. (Muzzle in a safe direction, of course!!) Now remove it. Are there rifling marks on the shank of the bullet showing that the rifling touched the bullet? If so, the bullet needs to be seated that much deeper plus about 1/16" more so the rifling definitely doesn't touch the bullet before firing the gun!

handloader1

DJ2065:

What make of rifle and cartridge are you using?