Tikka Chambering Issues
#1
Spike
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 62
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Bought a 30-06 Tikka TX3 from Sportsman’s Warehouse and used new Lapua brass and it shot great so I bought the same version in 7-08. I used once shot Lapua brass from my Remington LLS Mountain 7-08 and had a tough time chambering the reloads, they could go in the chamber all the way but when I tried to push the bolt down it was tough or would not budge. Some would chamber, some would not. All cases went through an X-die and measurements for brass are well within measurements. I thought it might be the case length or neck size but the difference between the new brass that works and the once fired is very minimal. Also, the reloads worked just fine in the old rifle
I’ve been reloading for years and never had this issue, I am at a loss. It’s a little depressing with this nice gun too. Any suggestions on troubleshooting would be appreciated. Thx
I’ve been reloading for years and never had this issue, I am at a loss. It’s a little depressing with this nice gun too. Any suggestions on troubleshooting would be appreciated. Thx
Last edited by Sweetroels; 08-30-2019 at 09:14 AM.
#3
Spike
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Join Date: Jan 2008
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I did, using a X-Die, that's what is perplexing. I did try trimming the neck down .10 below max and that seemed to work though. I think these Tikka's don't have the neck space in the chamber other guns have, my 30-06 was having similar issues, just not as bad. Thx
#4
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Nine Mile Falls Washington
Posts: 53
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Not sure what an x die is. What brand is it? I've had to change brands of dies to make a sizing die work correctly. Fully sized, a case should come out to fit the chamber of the caliber in your rifle.
#7
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Than take a round that doesn't chamber, pull the bullet and powder, lube the case and run it back into the die. (SLOWLY TO POP OUT THE LIVE PRIMER).
Make sure you force the ram all the way up.
#8
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 84
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The way I setup my FL dies for my rifles is this. I use a fired case from the rifle, I punch out the primer with a Lee universal depriming die and then I use a Hornady Headspace Gauge attached to my calipers to get a measurement to the shoulder. I record the measurement and then I setup my FL die to bump the shoulder on the case back .001 to .002. This is for a bolt action rifle of course, with a semi auto you should bump .003 at least. I find with .001 to .0015 in my rifles I get good chambering and good case life.
#9
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The way I setup my FL dies for my rifles is this. I use a fired case from the rifle, I punch out the primer with a Lee universal depriming die and then I use a Hornady Headspace Gauge attached to my calipers to get a measurement to the shoulder. I record the measurement and then I setup my FL die to bump the shoulder on the case back .001 to .002. This is for a bolt action rifle of course, with a semi auto you should bump .003 at least. I find with .001 to .0015 in my rifles I get good chambering and good case life.
I'd really like to know how you can measure to within .001" to a rounded case shoulder? Unless you have a superb set of calipers that is pretty hard to believe unless you could measure the same dimension, say, 25 times and get the same repeatable results then I would agree.
I'm just trying to imagine how you bump back a shoulder in a standard die without FL sizing. The way a die is designed the shoulder should not get touched unless the case is inserted fully into the die.
Last edited by bronko22000; 09-07-2019 at 05:54 PM.
#10
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I have a dollar that says your first rifle which fire formed the brass has a larger chamber than your new rifle, such the only way to recover the brass is via a small base die. Most likely, after that, you’ll be able to go back to your standard full length sizer, at worst needing 2 trips through the small base die, but all signs in your description are pointing to oversized bodies. No adjustment to an FL die will correct it - just gotta squeeze it down low where it needs it.