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Thread: All my loads for 308 win jam

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold Wish-A-Lot's Avatar
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    Unhappy All my loads for 308 win jam

    I have tried to find an answer on various sites but subjects don't appear to answer my problem.
    I have dropped my cartridges in a case gauge and have no problems. All drop and slip right out.
    My problem lies in the cast bullet.
    I cast Lee .308 150 Grain flat nose.
    I have loaded them everywhere from an OAL of 2.615 to an OAL of 2.50 and all of them jam when fed from the magazine.
    They hit just at the edge of the chamber opening.
    I know I can't load to a greater OAL or only the GC would be held by the neck.
    Feeding the bullet manually shows hard closing of the bolt.
    My main problem right now is getting them to feed into the chamber hole without jamming.
    Has anyone gone through this problem?

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    ? Type of rifle ? Have had a generally similar problem with a '03 & a Mauser 98 when the follower spring was weak. Wouldn't leave the mag without misaligning to the chamber opening. Stronger spring fixed my problem.

  3. #3
    Banned

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    I was thinking mauser too, many of them have issues feeding the 308 round.
    the bolt close is most likely the nose engraving the rifling.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master 35 shooter's Avatar
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    I have the very same problem with my Zastava .308 mauser. Not only will it not feed a large flat nose, but won't feed a small flat like a 311315 with a "truncated" type nose.

    I noticed it would feed a tapered nose boolit like the 311299 rn slick as butter.
    I also was gifted some NOE 188 Hunter boolits to try, which have a smaller type flat, and found the tapered nose and small flat on it fed smoothly.

    I took one of my 311299 rns and started filing a flat on the nose a little at a time while testing it for feed, and found i could go all the way to a .230" flat on a tapered nose like that and still feed slick.
    At .250" it quit feeding also.

    Anything bigger than that does the same thing you describe...the flat will catch the edge of the chamber.
    Last edited by 35 shooter; 02-09-2017 at 01:01 AM.

  5. #5
    Boolit Mold
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    Hi, long time lurker. I have had the same troubles with my ruger .308. It will not feed the round balls or short Lee bullets. I just wanted to let everybody know that all five .30 ought sixes feed them all perfectly. Something to consider.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master hicard's Avatar
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    I bought a nose sizer that squeezes the bearing area down to .300 and that has cured most of my hard feeding problems. I find the .300 bearing surface rides the lands perfectly and allows full chambering with no resistance.
    This country has gone to hell but now there is hope for us.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy paul edward's Avatar
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    Have you watched closely as the bolt pushes the cartridge forward? Where does it hang up?

    Knowing the type of rifle would help.

    I have successfully fired lots of boolits cast in a Lee 309-160-R mold in a 1909 Argentine Mauser with a 308 Winchester barrel. No hang ups.

    Also had good luck with 311299

  8. #8
    Boolit Master


    HangFireW8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wish-A-Lot View Post
    Feeding the bullet manually shows hard closing of the bolt.
    Assuming you mean cartridge, this is a separate problem from feeding. One or two things are happening. First, the casing headspace could be too large. You will need to set the shoulder back far enough. You can verify if this is the problem by chambering an unloaded casing. If the bolt is hard to close, you'll need to Full Length size the brass. Use a shell holder made by the same company as the FL sizing die, and read the instructions carefully. In many presses, some cam-over is required, or the stress of sizing will leave a gap between shell holder and die, even if they touch when no brass is present.

    The other possibility is the bullet is jamming into the lands. Make a dummy but don't crimp the boolit in place. See if it chambers and the bolt closes easily. Seat it deeper and deeper until the bolt closes easily.
    I give loading advice based on my actual results in factory rifles with standard chambers, twist rates and basic accurizing.
    My goals for using cast boolits are lots of good, cheap, and reasonably accurate shooting, while avoiding overly tedious loading processes.
    The BHN Deformation Formula, and why I don't use it.
    How to find and fix sizing die eccentricity problems.
    Do you trust your casting thermometer?
    A few musings.

  9. #9
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    the OP's Last Activity was 03-05-2017 03:10 AM
    I wonder if he solved the problem?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check