hard to close bolt

[Outback32]

hey guys im reloading for a Remington 700 sps in 243. im using hornady full length sizing die and my reloads are hard to close the bolt. and hard to open the bolt once its closed. factory rounds dont cause problems only my reloads. trying to get it solved thanks

[Peregrine]

Loading jacketed or cast?

Odds are either your bullet is stated too far out and you are cramming it into the lands, or you didn't screw your sizing die far enough into the press and aren't resizing the shoulder back as much as your should.

Try clambering a sized brass, but with no bullet seated and report back.

[GARD72977]

If you chamber it and eject it unfired you should have marks on the bullet or case where there is contact

[daengmei]

Color the bullet, neck and shoulder of the round with magic marker. Try chambering. Look for interference by rubs in the ink. I've even colored the entire round when resizing some military fired brass.

[Kraschenbirn]

What kind of brass? Once upon a time I had a similar issue with some once-fired Federal commercial in a 700 BDL. Trimmed brass and problem went away.

Bill

[Walks]

Check case length. If you cases are too long, then the case mouth is running into the chamber mouth.
Time to trim. Some once fired brass I've run into has been too long to chamber a sized case. The crimp in factory brass is often "long" , but will chamber in that factory round because the case mouth is "long" crimped into the cannalure of the factory bullet.

[Bookworm]

I had that problem in a Mosin 91/30. I finally figured out that the fat boolits I was using in that shot-out bore, along with some brands of brass with thick necks, combined to make the neck of the round too fat to chamber.

Mic the neck if your loaded rounds, check the diameter against SAAMI chamber specs. I ended up neck turning certain brass to get it to fit.

[country gent]

I have to ask this, are your handloads in actual 243 brass or sized down 308 cases. Necks thicken when sized down and can cause interference. Other wise inking the cartridge with a magic marker and carefully chamber and extract it ( remember to hold it extracting so the spring loaded plunger doesn't give a "false" reading). the rub marks should tell the tale. A gage to measure compare fired cases shoulder to sized is handy here. allows for setting the die just right for a .001-.002 set back.

[Conditor22]

All good answers. try just the brass then try seating the boolit deep and go from there

[fatnhappy]

Not only all good answers, so much so this thread ought to be stickie worthy

[Outback32]

figured it out i was going by hornadys instructions on setting up sizing die. i screwed the die in a 1/4 further according to rcbs die instructions. the brass works like it should now

[Conditor22]

See what happens when a man reads the instructions

Glad you figured it out.

[daengmei]

I always read the instructions....they are seldom followed correctly.

[robg]

When I started loading rifle brass I was used to reloading pistol brass ,did the same thing.

[WRideout]

I had some 6.5 jap that wouldn't chamber. It turned out the case length had grown substantially after repeated loading and firing. They just needed a trim back to spec.

Wayne

[country gent]

WRideout, I have had 220 swift brass after several years of loading the necks thickened enough to need a light neck turning. I check length before loading on rifle cases. Trim as needed. The Swift is the only cartridge that has done this so far.

[redhawk0]

figured it out i was going by hornadys instructions on setting up sizing die. i screwed the die in a 1/4 further according to rcbs die instructions. the brass works like it should now

So...you are using Hornady dies but following RCBS instructions? Interesting. I think I'd be on the phone to Hornady.

redhawk

[Outback32]

I thought i had it figured out turns out i dont. Today I shot 8 rds picked the brass up and the bolt would cycle fine. so i lubed them put in sizer. and again they are hard to cycle the bolt.right after shooting they work fine run through sizer makes bolt hard to close.I took the die apart and found the expander ball was chipped on the top. would this cause my problems

[country gent]

It might create drag and pull the shoulder up a couple thousandths on the down stroke. Another is the body is being squeezed down pushing the shoulder up slightly. II would measure the cases fired at just above the rim extractor cut, mid point on the body and last just behind the shoulder on both fired cases and then sized cases. Also measure at 90* to check for egg shaped cartridges. If your die is down tight to the shell holder you may have a rifle with a near min chamber and a die with a near max "chamber". You might try a different shell holder or "polish" a little of the top of the shell holder or bottom of the die. .005 usually is enough.

[jsizemore]

Like country gent said, when you squeeze the body smaller the brass has to lengthen. An 8th to a quarter turn down on the die should start to push the shoulder toward the base. You may have to go a bit more. You can use your rifles chamber as your gage.
I had a factory Savage 10FP in 308 that was headspaced shorter than SAMMI spec. My RCBS sizing die couldn't push the shoulder back enough to chamber easily. Savage is easy to fix. Loosen the barrel nut and re-headspace with a GO Gage. Gun shot great and my dies worked fine. My buddies 10 year old son took his first bear with that rifle. He loaded the ammo for it too.