No idea what I am doing wrong?

[badboyparamedic]

Loaded some 38 Special today, cases fit in cylinder after sizing and depriming, seated some 158 grain cast SWC with very slight crimp, bullets sized to .358 by the way, COL was at 1.50, after seating boolits cases would not drop into cylinder. They stopped about an 1/8 of an inch from going all the way in, I could setup a 158 gr jacketed to the exact same settings and it would drop in, what am I not seeing?

[wallenba]

Do they look like they have a slight bulge on one side of the case after seating the boolit? Before I started using a Lyman M die, this would happen to me. The boolit would enter off center and just push the brass aside instead of centering up. Seating depth might be an issue with your particular gun, throats may be a little closer, as 1.50 is about right. My book lists 1.477 for my 358swc.

[GP100man]

A pic would help .

But if you`re crimping out of the crimping groove it`ll bulge the case just enuff to cause hard/no chambering.

Have ran into a few early S&Ws that had tite chambers & would`nt chamber a 358 boolit with anything except the thinnest mouthed brass.

I`ve found PMC to bee one of the thickest mouthed around , or at least the batches I have are.

[badboyparamedic]

Will have to check for a bulge, crimping in the crimp groove, seems to be a lot worse in nickle cases than in brass cases. Brass will seat with just a slight amount of pressure from my thumb, nickle wont seat at all. nickle cases do have the ring on the cases about 3/8 of an inch down and brass don't. Jacket bullets loaded to same specs in both cases go into cylinder just fine.

[runfiverun]

the boolits shoulder is hitting the throat.
look at how far the boolits shoulder is sticking out of the case and how far the case is sticking out of the chamber.

[Larry Gibson]

the boolits shoulder is hitting the throat.
look at how far the boolits shoulder is sticking out of the case and how far the case is sticking out of the chamber.

+1.

Larry Gibson

[badboyparamedic]

Will check shoulders when get a chance, looks like I probably not gonna get to go home tonight, tornadoes possible for our area tonight after dark. Gonna be a long day/night at work.

[badboyparamedic]

Cleaned chambers real good, still no go, havent had a chance to check anything else, watching weather, severe weather possible for tonight. Sometimes being in the ambulance business is a PIA.

[GP100man]

All this is excellent info !

Hope all is well !!!

Storms posting strong numbers F-4s & 3s , WOW!!

God Bless em ALL !!

[jdgabbard]

A pic would help .

But if you`re crimping out of the crimping groove it`ll bulge the case just enuff to cause hard/no chambering.

Have ran into a few early S&Ws that had tite chambers & would`nt chamber a 358 boolit with anything except the thinnest mouthed brass.

I`ve found PMC to bee one of the thickest mouthed around , or at least the batches I have are.

This. It's a newbie mistake. I did it too. Lighter crimp, just enough to keep the lead in the case.

[birch]

I had the same problem when I first starte .358-38 loads. My boolit was getting seated at a canted angle. I was causing a little bulge in one side of some very thin walled .38 cases. I was using a semiwadcutter boolit mould, and found that I was not getting the boolit centered in the case mouth. I had to expand the case mouth a little less, and then the boolit could not get lodged sideways while being seated.

[badboyparamedic]

Update

Tried and Tried with the 700X loads, no go, just couldnt get them to chamber. Used a load with Red Dot, chambered just fine. Red Dot allows a shorter over all length than the 700x, guess it was just extremely TIGHT chambers.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

[outdoorfan]

Yeah, I would have mentioned the shoulder contacting the throats. I just experienced this in my 686 when trying to chamber some heavies. The solution was to hone out the throats, as they were too tight anyway. Works great now.