Boolits pushed into brass...

[bkbville]

I was testing some 7.62x39 loads using the Lee 311-160 over BL-C(2), looking for a light load (17/18gr) that cycles my AK and groups.

A couple of these - say 18gr - sent the bolt back far enough to push a cartridge forward but not into the chamber.

The problem is the bolt pushed them hard enough to stuff the boolit into the cartridge.

I crimped these loads - with a lee crip die - which I thought was exactly to prevent this sort of thing.

do I need to adjust something to prevent this?

[MtGun44]

You need both a better fit to the necks and a tighter crimp. Ar you using the Lee
factory crimp die? It should crimp into a crimping groove in the boolit and hold it
so you can't push it in by pushing the cartridge as hard as you can with the boolit
tip against a solid surface like a wooden bench edge.

Bill

[ETG]

If the bolt was going fast enough to push the bullet into the case (if you crimped it) then it should have had enough energy to chamber the round. The fact that the bullet impacted something (I'm assuming right below the chamber) means it wasn't going directly into the chamber. It could be your mag, the mag fit, or the cartrige. Was it a hollow point. I have several AKs that will not reliably feed hollow points but feed FMJs just fine. If the bolt didn't fully strip the cartrige from the mag then it might be a load issue. Just my .02

[Bloodman14]

Either not enough crimp, or the crimp 'failed', and allowed the boolit to be pushed into the case more. Yes the Lee factory crimp die is preset to a standard case length, check your cases for proper length; if they are too short, the crimp die may not have enough material to crimp properly.

[Bloodman14]

Also check for C.O.A.L.

[Nora]

Which mold are you using? Lee doesn't make a 311-160 that I am aware of. Are you referring to the C309-160-R? If that's the case than I would consider the boolit design to also be a possible cause with the boolit ending up in the lug area as well. It would also explain why the crimp isn't taking being a smaller diameter. Personally I haven't had very good luck with any of the round or flat nosed in either an SK or AK. You may, if you can find one in stock somewhere try using a Lee C-312-155-2R. These were designed to feed reliably in both. As well as the the 309 wouldn't be fat enough to print anything smaller than a shot gun spread sized pattern.

my .02

Nora

[sundog]

Might be that it was not sized down far enough to begin with.