I have been reloading for 25 years, but today I'm baffled. I loaded 50 rounds for my brother. Had has a 280 rem. I trimmed the brass, and make sure I didn't short stroke on the resizing. Not come the question. He and his daughter went to the range. He had his Remington, She had a Ruger. All the cartridges functioned in his gun, but not hers. He tried all fifty rounds before the went. He said he pulled the bolt out of the Ruger, and the chamber was clear. Help.

Denny

Ruger may have a short throat and the rounds were too long?

2 rifles can easily mean 2 totally different not only loads, but brass and OAL setups... easily.

if they cycled in BOTH rifles before he went, then check for crud under the extractor or the ejector not functioning correctly.

Then try factory ammo in the wuger. If it works, its something not right in your loads for THAT gun.

Did you neck size, or full length resize?

If you neck sized, or partial full length resized, there is your problem.

Full length.

Yeah, it's common for some rifles not to chamber FL sized brass that will fit in other chambers, and even more common with neck-sized brass.

I won't load for any rifles I don't have there to test before proceeding.



That really tells us nothing about the actual problem.
What exactly happened?

I have a .338 Win mag, and so does a buddy of mine. His chamber is a lot tighter then mine, and unless I screw in the sizing die all the way, and cam it over really hard, the loaded rounds will not chamber in his rifle. In mine, I can work the brass a lot less.

Antelope, same w/my Dad's and my 257AI. His takes way more work. Looks like the Ruger will need to be sized down again...or as much as possible. powdr

Is the bolt refusing to close all the way? Does it stop about 1/4-1/2" short of being able to lock up?

If so, the problem is likely a slightly tight chamber. The brass will jam as the pressure ring tries to enter the chamber. This happens if the chamber is smaller than the sizing die. I have a bolt action 30-30 that is that way. It will chamber new ammo, and it will chamber ammo reloaded from its own brass, but it will not chamber full length sized brass fired in lever action rifles. I had to hack together a special die to resize the pressure ring in order to use range brass.

Amazing.

Six other people managed to reply and/or try to help without editorializing or sounding like an insufferable ass.

Kudos.

I have a 223 that does not chamber reloads that fit very nicely in 5 other 223 rifles of 4 different brands. The problem was solved when I screwed the FL die in a little more so that camming over took a little more effort. That bumped the shoulder back just enough to allow the rounds to chamber. Just a little bump can make a huge difference.

That may not be your problem, but it is certainly easy to check.

Been there. Solution was a small base die where the brass comes from a variety of rifles and the reloads have to work in any of them, including the tight one.

Just for clarification. Are you saying he tried all 50 rounds in both guns before he went to the range?

^^^^^^^

If SB dies are available for the cartridge in question, this is the easy way to go...and still provides super hunting accuracy...

Is there any room between the shellholder and the die when you're resizing? If so, screw the die down till it touches the shellholder--push the shoulder back a little more.

It's pretty rare that a factory chamber is so tight that it won't chamber a round resized by an RCBS, Redding etc.

I'm not sure this is the problem.

However, if it is, I would agree. When a die is adjusted down so that it touches the shell holder...and give another little twist...so that it cams over...you can almost bet money on the fact that the brass in now on the negative side of SAAMI spec. And should work in factory chambers.

Have had the same problem with a couple 30-06 rifles. One allowed the brass to expand near the case head and a normal sizing die would not resize that brass to chamber completely in the two other rifles. New brass fired in the tighter chambered rifles and resized normally would chamber fine in them. If you tried to force the oversize case into the tighter chambers a brass rod down the barrel was required to dislodge it. So, as previously stated a small base die or dedicated brass should solve the problem.

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Sorry I can't help you. I don't even understand your problem. You failed to provide any helpful information.

None the less:

Lets roll up our sleeves and plunge into this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.280_Remington

#1. Are both of your rifles the same caliber?

#2. What bullets were used? Manufacturer, caliber, diameter, length, grain size, type *( lead core, copper clad, solid copper ? ).

#3. Have you ever chambered factory ammo in either gun ?

There is a tool/die/ measuring device to check the dimensions of loaded ammo. It's the Wilson Case Gauge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuJYpm-qplQ

You use this BEFORE going to the range.

Only you can decipher what you failed to do properly but mess up you definitely did.

We're here to help. If you want to continue we will be more than happy to help.

So, Mr. Tibbe, first you say:



to go on and state:



In between, senseless, condecending drivel.

Friend Denny:

Connect the dots. We will help you contingent upon your furnishing adequate information which you have not.

Condescending, yes, but I do apologize.

Pure and simple - YOU messed up. We are not good at guessing.

Was any of the brass fired in the ruger before?

Somewhere toward the end of the last century I put together some loads (identical) for two different 7mm mags. The Ruger swallowed them fine, the Remington not so much. Spec loads per the books, but the Rem had a short throat and the bullets had to be seated another .030" deeper just to chamber.

All of the Rugers I load for have long throats, as compared to other makes.

First time I've ever had this happen to me. Bought some new 7 x 57 brass for 2 257 Roberts rifles. A Rem and a Ruger #1....the Ruger eats em up. Can't close the bolt on the Rem.

I missed the die sizing adjustment. Simple as that.

Lots of good advice already, the drama notwithstanding. I think its a good habit to shoot and hand load brass dedicated to a particular rifle. You should record headspace before and after firing. Two rifles side by side on the production line in the same chambering can be different.
Get her rifle some new brass and get back in action. Oh and make sure the chamber in her rifle is clean.

It ain't necessarily so..........
I was given an assignment once to develop a singe load for 3 different .300 Winchesters using the 180gn Failsafe Bullet.

Finding a 3150fps load was relatively easy. Finding an OAL than chambered in all 3 rifles determined that the Ruger had the shortest, the Remington the longest and the Sako in between.

Rifles really are individuals though chambers of similar vintage where the same reamer could possibly have been used "could" display more similarities and uniformity.

John

Denny:

I see lots of good input but I don't as yet see the final resolution. The inputters precipitated another aspect of measuring that needs to be focused upon - cartridge OAL and how it relates to variations in chamber, throat, leade. Here's more about the anatomy of same.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...hp....0.0.0.8091...........0.s3uIvbIh7N0

Some bullets, depending on weight/grain are too short and some too long. Bench Rester's, in particular, are very fussy about offset, alignment, distance from bullet to rifling contact. Those parameters are set with a Stony Point OAL Gauge. SP was sold to Forster. Here's their website. http://www.forsterproducts.com/store.asp?pid=24834

Many, if not most, reloaders think a bullet should be set back a short distance from the rifling and have to "jump" forward instead of being hard up against the rifling in contact.

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I'll relate - again - my experience that I poster some weeks back. I was gifted a significant amount of 30-06 cases once fired, military production by a friend in a gun store. He didn't reload. I tried to run these through my Lyman, T Mag turret top press which is super powerful. The cases jammed in spite of lubrication. The press ripped off rims of stuck cases. I then improvised using my Wilson Case Gauge, in my garage using a big vise. I squeezed the cases in and they were so stuck that I had to drill and ream them out, destroying the case and scarring the Wilson Gauge inside. I threw in the towel, went back to the gun store and bought 100 new factory original unfired cases that were SAAMI spec. End of problems.

I wasn't being frivolous when I asked if your brothers daughters rifle was actually the same caliber. There are indeed some variations from caliber/case to caliber/case and many in the industry are far too sloppy and casual with using imprecise information.

Please let us know how you make out with resolution.

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*( I own all of those instruments, the Wilsons for EACH caliber, two Stony Points/Fosters, dial calipers and more than one micrometer.

Ho Lee [bleep]

No just in his rifle,Remington

Indeed

Yes! they with both 280 Remington, not 7mm express, or 7-06.

OK, is the Ruger the newer control round feed and static ejector?

Or is the Ruger one of the older models with plunger tube ejector mounted in the face of the bolt?

I am more than ever convinced you're Lee24 reincarnated.

Do you own a caliper? I'd be interested in the size of the base ahead of the rim on your reloads vs factory ammo.

Denny:

What say we summarize things to do to date:

Trouble shooting assumptions, so lets walk through using inductive logic.

* The reload cases used presumably came from Dads gun. Probably once fired as a minimum.

* Reloads fit Dads but not daughters.

* If they had been new, SAAMI spec, there wouldn't be a problem with the cases.

* You said you trimmed so case length is eliminated.

* Both guns are confirmed .280 Rem caliber.

* Tests to run: 1. Use a resized case. 2. De-prime. 3. Do not charge with powder. 4. Try to chamber. If it doesn't chamber then it hasn't been suitably resized. Try again or get new SAAMI spec cases. Or effective dies.

* If it chambers OK then seat a bullet. NO primer - no powder. You may have to rod it out. Measure OAL and seat enough that the bullet isn't contacting the rifling. Measure OAL with a dial caliper.

* If it will chamber empty but won't chamber with a bullet seated, check the neck OD and compare to SAAMI spec. *( That seems unlikely to be an oversized neck since Dad's rounds chamber OK ).

* As a supplementary precaution try to chamber a factory round in the daughters gun.

My gut feeling is that the Guys put their finger on the problem. Daughters chamber is tighter than Dads.

So:

* Either re-check the dies, or get replacement dies.

* Send the Daughters gun out for a reaming, dress up, chamber enlargement to Dad's chamber size spec.

In any event you will most probably need to spend a few bucks any way you cut it *( Unless you can get your resizing die to work ). My seat of the pants guesstimate is under 100 bucks.

Please let us know. I, at least, am interested in hearing the finalization. If I can help further just holler. Always happy to help out a fellow shooter. It makes the world a better place.

Do the world a favor and don't give "advice" to anyone about anything. Please.

I agree. If you get a different brand of brass for each rifle it helps to keep them sorted. Assuming that one chamber is indeed a bit tighter than the other (which is what it sounds like) the small-base die mentioned earlier would be another option, but keeping brass sorted to the individual rifle is what I do, and then it doesn't really matter if one chamber's a bit tighter than the other.

Blue mountain ape:

Take a hike. You are not welcome here.

Rather abundantly clear at this point.

That's funny, coming from you.

What another classic campfire goat [bleep]. The question as usual was answered in the first couple of replies then the dumbasses come out of the woodwork.

yeah that's me alright. Anti gun obama operative. You figured it ou . Happy with yourself now?

Now he's a self-appointed moderator, ain't that rich.

Small base dies if you're going to share cartridges with more than one rifle.

If you keep brass segregated, FL dies will always work fine.




Travis

There's no point in editing your post when someone has already quoted it.


You're dumber than I initially thought, which was a pretty low bar to begin with.


You should tell us some more of your stories about reloading though. It makes for good entertainment.

I find it best when reloading for other people to set the barrel back and re-ream it tight enough that factory ammo won't work.

Then they have to keep coming back to me for reloads.

Once the hook is set, jack the price and laugh all the way to the bar...

I had this issue w/ 2-30/06s. I ended up using Win brass in one and RP in the other.

I neck-size only but these gave me issues even when FL'd so I segregated cases as easiest solution.

.

You should be asking questions, not fu cking answering them. Good lord!

I believe Ape is on the right track about that last comment about the vice and case gauge don't sound smart to me.How in the hell did he think he would ever get the cases back ou when it was tighter than a bulls azz at fly time

get an rcbs precision mic,,then measure a fired case from each rifle,that will tell the tale immediately.
then check the handloaded ammo