So, I got out all of my 300 Weatherby loads starting from 2015 and pulled the bullets. All of them.

Pretty much everything that was more than 2 years old had some of the bullets welded. I stressed the press getting some of them out, and then the next one would come easily (similar to the brand new loads). Clearly a problem and clearly more than a few cartridges. I don't know why some did and some did not "weld". Given the increased pressure and velocity I saw with the welded ones, I'm glad I cleaned them out. I don't need to be a test pilot.

All of these were Barnes TTSX bullets of varying weights. I wonder if the Barnes bullet material is more likely to weld than some of the alloys? An email query to Barnes about welding with new brass went unanswered.

I'm clearly going to have to coat the necks or the bullets as I rebuild my stock. I need to figure out a consistent method.


"Think about how stupid the average person is, and then think that half of the people are stupider than that" - George Carlin