Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Had it with Rem, and Win. brass in 7/08........

Took BRAND NEW Rem & Win brass... several pieces won't extract. Took the new brass, FL resize, trim, and still won't extract. WTF. Frustrated, ordered some Norma brass....extracts smooth as silk.

Side Note: With the Rem and Win brass, sometimes had to close the bolt with some gusto to get the extractor to grab the case. If you try to cycle the action slow, it won't grab the case....what gives???

It sounds like it's headspace related, either in the rifle itself, or from over-sizing the cases?

99% sure it ain't the brass

Sounds to me like it might be the thickness of the rims on the Win. and Rem. brass. Have seen this occasionally cause problems with push-feed extractors. The extractor can be (carefully!) modified to slip over the rim.

rifle?

I always size NEW brass... that is why I picked up body dies in several calibers... bump that shoulder back and make sure it will chamber before I load it..

The rifle in question is a Browning X-bolt.
The Dies are RCBS X-sizer dies.
MuleDeer....i thought about that as the Norma brass cycles without a hitch and the Norma brass seems to be visually superior to my other brass. How would you modify the extractor if need be?

Prior to this, some new brass, loaded and fired from this gun, after FL resize would not extract. Had to partial resize to get those pieces to cycle. At that time I never thought of trying to measure the rim thickness, I just tossed the brass as I have alot on hand.

I hope to fire some Norma brass this weekend and resize to see if the same thing happens.......hopefully not.... Thank you.

I don't think it is the brass either. Sounds like more of an extractor issue.

Did you try chamber any of the virgin hulls before you sized them? I've never sized new brass. Just run the expander ball through the neck to make sure it's round, chamfer the case mouth, load and go.

"Had it with Rem, and Win. brass in 7/08........ "

Okay.

mailmanmark,

The extractor problem is fixed by grinding a very slight amount of steel off the rear of the extractor.

I had this happen once with a new NULA in .257 Roberts. It wouldn't extract Remington cases every time, so I called Melvin. He said he sets the extractor with the brass he has on hand, which in this instance happened to be Winchester.

Normally he'd ask for the rifle to be sent back, with some of the brass, but he trusted me enough to explain how to do the job. I did it (carefully!) and the problem was solved.

16bore........yes I did.....with all the brass. Norma brass is the only one where every piece cycles flawlessly.

Never had any issues with Rem 708 brass.

I have used Remington 7mm-08 brass exclusively for about five years with no problems. It sounds like a case of tight tolerances on the extractor and maybe tolerances on the thick side on the brass. I'd hate to have to pay Norma prices if not necessary. Try Mule Deer's fix; just be careful.

Would love to but unsure on how to go about it.

If its a new rifle, why don't you see what Browning has to say. Before you start tinkering with it. Anything you would do to it might void any warrenty.
Seems I have read somewhere that the european companies begin with a generic case that is basic to the 7x57. The rim is slightly smaller and thinner. That is what they use even when they are making "American" cases. ie 30-06,.308, etc. On the other hand, the American companies use a generic case based on the 30-06. Even when they are making "european" brass. It seems that it works okay in both directions as a rule.

Do the Remington and Winchester cases fail to extract after firing? or only while test cycling for function?

Some of the NEW-UNFIRED brass won't extract. All fired cases extract because i test for function prior to firing. Problem reappears when you FL resize the cases, trim etc.... and then some of the cases won't extract. Very perplexing. I plan to shoot some Norma brass today to see if the same problem occurs. If the Norma brass works okay.....then I won't screw with it any longer and just use Norma brass on this particular gun.

Stillbeeman...... no it's not a new gun, new to me, but it's over a year old.

If a case that wouldn't extract before being fired will extract after being fired then the problem is due to excess headspace being created during your sizing operation. (you're oversizing the brass, and bumping the shoulder back too far) The rim of the case is too far forward for the extractor to catch. This is not an uncommon problem and can be created with some sizing dies, shellholder combinations, etc. When fired, the cases expand to the proper headspace and the extractor can again reach the rim. As some posters above have said, it's probably not the brass itself. Do you have case headspace comparator to campare the cases? I hope this makes sense and helps with the problem.
Rick

Unfortunately this is not the case. If the case won't cycle to begin with, I don't even load it.

The more I tinker with this, the more i'm leading to believe that it is an extractor issue. I just spent the better part of an hour thoroughly cleaning(again) the bolt assembly. Prior to this, when closing the bolt and applying a little pressure downward on the bolt, you could hear the extractor "snap" over the rim. After cleaning, and well lubricating, no noise is heard.

This morning I fired some Norma brass. FL resize, trim...etc... the Norma brass cycled fine.

I wish there was a way to contact Browning via e-mail....