I just worked up a load for a remington model 7 7-08. It was a starting load of 40 gr of rl15 and a 120 gr hornady v-max. I accidently trimed to brass to 2.020 (wich is too short I know it was a accident.)When using any realistc seating depth from 2.800 down to 2.650 the cartridge is hard to push into the chamber once it is extracted the bullet has had a small amount scraped of the base just in front of the case neck. The gun chambers factory ammo without problem.Is the problem the bullet ogive. any one have any ideas? by the way there was no crimp.

After you have sized your brass will it chamber smoothly? This is before a bullet is seated.

I've loaded shorter without a problem I would think you need to resize the brass. Ogave could be the problem but I would think it would be more of a sizing problem. Brass is only .015 under Max Length.

Knew I had it somewhere...sujested trim length is 2.015 so I say you are good to go there. Neck sizing should work if it was fired out of your rifle and it's a bolt action. With my 308 I use a redding body sizer and then neck size.

It chambers the resized brass fine with no resistance at all, just like a factory round. The rounds were neck sized if that makes any difference.

I didn't try the Vmax but I did load the Nosler 120 Ballistic Tips and I was running it out to 2.940 in my rifle. I still think it's something in the sizing of the brass. When you say neck sizing, is it fired brass out of your rifle? Are you loading from the mag or single shot? The scrape sound like you are loading from the mag. If you aren't seeing any marks up on the bullet I don't think you are getting to lands, the ogave is pretty far back on the lighter weight bullets. Which once again says sizing to me.

are you pushing the bullet into the lands? Just screw your seating die down until its easy to seat. Note that sometimes a primer will be high and this can result in chambering friction, provided of course you are sizing the brass correctly. if brass is correct, primers are not high, then perhaps you are shoving the bullets into the lands? the length to the tip of the bullet is not really an accurate indicator, get one of those hornady comparators and measure the distance to the ogive.

The brass was fired out of my rifle, and I think your right about the sizing. Because it chambers factory loadings at 2.790 inches but even if I push my reloads back to 2.650 it is still very tight and leaving marks on the bullet.I am confused about why it is chambering the sized brass fine.The marks on the bullet is just a thin scrape.

At 2.650 the bullet should be no where close to the lands, and that should rule out the ogive problem, I assume.The primers are flush soo I dont think thats the problem, so Im sure its something wrong in the sizing stage.

Is this the first time you've tried to load for this rifle? Little brother had a problem not long ago with a Forster Bump bushing die with his WSM that was putting an offset in the neck. Check the diameter of the bullet. I know this sound silly but we had a friend on another forum that got some bullets that came in the wrong box and they were 7mm I think and the box had 308 bullets in them.

These are the first reloads ive fired in this rifle. The bullets are .284 so thats not the problem. I just reset the sizing die and resized a peice of brass and seated a bullet and still had the same problem, this time it dosent take near as much pressure to chamber and extract the round but there are is still a scratch on the bullet.It must be something with the resizing stage and im setting the die up by screwing it down untill it contacts the shell holder with the ram all the way up and then screwing it down another 1/4 turn.There is slight resistance when lowering the ram after sizing is this a problem?

After going back and measuring all the bullets where the brass is shave off, I consistantly get a reading of .284.5 so that might be the problem. If the resized brass chambers fine then that would mean there is not a problem with the sizing correct?

Can't say but I used 2 different sets of calipers and checked some Nosler 120, Hornady 139 & 169, Berger 168, Barnes 140, Combined Tec Silver tips 150, and Serra 160 7mm bullets and they are suppose to be 284 and everyone of them checked 282. Check a new factory loaded round just below the crimp and one of your reloads in the same place and see how close the measurements are. If the resized case is loading with no problems the bullet is all that is left unless there is a patch laying in the bore....don't laugh on that one either I'm the idiot that, that little problem happened to except I couldn't close the bolt thank goodness. Rifle goes to the range with the bolt out now and I check bore before inserting bolt. Was one of the most embarrassing moments of my long life.

This reads like you're following the generic full length sizing instructions that come in the die box. Even if you're not having chambering difficulties these generic directions usually aren't the best for fitting brass to your chamber.

A scratch on the bullet will have nothing to do with case sizing. You are assuming that the small scratch on the bullet is causing hard chambering...possibly, but more likely the shoulder would be inclined to do that.

If a resized empty case will chamber ok but a loaded round will not, perhaps there is some fouling in your chamber/throat area. Clean the chamber and that area with solvent and a bronze brush and see if the problem goes away.

TC

The scratch on the bullet is probably coming from rubbing on the ejection port when you pull the ctg. out. Sounds like you have a problem with your neck sizing procedure.

factory ammo chambers fine so its not a copper build up or anything like that. As hard as it is to chamber the round I would think that, this is cause by the bullet being scratched while being chambered, but then again it is also hard to eject the cartridge.I will try another bullet next week when they arrive and see if this changes things. If there was a problem with the sizing then I wouldnt be able to chamber brass without a bullet right. If this helps any when closing the bolt it only has resistance about the last 1/4 inch and pushing the bolt down is difficult when ejecting the case the bolt comes up 3/4 easy and then gets difficult to finish its rotation and is difficult to cycle bolt backwords. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to set up a necksizing die differently then the books publish?

Is the seating die set deep in the press? The neck sizer only touches the neck and should have no effect on the rest of the case. If you have trouble with only a sized and loaded round it has to be in the bullet seating somewhere.
I suspect the seating die is deep in the press and crimping the case heavily when you seat. This bulging the brass just behind the crimp.

I backed the seating die off 1 full turn after 1st contact with the case, I may back it off more tommarow and see what happens, right now I am applying no crimp. there is no evident buldge in the case and the case seems fine I belive the problem is in the bullet myself.Will it hurt if I back the seating die off more than 1 turn?
thanks for all the replies guys

Not as long as you have enough adjustment to seat the bullet where you want it, I would think. Have you checked the loaded case against a factory yet to see if you are getting a great deal of difference in the size of the neck. You could be over expanding the neck and have a tight chamber to boot.

I think you have a burr in the chamber that only shows up with resized brass.Factory ammunition is very liberal in it's new state and does not show. powdr

If I was over expanding the case neck wouldnt the bullet not seat right. I have gone back and loaded dummy rounds for the 3rd time resetting the dies each time and am still having the same problem. If there was a burr wouldnt it scuff the factory ammo too?
thanks for the suggestions guys, youve all been a big help.

When you trimmed your cases too much, did you also deburr the inside & outside of the case? If you have a large ring of brass on the outside of the casemouth it could cause tight seating.

I did chamfer and deburr. The thing that is confusing me the most is the sized brass chambers fine but once a bullet is seated the problem occurs, no matter the seating depth.

Measure the case neck after seating a bullet. With a .284 bullet, the neck diameter should be about .314". The would mean the neck wall thickness is .015, which is about normal for SAAMI dimensions. If your case necks measure more than .314", your brass could be too thick, causing it to contact the neck recess in your chamber. Too thick neck wall thickness and an undersized neck diameter in your chamber can cause the problem you are having.

Measure a fired case at the neck. It's diameter should be about .316" to 318". Add .001 to your measurement and this will give you your neck dia. in the chamber.

When a cartridge is a tight fit into a chamber, it means that, somewhere, the cartridge is either longer or larger than the chamber. Carefull measurement will tell you where.

To determine your neck wall thickness, seat a bullet and make the measurement as described above. Subtract .284 from this measurement and divide by 2 and you will have your neck wall thickness. Measure in two or three places around the circumferance of the neck, in the event that the brass is thicker on one side than the other.

IIRC, neck wall thickness on factory cartridges is supposed to be about .015".

While you are at it, on a re-loaded cartridge, measure your shoulder diameter and compare it to a factory load.

Another problem could be that your seating die is too deep in your press, causing the mouth of the neck to contact the crimping shoulder, causing either the neck or shoulder to bulge.

When this happenes, the die is trying to crimp a case into a bullet with no crimping groove, causing the neck and/or shoulder to crush.

The scratch on the bullet? Is the bullet not seated deep enough and the ogive is contacting the rifling?

Throughly examine a re-loaded cartridge, using a magnifying glass if you have too. Check where the neck joins the shoulder, to make sure this area is not bulged or deformed, or the neck not pushed back into the shoulder.

You might want to try partial sizing a case that was fired in this rifle and see if this remedys the problem. If it does, then the problem is definately in the sizing operation. It just remains to determine where.

Something else that could be wrong is that the expander ball is too large, and when it is pulled back through the neck, it is stretching the neck and deforming the case at the shoulder.

Maybe some of the other readers can tell you the correct dimensions, but I don't know the correct diameter for an expander ball. My guess is .002 to .003 larger than the bullet diameter, but I don't know for sure.

Or, the expander ball can be too small, not expanding the neck enough and the case neck is being deformed when you seat the bullet.

Was the brass you are trying to re-load originally fired in this rifle? If not, then sizing die might not be sizing the case down enough to fit your chamber. This is a common problem. I have only had it happen once, but Mule Deer said he has seen this happen several times with various calibers.

I measured the neck and it was .310 so the brass is not to thick.Also on the fired and ejected brass there is a flatened side of the case neck, on factory ammo and reloads. Could whatever is scraping the bullet be causing this too.(Its not the magazine, It does it with the magazine in and out.)There is no evident buldges anywhere on the cases. I belive I will ourder a Full length die and see if this makes a difference.

OK now...diamaiter is good to go. What kind of seater are you using? Something almost has to be changing the shape of the case in the seating process if it chambers without problems after just sizing because there is no problem with the size of the neck after seating bullet. Are you feeling a lot of pressure when you seat your bullet? I had a set of dies that the seater was actually so tight it was doing a partial case sizing on neck sized cases and that will make you case longer because it doesn't bump the shoulder back down. If you have ever just barely tightened you FL sizer and measured to the shoulder at each turn you will see that it actually lengthens the case until you get to the point where it starts bumping the shoulders back down to the proper size. I've done this with many calibers and many dies and the process is always the same. The case will lengthen as the walls are pushed in and you have to hit the top of the die to push the shoulders back into place. I had a die custom honed for my 308 that only sets the shoulder in and back .001 and in .002 at the web. I thought this was the answer to over working brass. I found however when stepping it down to get it set right to do the minimal sizing I was looking for I was still moving the shoulders forward nearly .003 before it set it back where it should be and would chamber without problems. That's one reason I have a problem with the term "partial full length sizing". Only way you don't work your brass is to neck size.

I think you`ll find this the ejector slamming the case mouth against the side of the receiver prior to the case reaching the port. I`ve a couple rifles that do this and most of the semi-auto handguns I`ve had do it too.

Once my FL die arrives I will try that and see what happens. Im using a regulare rcbs seating die. Is it possible the case neck is being bent slightly causing the bullet to seat slightly off center? When seating the bullet there is little to no resistance at all, everything feels fine when working the ram. I did shoot 5 of these reloads and everything was fine, I was worried about the loss of accuracy with the scrape on the bullet, but they still shot 3/4 moa.

ol joe do you think it is the side of reciver that is scratching the bullets too? If soo why doesnt it scratch the bullets on factory ammo?

Was the brass you are re-loading originally fired in the rifle you are working with?

Mark one of your re-loads with a magic marker. Carefully orientate the cartridge in your rifle, making note of the mark.

Chamber and eject the cartridge, closing the bolt completely, and examine for the scratch. Carefully check the chamber, with a small light if you have to, and the feeding ramp for roughness or a burr in the position where the bullet scratched.