6.5 x .300 Weatherby Magnum reloading issue

[Oh Mah]

I'm hoping someone can tell me what i need to do.

I'm trying to reload my once fired 6.5 300 Weatherby brass and before i run them all i want to be sure it will chamber first.i have shimmed under the brass to get it up as high as i can so close that the step inside the die touches the belted shoulder and it still wont chamber.

Could this factory loaded ammo from Weatherby be so hot it needs annealed after 1 firing?

any suggestions would be welcome,thanks

@str8meat and anyone else that knows these.

[Reidus]

So basically you've ran a fired case all the way into the sizing die as far as it will go and the sized case wont chamber in the rifle?

[Oh Mah]

yes sir

[Reidus]

I use a grinder and take some off the bottom of the die until I get enough shoulder bump. I'd check to make sure the case isn't too long first.

[Oh Mah]

I will go double check everything again.thanks. I'll be right back

[BULLBLASTER]

Any way to find out where the interference is? Will a fired, but unsized case chamber?

[Oh Mah]

Ok Reidus you nailed it.You may have taught me exactly why i always have problems with Weatherby magnums.

i WENT OUT AND CHECKED CASE LENGTH......WOW 15 OVER.

They were fine before i sized them,.002 .003 over the trim length.

I sized another then trimmed to length(trimmed almost .020 off the length) brought it in and chambered smooth as silk.Thank you very much.

I have learned some ammo needs trimmed after sizing.

 

[Reidus]

Good deal. You could sizing one without the expander ball and see if it grows as much. If it helps you can get a Redding type s bushing die and ditch the expander ball.

[Reidus]

Also you may have ran the case in further than you needed to which could cause the case to grow.

[jrebel]

Also you may have ran the case in further than you needed to which could cause the case to grow.

 

I’ve never seen a case grow that much by sizing alone.  Don’t shim under your brass and make sure your die is set up correctly.  Also make sure your lubing enough. 

[Oh Mah]

I started out normal just kissing no cam over.i just did it as i started then measured and it grew a lot.then trimmed and put a bullet in it and fits perfect.

Have to resize these then trim debur then loadem up.ALWAYS LEARNING SOMETHING NEW WITH THESE NEW CHAMBERINGS FROM WEATHERBY.

After i getr these done i'm gonna revisit my .338-378 brass that i could not get to work and see if its the same deal. thanks again everyone.

[b23]

Were you getting any cam over at all or did you have your FL die screwed down only enough to just touch the shell holder?

[Oh Mah]

just touch when started moved more shimmed it all of that still wouldnt go.But Reidus pointed out that they mat be to long.Now i did check them before i started and they were within specks but not after sizing.after sizing as Reidus pointed out they were over by almost .020. so now i got it all figured out.Thanks to Reidus.

[str8meat]

I have to check every case after firing due to over bore of this round. They like to stretch

[Oh Mah]

i agree they stretch but why do they grow so much after sizing?
is that a Weatherby trademark or something?

[Oh Mah]

Since your on here str6meat,could you send me your load data?I just want to see what youre doing thats all.my first im going straight off Barnes data.

76 grains of H1000

c.o.a,l 3.580

127 grain lrx bt bullet.


one of these days i'll find a pound of that US 869 AND TRY IT OUT.

[str8meat]

127 Barnes 3.603 us 869 88 grain. Never got to FPS on these loads didn’t see the accuracy. Friend of mine in Wyoming uses rl33 with the Barnes. Lights out he says, good luck finding rl 33

140 nosler accubond 3.568 88 grains  us869, these are seconds with a canelure 3275,3301,3309 FPS accuracy better

140 nosler accubond 3.713 88 grains us869 factory first 3323,3327,3356 FPS. Under an inch at 200 if I do my part. Go to load for me.

140 Berger hunting vld hunting 3258,3202,3202,3223,3254,3204 same load 3.652.

156 grain Berger vld hunting 85 us869 3065 no coal. Haven’t played with these much.

I was afraid the Berger of being to fragile on bigger game, bud of mine in Eburg killed a cow elk at 533 with my 140 Berger load and it was bang flop. Drt

I also have 130 scirocco to test as I feel they maybe a tad tougher than accubond. Dunno haven’t played with yet. But spring is still young

[Oh Mah]

Awesome data thanks

[b23]

i agree they stretch but why do they grow so much after sizing?

It's typical for brass to get longer, particularly in the base to shoulder measurement, during the FL sizing process if the die isn't screwed down far enough for the shoulder of the case to come in contact with the top of the die.  As the brass goes up inside a FL die it squeezes down on the sides of the case as it does that it forces the brass to actually get longer and it'll stay that way until the shoulder comes in contact with the top of the die.  Think of what happens to the water level of a plastic water bottle as you squeeze the middle of it, the water level rises.

That's why I asked about cam over because I always need my FL dies screwed down slightly past cam over before it'll ever push the shoulder back 1-2 thou and until the die is screwed down past touch the brass will come out with the shoulder pushed forward which is why your brass won't chamber after it's sized.

You're talking about your brass growing 20 thou in the sizing process which is extreme.  Are you measuring just the overall length of the case and it's growing 20 thou or are you using shoulder bump gauge inserts to measure base to shoulder and that measurement is growing 20 thou?  Either way, that's excessive and something doesn't seem quite right.  Did you maybe mean .002 longer not .020 ?

[Oh Mah]

no mistake they grew but not .02 after sizing a total over trim of around .02.which yes is extreme.i am a machinist(over 30 years)i measured over all length of cartridge,first i measured them after tumbling and they were average .005 over trim should have been fine after sizing.after sizing is where i started having trouble (didnt think to measure again but got good advice here and did)after full length sizing they measured (5 of them) on average another .015 over.

[bearpaw]

Since your on here str6meat,could you send me your load data?I just want to see what youre doing thats all.my first im going straight off Barnes data.

76 grains of H1000

c.o.a,l 3.580

127 grain lrx bt bullet.


one of these days i'll find a pound of that US 869 AND TRY IT OUT.

I just ordered US 869 from Powder Valley a couple days ago, you might check and see if they still have any. 

[mazama]

Do you lube inside of case neck, i was getting a lot of  drag on up lift on one gun loading for so lots of lube inside,tumble afterwards.

[b23]

I just ordered US 869 from Powder Valley a couple days ago, you might check and see if they still have any. 

If you've worked with US869 before you already know this but if not be aware US869 has a love hate relationship with those who use it, with most hating it. 

I use it in both my 338 Lap Imp and 30-338 Lap Imp and get along well with it but I've learned some things about its use along the way and until I figured them out I was a hater.  It has the burn rate of wet coal so use the hottest primer you can get and it likes a lot of start pressure.  I get best results using it when I'm seating very close to touching the lands and when I don't ES goes crazy and I'll have extreme ES numbers.

[Oh Mah]

Since your on here str6meat,could you send me your load data?I just want to see what youre doing thats all.my first im going straight off Barnes data.

76 grains of H1000

c.o.a,l 3.580

127 grain lrx bt bullet.


one of these days i'll find a pound of that US 869 AND TRY IT OUT.

I just ordered US 869 from Powder Valley a couple days ago, you might check and see if they still have any. 

just ordered 2 pounds of it,thank you bear paw i didnt even know about them until you said. 

[Oh Mah]

ok it appears i jumped the gun on this.

they still wont chamber.i have 4 rounds that chambered(1 of them was the test subject that worked last night)i fully loaded 1 and it chambered no problem so i did 15 others.checked them today and only 4 out of the 16 will chamber.

i marked 1 with a sharpie and it is tight toward the fat end about 3/8 of an inch up from the belted area.

any suggestions?

[TooTallMike]

Larry willis collet die.

You're getting the common bulge above the belt issue

[Oh Mah]

is it because its so hot,

[TooTallMike]

is it because its so hot,

No it's pretty common with all belted magnums the factory sizing dies don't get all the way down to just above the belt so it's keeps growing. The die itself is about 120$ but saves your brass so in my opinion it pays for itself

[BULLBLASTER]

I could contact the die manufacturer or try a different sizing die. 3/8 of an inch above the belt isnt in the area of the internet issue with belts. 

 I have loaded thousands and thousands of rounds of belted cartridges and never once had any issue caused by the belt.

Do fired cases chamber again before you size them?

[Oh Mah]

Larry willis collet die.

You're getting the common bulge above the belt issue

I love it,I will call them tomorrow.

[Reidus]

If the case wants to stick in the chamber its probably the web above the belt. If it don't chamber but comes out easy it's most likely a length issue...shoulder didn't get bumped or neck is too long. If it's the web probably try a collet die like was mentioned....I'm no expert with reloading belted cases.

[Oh Mah]

Thanks everyone,i just ordered the collet die,after reading about it on their web page i would be dumb not to buy it.i have had this issue with the 300 win mag, my h&h my rum this 6.5 and the 300-378.(i dont think this will fix the 300 378 but i will find out.

[Oh Mah]

oh and not to long lol,i cut them down to 2.8 book called for 2.815.

[b23]

If the brass chambered before you FL sized it you need to screw your die down a bit further.  Again, a certain amount of cam over is normal practice.  If you've already done that and the brass is still sticking and it seems that it's sticking just above the belt then you can try a collet die like Larry Willis sells or you can talk to a smith that has the know how and they can machine your die and possibly fixed it so it sizes your brass closer to the belt.  Email Kevin Cram w/Montour County Rifles and see if he can help you out with your die.  Kevin is a good guy and knows the issues with dealing with belted Weatherby cases and has overhauled FL dies for them in the past.  Other smiths probably can too but I've talked to Kevin about this before so I know he can do it.  He's who told me about it.

Loads that are hot can definitely cause the case to swell beyond the limits of a FL die to size them back down but as of yet you really haven't established if your cases are not chambering because the base to shoulder is to long or if they are swelled. 

Have you taken any measurements of these cases and compared them to a piece of brass that does chamber in your gun?

[Oh Mah]

measuring brass on a taper is difficult at best you can only get close without the optical comparator to be sure your measuring in the exact same spot on both and it is very very close as it is.i dyed the brass and i see that it is tight just above the belting about 3/8 of an in.you can cam over all you want but if your not crushing the die face or the shell holder its not getting any closer.now i shimmed under the brass on top of the shell holder .01 and they still do not chamber.

it is undoubtedly swelled and springing back after resizing with a normal die.From what i read on this collet die it will take care of all of my Weatherby problems as it is adjustable and will remove the bulge.  THANKS EVERYONE AGAIN.I WILL COME BACK TO THIS POST AFTER I GET THE DIE. $120. PLUS $12. 2 DAY SHIPPING.

[sjhgraysage]

not that it will help with your problem but my son bought a 6.5/300 Weatherby in the ultra light Mark V.
We could only find a set of Lee dies for about $40
I have resized several fired cases and have not had any of the issues you are having so far
case length has not been an issue so far either.

The sizer die did come with a .308 expander stem in it and Lee took care of it within 10 days of us notifying them and sending in the wrong expander stem.