Problem...

B_Mc

I am fairly new to reloading, I have gotten pretty good with loading pistol ammo.

My problem starts when it comes to rifle ammo. The Problem is after I have loaded the round. When I load the round into the rifle the bolt is damn near impossible to close. I have not a clue what is going on and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Brent

ChetStafford

Your problem is that when you re sized your case your sizing die was adjusted incorrectly to fix this
back sizing die off 2 turns
Put the ram on your press in the fully up position
turn sizing die down until it touches shell holder
lower ram and then turn die down another 1/8 to 1/4 turns
problem solved

The reason you were having trouble was when you were sizing the case you were not setting the shoulder back far enough.

PA Shootist

Another possibility: another frequent problem is distorting the case in the shoulder area during the crimping process, if the roll crimp is used, and is too tight. Sometimes only a few cartridges in the batch may suffer this problem, if the cartridge length of some is longer than others, the crimp is adjusted for the shorter ones, and grabs too hard and distorts the longer ones. If crimping, trimming to the same case length on all is advised.

B17-P51

If the round was originally fired in that same rifle, I'd go with the neck crimped to much theroy. If brass is of unknown origin or is new, then the die adjustment route is the way to go.

JustC

your seating die is too far down in the press. Back the die off and run the seater stem down to make up the difference. Common mistake when new to rifle dies.

B_Mc

Thanks everyone for the input. Turns out csjs1194 was right. I really appreciate all the insight.

Brent

sandwarrior

B_Mc,

I'll agree with what csjs had you do. But I would take it a step further and back the die off to a couple thousandths above the shellholder (with it fully up and cammed over) and work your way down. Certainly don't go back as far as you were before.
You know that your good where he got you to, but it would maybe help a bit on accuracy to get it right at the verge of good/notgood. As long as the case just fit into the chamber you will be good to go. If they feel a smidge tight then take it in another 1/16th-1/8th of a turn. All in all this may be a total of 1/2 of a turn on your die.

If this is a hunting only rifle and super tight accuracy isn't needed then go with previous advice and ignore above paragraph. Reliability would be the key there.

Jim the PA Hunter

[:)]Howdy!

My solution for this problem has been to loosen the locking ring and thread the die into the press with the ram(shell holder installed)fully raised. Keep pressure on the ram handle while threading the die against the shell holder tight. Then lift the handle and screw the die even further down into the press appx 1/4 turn. When you run the ram up, the shellholder should hit the bottom of the die and you will FEEL via the handle, the ram "cam over" slightly. While holding everything in place, run the locking ring down and lock the die after it is set. Another trick is with the decapping/expander rod. Run a case in the die with the rod adjusted so the primer is pushed out. Make sure the rod's locking ring is loose. Pull the case back enough that the neck starts to expand, then tighten the rod locking ring/nut. That will ensure the rod is centered.

There are other things that can cause this problem besides the sizing die. If you have the seater die too far into the press the crimping action may buldge the neck below the case mouth. Back the seater die off.

Another thing may be that you are using a lever or pump action rifle which requires a small base sizer die.

And finally, check your case length. If your case length is over the maximum length you will need to trim them.

Hope this helps![:D]