Factory gun or a re-barrel?

Bummer you can't find any James, My wife's .25-06 had a similar issue with some re-loads I had gotten from my Father. I bought a box of factory and they chambered fine, I reloaded the factory rounds and they ran fine. I then tired to resize and reload some of the brass that had been run though his die and the I still couldn't get the bolt to close. I didn't look into it too much after that but near as I can figure it was a problem in the neck of the case. Sorry I couldn't be more help, hope you get it figured out. It might be worth it to call up the Rifle Manufacturer and see what they have to say.

Are the shiny marks all the way around the shoulder or just in certain spots? How close does the bolt come to closing? Does it push all the way in but too tight to rotate down? It sounds like headspace is too short but check the brass really well for any scratches that may indicate a bur in the chamber. Next step may be a chamber casting. Not sure if it was asked but factory or custom?

Jim. Have you ever fired this rifle or been able to successfully close the bolt on a loaded chamber ?

James,

you say you measured the re-sized brass with micrometers and found it to be under SAAMI spec. How exactly did you measure the head space of the brass using the micrometer? Were you just checking OD's and total length?

Looks like for .28 Nosler ammo the gage diameter is .420" and the headspace length is 2.243 - 2.236" Are you able to take that measurement?
https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Z299-4_ANSI-SAAMI_CFR.pdf#page=13

The few bottleneck rifle cartridges I reload all headspace on the shoulder. The headspace spec is a particular gage diameter somewhere in the conical feature of the brass case. That gage diameter is supposed to be a given distance from the end face of case. The way I check this is that I use a little ring gage with and ID of the exact headspace diameter. Then I put the ring gage over the neck of the case so that it seats on the conical taper of the case. Then, with calipers, I measure the distance from the bottom face of the case to the end of the ring gage. Then subtract the length of the ring gage. That gives you the distance from the bolt-face end of the case to the gage line. This is the measurement you need to check to see if your brass is sized to the correct headspace tolerance.


I think you can also buy some pre-made case gages that will check the headspace of the brass as well as some of the other features.

https://www.brownells.com/reloading/meas...-prod33287.aspx

I don't know if you can get them in .28 Nosler, though. I'm sure a friend with a lathe could make you a usable ring gage like I described above.

Does it close without a cartridge? Once had a mounting screw shear in a scope base and it worked its was into the chamber from above.

What you don't have a big hammer!

Take that back where you bought it, and show what your dealing with. Unacceptable if you loads are up to specs. And while we’re on it pick a decent caliber next time

Have you blackened the case neck and then resize it? If the case of all rubbed out your die needs adjusting.

Had that problem with RCBS dies. Switched to lee dies and the problem went away.

I'd sure like to know what the problem was when you get it figured out James.

G. Smith and Bucksnbears get the prize. The primers turned out to be two-thousandths of an inch high. Man, that rifle has a tight chamber--but that's a good thing.

I noticed, when I was remeasuring headspace with my calipers and Stoney Point gauge, that the case wasn't quite touching the calipers on the ends of the case, just in the center. Close examination showed a gap about the diameter of a human hair everywhere except the primer's location.

I've traced the problem to my Lee Autoprime, which has been used past its useful life and has too much play in the linkage. By rotating the case repeatedly, I was able to seat the primer just a smidge more, and now the rifle bolt closes. The Autoprime needs replacing. Any recommendations on a new primer seating tool? I like the hand-held ones like the Lee.

Thanks for all the useful advice offered here.

Jim

Btw, the rifle, a Christensen Ridgeline, is new and I've never fired it.

I'll give a shout-out to Christensen for standing behind their rifles. The Christensen rep offered to look at the rile and recheck it, paying for shipping both ways.

I'm now embarrassed, and need to write an email apologizing for bothering them. All due to my rookie loading mistake.

Jim

Glad to hear that’s all it was. I run a Lee auto prime but bu what I’ve seen the new ones are junk.

i use the lee ram prime for my bigger rifle reloading. i like it alot

still use the lee auto prime for the .223 tho

There are still a few of the Lee Auto-primers floating around. Just have to make sure you jump on them when you come across them.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of the Lee anymore.

Jim

Interesting discussion. Thanks for sharing.

I would bump the shoulder back a few thousand at a time.. Makes sure the shell holder is againest the bottom of full length sizing die. Pull the shell holder away from the die and turn die down a little more. You want the handle to be able to cam over center to push back sholder.

As the Sports Afield magazine used to have the monthly story "It happened to me ",I was on that same Road Less Traveled .Burn some powder Jim