survivalshop Posted September 25, 2016 Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) I had an issue at the range with some loads with the 110gr. Hornady V Max bullet in the 300BLK . It didn't show up till the last ten rounds fired or should I say didn't fire . I had an issue with the Bolt not going into Battery , note that about 100 rounds of this Bullet load had already been fired & over a hundred rounds of the other Bullet configurations before these & no obstructions were found , oiling was Ok , rounds would just stick in the chamber & I would have to Mortar the Round out of the Chamber . Needless to say I was done for the Day anyway , so when I got home I checked the rest of the ammo of this 110gr. loading , first thing I looked at was COL & they were on average 0.028" over max & then looking at my loading records , I see that I loaded them close to that @ 2.020" , again that 0.020" over max of my data for this Bullet . Since I test live loaded ammo , along with a Dummy round that is made for each Bullet Configuration I load for , I know these fed & chambered . Now we come to the why were these last ten an issue & why were they longer COL. Come to find that , that not all Polymer tips are made a like & these are no different , some Bullets are longer then others , just as I found with some Nosler 308 Bullets I have used . There was another factor which came into play , These were loaded on my Dillon 550 , not that that is an issue , its the Forster Seating Die , this is one of the first die sets out for the 300BLK , at the time , no one else made them for the 300BLK , on the Dillon , the stem for seating these short Bullets Is so far into the Die Body , that I can barely have a thread to lock the Stem down & looking at the Die , the Stem was loose , so I have no idea if this was the issue of why the , what I think is the last rounds loaded were off , as far as COL or the combo of the Stem being loose & the different length of Polymer tip length . I will be loading these bullets at a shorter COL , since I made them above the max , to begin with was probably part of the issue , if I would have kept to the 2.000" max ., I probably would not of had any issues , be it loose Die Stem or the small Bullet length issue . This Die has no issue with my Single Stage Press , so I will be seating them with my single stage , until I find another Die or see if Forster has a longer Seating Stem . Edited September 26, 2016 by survivalshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted September 25, 2016 Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 SS, what does the shoulder look like on the ones that were sticking? Not after firing, though - they'll fire form to the chamber dimensions. Reason I ask is... I got a little heavy with crimping on some of mine, and it actually pushed the shoulder down (out, somewhat). Those didn't wanna chamber well, and were mortared to get out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted September 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 These were a newer batch of reloads & I used the Lee factory Crimp Die & I never heavy crimp anything . I remember when I first started reloading .223 ,for a Mini 14 & put a good crimp on them & my first batch would not chamber , lesson learned . Too late now to look at these cases , because they are all Annealed , sized & cleaned , ready to trim. I don't think you can have Shoulder set back with a LFC die , or can you ? I also thought I saw some land marks on the Bullets of the ones that got stuck in the chamber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 7 hours ago, survivalshop said: I don't think you can have Shoulder set back with a LFC die , or can you ? Nope, won't happen. When I did it, it was with RCBS dies, using the sizing die to crimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted September 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 8 hours ago, 98Z5V said: Nope, won't happen. When I did it, it was with RCBS dies, using the sizing (Seating ) die to crimp. FIFY I knew what you meant . The RCBS was probably a Roll Crimp & was the same type & Brand of Dis I used when first reloading for the .223 & set back the case shoulder . I have also started to Trim my cases for the 300BLK to 1.355 " now , I was Trimming them @ 1.360" , not sure that had anything to do with it , but with a Max case length of 1.368" , it was a little close for my liking . I have to admit , the 300BLK is just plain fun to shoot . I was using 150's, 130's , 125's & 110 gr. loads & they all worked & printed great , all shooting off hand , well ,until the last ten or so , that is . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I'm working on a proposal to add 110gr TAP .308 to our armory for patrol use (primarily to get out of the small format AR15's). Do you think the COL was just a handload issue, or could possibly be a factory load issue as well. http://www.hornadyle.com/products/rifle-ammunition/308-win-tap/110-gr-tap-urban I think a .30cal flying at nearly 3k fps is an awesome plan! Just don't want to lose function Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted September 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 (edited) I had the C.O.L. too long , the Bullet was hitting the free bore of the Chamber & getting stuck there ( Wilson Combat Barrel ) , its why I had to Mortar the rifle to get them out . I reseated the Bullets to 2.000" COL & they feed & extract fine now .I have shot a lot of the 110 gr. V Max & this is the first issue I have had with it & I'm sure it was a quality control issue on my part . I have not heard from Forster yet , I emailed them yesterday about a longer Seating stem so this doesn't occur again . The Forster die is a Bench rest Die , I like how it secures the Bullet before it is seated into the Case. Well , I just did. Thanks for contacting us about this, could you measure with your calipers and tell me the overall length of the stem you have currently. We do have some different lengths of the 308 Seating Stem, if i know the length of the one you have currently i can help be sure we have a longer one to accommodate your 300 AAC Bench Rest Seater. Scott FORSTER PRODUCTS Edited September 26, 2016 by survivalshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 My reply to him for the size of my seating stem was 2.509" & here is their reply, That does sound a bit short from what is currently going into the Die, if you would send me your address, i would be happy to send you a longer Seating Stem. Scott FORSTER PRODUCTS Great Company to change out such a small item , he could have given me a part # & I would have just ordered a longer one they had . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted October 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 New longer stem has shipped , I will photo a comparison when it gets here . No more loosening Seating Stem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Got the new Seating Stem & its a big difference . Stem comparison 110 gr. Max seating at max COL of 2.000" , Die adj. per instructions , actually the Locking collar is at the end of threads of the Die Body . Same with new Seating Stem Nice , no more loosening , I actually found the old Stem loose again & only after re-Seating the Ten rounds that were over Max COL> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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