Head Space

[Califhuntn]

I recently purchased custom ammo for my new 6.5 Creedmore. I went to chamber a round and the bolt arm would not close. Does this mean that the shells were not properly seated. This leaves no head space at all. I'm afraid that if I force it closed and fire the round that it will present pressure issues. I have not tried to chamber factory ammo yet will tonight to see if it's the gun or the ammo.

 

[Stid2677]

Could be several things, brass not sized correctly, shoulder not bumped back enough or bullet not seated deep enough hitting the lands before the bolt closes into battery. As a reloader, I always want the rifle there I'm loading for, without that or fired brass and some data, very hard to make real custom ammo. I would not fire that and would try to cycle some made to SAMMI specs.

 

[Califhuntn]

Thank you for the quick reply.

 

[Xxtavixx]

Another option is they neck sized the brass (or didnt resize properly) and the fire formed brass will not work for you. If you were just down the rlad Id offer to measure it out for you. I assume you dont have this issue with other factory ammunition.

Side note - there is no such thing as "custom ammo" unless someone has measured the lands of your rifle for bullet seating IMO. The term gets thrown out a lot but it can be a misrepresentation.

 

[Califhuntn]

Sorry I mis-spoke. It was match grade ammo. I failed to mention that I tried three different rounds from three different boxes and I still have the same issue.

 

[gumbl3]

For $5 you could get some layout fluid and maybe find out where it's making contact to help narrow things down

 

[rayporter]

i would probably pull a bullet to know if it is COL that is [ too long]

 

[Califhuntn]

I loaded a factory round in it and tried to force the bolt closed and it wouldn't go. It's not the ammo. It's the gun. Pretty disappointing considering I just bought it and am trying to get some practice in before my hunt. Hopefully Christensen Arms will take care of the issue. Thanks for the input gentlemen.

 

[Stid2677]

I loaded a factory round in it and tried to force the bolt closed and it wouldn't go. It's not the ammo. It's the gun. Pretty disappointing considering I just bought it and am trying to get some practice in before my hunt. Hopefully Christensen Arms will take care of the issue. Thanks for the input gentlemen.

Pull the bolt and check the serial number, it should match the action serial number. Possible the bolts accidentally got switched and that can throw off headspacing.

You can cycle the bolt and dry fire it???

 

[Xxtavixx]

Take the bolt out and see if the round will fit inside the bolt face.
Not too much can go wrong with a bolt action. I am sure they will take care of it, though

 

[mtmuley]

I loaded a factory round in it and tried to force the bolt closed and it wouldn't go. It's not the ammo. It's the gun. Pretty disappointing considering I just bought it and am trying to get some practice in before my hunt. Hopefully Christensen Arms will take care of the issue. Thanks for the input gentlemen.

That's the best route. A new rifle that wasn't custom chambered should function with any factory SAAMI ammo you feed it. mtmuley

 

[muddydogs]

Did you clean the rifle before you shot it to remove the backing grease? My buddy purchased a used TIKA from Cabela's in 2506 which I loaded some ammo for. I sized his new brass to the specs that I size mine to, loaded up test rounds and headed to the range. Well the rounds loaded a little tight so I figured I needed to back the headspace off a little which I did. Next range season the backed of rounds wouldn't chamber at all, bolt handle was no where close to closing. I took the rifle home and used my bore scope to inspect the chamber and found a wad of backing grease in the neck of the chamber. It appears that the rifle had not been cleaned when new and upon firing the packing grease warmed up then pooled in the bottom of the chamber. The first time we shot the rifle there must have been enough room to chamber a round but after the grease warmed and cooled again it made chambering impossible. I wire bore brush, cleaning solvent and a 1/2 hour latter I finally had the crud removed and the rifle now chambers rounds just fine.

 

[rayporter]

i cleaned a CZ for a week to get the grease out of it. i figure most people would have 'shot it out'

 

[Califhuntn]

The serial numbers both check. I can cycle the bolt and dry fire. I can take a round and push it into the chamber with my finger and the round gets stuck and won't slide back out. Even if I lightly tap the butt pad on the ground to jar the round free it remains stuck. I have to use a cleaning rod and come in from the muzzle to back the round out.

 

[Xxtavixx]

Alright - that sounds like the bullet is getting stuck in the lands to me - but we are starting to venture to the area where The disclaimer "Im a reloader, not a gunsmith. You should use a gubsmith" comes out. I wouldnt fire that... Contact the manufacturer and let us know.

 

[muddydogs]

Here's a pic of the crud stuck in the 2506 chamber.

 

[maninthemaze]

Here's a pic of the crud stuck in the 2506 chamber.

Wow, a cleaning rod wouldn't even touch that. You'd have to use a large swab for that, something like a 16 gauge shot gun cleaner. I've never seen anything like that.

Just my 2 cents and worth the price charged.

 

[Califhuntn]

muddydogs i haven't fired a round yet and haven't cleaned the barrel yet either. Didn't realize I should have. But I certainly will now. Thanks.

 

[muddydogs]

Wow, a cleaning rod wouldn't even touch that. You'd have to use a large swab for that, something like a 16 gauge shot gun cleaner. I've never seen anything like that.

Just my 2 cents and worth the price charged.

I just used a bore brush on a short handle and scrubbed it out. Took about a 1/2 hour to get it all out. Id clean for a few then run the bore scope back in, see a little improvement then go back to cleaning.

 

[muddydogs]

muddydogs i haven't fired a round yet and haven't cleaned the barrel yet either. Didn't realize I should have. But I certainly will now. Thanks.

Always clean a new firearm before shooting as most are packed in one kind of protectant or another. You have to remember that the manufacturer doesn't know if the firearm is going to hot dry AZ or wet coastal Alaska and how long it will set on the shelf so they protect the metal for the worst conditions. Wet patch and bore brush the barrel very well before shooting it.

What others posted above could be your problem but I would start with the simplest solution first and check the camber area over the best you can.

This is similar to the cheap bore scope I purchased a few years ago, its nothing special but it works. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Semi-rigid-Borescope-Phone-Inspection-Camera-Endoscope-2-0MP-CMOS-HD-Waterproof-Snake-Camera-Endoscope-6-Adjustable-Led-Android-Windows-Macbook-OS-Co/693916097?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=7728&adid=22222222227075764562&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=188333942333&wl4=pla-292455019134&wl5=9029824&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=115059135&wl11=online&wl12=693916097&wl13=&veh=sem