Difficult ejection on reloads - help

[ADK Pond Skum]

Hey all, I am looking for some advice as to what I might be doing wrong working on some .308 reloads. I was at the range yesterday shooting a Savage Impulse Hog Hunter. I shot 6 different kinds of factory ammo with no issues , then I shot 4 different loads totaling 12 rounds in total from the reloads. 10 of the 12 I had an issue where the bolt was difficult to pull back to eject the spent case. The loads were as follows, all cases were cut to SAMMI Spec, all had been full length sized and neck size. All cases were a mix of once fired brass , mixed head stamped from stuff I had shot and kept over the years. 90% of it would have been shot out of a Ruger GSR previously.

A: 150 GR Barnes TSX BT
41 GR IMR 3031 (Maximum charge per Barnes is 43.2 from the load data on the Barnes website)
2.81 OAL
Federal large rifle primers

B: 180 GR Sierra SPT
39.6 GR IMR 3031 (Maximum charge per Sierra is 41.1 from the APP)
2.80 OAL
Remington Large rifle primers

C: 180 GR Hornady SST
41 GR Ramshot Tac (Maximum charge per Sierra is 42 from the 11th edition manual)
2.75 OAL
Remington Large Rifle Primers

D: The same as "C" but with Federal large rifle primers

All the rounds were put into a Sheridan case gauge and they all fit perfectly - no indication from that of a chambering issue. There were also no issues chambering the rounds , they all went in smooth like factory ammo. After all the firings there were no signs of high pressure on any of the cases or primers. The photo attached is an example of each load A,B,C,D in that order. All rounds grouped nicely as well, no erratic shots.

There wouldn't have been any case lube remaining on the cases from the load process, they were resized and then cleaned again. The temperatures were mild here yesterday (65).

I don't think I am forgetting any details here but any insight from a more experienced reloader would be welcome. I have loaded a lot of pistol calibers and messed around with .308 in the past but it was through a Springfield M1A and I didn't experience any extraction issues with that.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Weldor]

I had a similar issue with my Sig Cross, pretty much ditto to what your saying. I dropped a grain, and wiped all the reloads with acetone. No more problem. Every chamber is different Sig's are really tight.

 

[sndmn11]

Do you have a head space comparator gauge to measure the shoulder? It is possible you didn'tove the shoulder back enough and the cases expanded tightly into the chamber.

You could measure the ones that were tight to extract versus the factory once fired cases. If you have loaded cartridges from when you fly sized the others, you can measure those to compare where your tight fired cases where before firing.

 

[ADK Pond Skum]

I don't have one but after reading around and your post I will look into getting one to check that out.

Weldor I will give that a try as well if the measurements seem alright. I am inclined to think that sndmn11 is right on the issue here.

Welcome any additional ideas.

 

[gbflyer]

I’d say dial down your powder charge. The Impulse may not withstand a high pressure load like a conventional bolt action.

How do you like it, by the way?

 

[Wrench]

Look at the far right case head, there's ejector shadow. It looks like the case head scrubbed the first two as well.

You have a mixed lot of brass and there can be quite a difference between cbc and win brass.

For reference, I loaded a lot of cbc to a book max and came in 200fps over the book posted speeds with my 308.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I see an ejector swipe. Were you getting a heavy bolt lift too? Start at a safe pressure and increase in .3 increments until you get hard extraction.

 

[SDHNTR]

You are chasing your tail. You can draw no conclusions when you are mixing components. You’ve got mixed headstamps, bullets, powder, primers, of course you are going to get mixed results.

I’m no pro at this but if I have learned one this it’s that book max loads mean very little. They were a measured max load in whatever rifle they used during the testing, which is meaningless with regard to how that load may behave in your rifle.

Slow down and be more methodical. Keep all components the same. Keep all measurements the same. Start low and work up slow when you change ANYTHING! That’s the only way you can draw any conclusions.

 

[ADK Pond Skum]

All good info thanks. I'll go back to 0 and start with a lower load and see what that does.

To the heavy bolt lift comment - No the Impulse is a straight pull rifle so the bolt only comes straight back it doesn't lift up like a traditional bolt. But for reference on the factory load it took little effort to pull the bolt back to extract the case. On the reloads that stuck I had to shoulder it and really pull hard to get them out.


gbflyer - I like it so far. I haven't shot it a ton, just picked it up a couple months ago. It is a quick handling rifle, action is fast. I think the only real criticism is that its on the heavier side but that may or may not be a big deal depending on its application.

 

[49ereric]

I have the same issue with a Remington 722 that was a 300 savage but someone reamed it out to .308 win.
work fine for decades and then suddenly stiff bolt & stuck cases. It will cycle reduced blue dot (12 grains) loads fine.
going to try some old 4831 I have and see if it will work.
rifle was always extremely accurate. Well worn now.
no headspace gauge. Plenty of other rifles to shoot.

 

[Weldor]

I agree with SDHNTR on the max loads. I have several reloading manuals from the 50's 60's and 70's and all of them are different and not one max load matches the modern manuals . Most if not all are way over max by todays standards . Lawyers maybe? Don't know. Approach with caution like the books says.

 

[manitou1]

IMO you will struggle with using differing headstamps of brass. There ARE variances in brass case volume between different makes of the same cartridge and this affects pressure, significant enough to cause over pressure if you are loading near max loads.
Sort your brass and work up loads using ONE make/manufacture of brass. If you change brass, you need to drop the powder charge a bit and work back up.
You can't achieve your max consistancy or accuracy when using multiple makes of brass for one load.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Was the bolt lift hard when you chamber and empty resized case? I agree with others sort you brass by manufacturer...

 

[11boo]

Like mentioned, take the max load data with a grain of salt. Every bbl is different. I often start slightly below minimum recommended charge weight.

 

[Kimber7man]

Did you trim the brass before you sized it, or after?

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Hot loads. Back off 2-3 grains and work up in 1/2 grain increment.
Make sure you have the correct shoulder bump. I don't believe this is the source of your hard bolt lift but it's good practice. I usually bump 0.001-0.002 in my hunting loads. FWIW

Agree with others. You have to find out what the max load is in your rifle, case/primer/powder/bullet combination.