Resized Cases Won’t Chamber

[Radosilver]

Confirming the bolt still has issues closing on some factory new ammo correct?

Yes. A couple factory rounds here and there are tough to close the bolt.

 

[Radosilver]

Edit: I just realized this might not be a factory barrel - there’s no telling what the headspace is if someone screwed a takeoff barrel from a different gun into their receiver.

You should be able to make Weatherby cases from 8mm Rem mag, or even 375 H&H and have them chamber ok. It’s definitely a die that isn’t matching up with the chamber, probably not pushing the shoulder back enough. The method Remington used to ream chambers was quite consistent in making fairly large chambers, so I’d bet lunch your die is built a little long. The final reaming was done by spinning the reamer with an extension out the muzzle as the bolt was closed so short chambers would be very uncommon. Grinding a bit off a case holder or the bottom of the die is the common way to deal with it, but friends with similar problems have changed dies and that took care of the problem.

Personally I’d grab this set of used dies off eBay for less than $30 and if the different die didn’t solve the problem it comes with an extra shell holder that could be ground down.

The older RCBS dies seem better made than the newer ones.
View attachment 931880

Thanks. I’ve actually tried both an older RCBS and Redding die with the same results. It was a gun my brother was gifted by his father in law. So I can’t attest 100% to the history. But it’s a factory Rem barrel. I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t the original barrel the rifle was born with.

 

[mtnbound]

Yes. A couple factory rounds here and there are tough to close the bolt.

Ok, that then points to an issue with the rifle's chamber. I would take it to a smith and have them check it.

 

[mtnbound]

Yes. A couple factory rounds here and there are tough to close the bolt.

What is the case length of the brass that allows the bolt to close? What is the case length of the brass that the bolt won't close on?

 

[TaperPin]

Thanks. I’ve actually tried both an older RCBS and Redding die with the same results. It was a gun my brother was gifted by his father in law. So I can’t attest 100% to the history. But it’s a factory Rem barrel. I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t the original barrel the rifle was born with.

With guys who have a number of factory Remington rifles, I have heard of bolts getting switched during cleaning sessions that screwed up the headspace in both rifles - one becoming too short and one becoming too long.

Hopefully you find out what’s making it wonky.

 

[sandbagger]

Another thing to check is if the case rims are being pulled or “bent” slightly when resizing due to not enough case lube being used.

When resizing cases that aren’t properly lubed it sometimes requires extra force/effort to extract the case out of the sizing die and when this happens it can slightly bend the case rim enough that when you go to chamber that round it becomes tight to close the bolt.

While this may not be your issue since the problem is also happening to a certain extent with factory loaded ammunition, I figured I would share it as something to look at.

 

[TaperPin]

This post has really piqued my interest in the Remington 300 Wby - it’s an interesting choice for Remington to offer it as an option. Looking at 300 Wby takeoff barrels and dies to play with, some eBay sellers made me offers I couldn’t refuse. Hopefully one of them shoots halfway decently.

 

[Wrench]

Smoke a case with a candle. Be certain to smoke the case head too. chamber once and read where the black is gone. Could be the belt to case head.... could be a bulge....one easy way to find out.

 

[fraz01]

This post has really piqued my interest in the Remington 300 Wby - it’s an interesting choice for Remington to offer it as an option. Looking at 300 Wby takeoff barrels and dies to play with, some eBay sellers made me offers I couldn’t refuse. Hopefully one of them shoots halfway decently. Llooked back at my 300 Wby records, the first Remington 300 Wby ammo I fired was 1991

Looked back at my 300 Wby data. First Remington 300 Wby ammo I fired was 1991. 180 grain core-lokt @ 3213 avg MV shot over the Oehler. Note says 83 grains of powder in a gutted cartridge. Was in Alaska at the time and shot Moose and Sitka's with them. Remington brass was heavier than Norma brass. I was mostly using fire formed 300 H&H brass at the time with 180 and 200 grain Nosler Partitions. Had to back my reloads down a bit using the Remington brass.

 

[Hill Difficulty]

See attached photo. At left shows a factory unfired 240W case, at right is a 1x-fired case from same factory box of ammo. For perspective, note the potential for shoulder growth if fired inside a different chamber cut with a different reamer.

 

[TaperPin]

Looked back at my 300 Wby data. First Remington 300 Wby ammo I fired was 1991. 180 grain core-lokt @ 3213 avg MV shot over the Oehler. Note says 83 grains of powder in a gutted cartridge. Was in Alaska at the time and shot Moose and Sitka's with them. Remington brass was heavier than Norma brass. I was mostly using fire formed 300 H&H brass at the time with 180 and 200 grain Nosler Partitions. Had to back my reloads down a bit using the Remington brass.

Using 300 H&H brass will help make the new barrel feel more vintage while reloading. Thanks for reminding me. I was worried 300 H&H brass was no longer available, but there are Hornady or Nosler in stock to choose from. Even after all these years the Partition is a reliable choice.

 

[fraz01]

One nice thing about fire forming 300 H&H you won't need to trim much. they are a bit shorter than Wby brass after forming them. Wichester brass was a little tougher than Norma, I got three to four firings out of them with the load I was using. I was pushing the limits of course being I had to have max speed, I learned a lot about pressure and reading Bob Hagel really helped me in loading the WBY.

Hope the OP figured out his issue. Rifle having issues closing on factory ammo makes me think the rifle has headspace or mechanical problem. I do know if the shoulders get set back to far sizing the next problem will be case head separation. Been there done that!