Trouble with .243 ammo feed

[thorshammer]

I just became a new owner of a Savage Axis in .243. I bought a box of Monarch 100grn. .243 at Wally World an come to find out it is VERY hard to chamber and eject. So I looked around an found some Remington .243 100 gr. Core Lokt that I had for my 110 that I had to sell a few yrs ago. The Remington ammo chambers an ejects smooth as ice. Just wanted to see if other folks have found the same thing. I'll be taking it shooting for the first time tomorrow.

[Westcliffe01]

Maybe the Wally world ammo is out of spec ? Try returning it and seeing if they have an alternative. Could also be that the rifle may be at Min headspace and therefore be "fussy" with ammo. This is no biggie if you reload, but could be a bear with factory ammo.

[thorshammer]

I checked it out and it looks like your right, the gap between the head and the cartridge is wider on the Monarch than the Remington. It also seems like I've got a real good rifle because the trigger pull is great the bolt is easy to work, and getting the allen bolts to loosen up was easy. Its really windy today so unless it calms down I won't be going shooting today. bummer.

[thomae]

Ok, before you get yourself into trouble, what you said indicated you don't really know what you are doing.
That's not a personal attack or insult, but an observation.

Headspace is not at all what you think it is.

Here is the wikopedia definition of headspace. Read it carefully and slowly, and make sure you understand it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headspace_(firearms)

I would try some different factory ammo and see what works and what doesn't work.
Was this firearm altered in any way by the previous owner(s)? If so, perhaps the headspace is just a bit tight as a previous poster mentioned.
Your Local Gun Shop (LGS) can easily check headspace for you to see if the rifle is reasonably close to most commercial specs.

On the other hand, it could be that the ammo you got came from a bad batch.

Good luck.

[thorshammer]

This is a brand new rifle. I checked out some Remington ammo and it works just fine. I'll just stick to the Reminton ammo as it feeds and ejects perfectly.

[Westcliffe01]

Go to Mansonreamers.com and order a 243Win "GO" gauge. They are about $30. If the bolt will not close on a "Go" gauge then head space should be reset. If it closes on the Go gauge, then one slips a single piece of paper behind the gauge with a slot for the ejector and it should NOT close then. If it still closes, then head space is long.

I suspect that the Wallyworld ammo may not be sized right or the length of the brass may be too long with it hanging up at the front of the chamber. I have seen plenty of new brass that is out of spec for length.

[thermaler]

Be nice to your rifle and break it in with good ammo--it will return the favor in the long run . : )