Tight or short chambers in your Savage rifles??

I've noticed in BOTH my 11VT .223 and 10TR .308 that mid range listed charges are HOT!

Is this a normal thing for Savage bolt actions?

They shoot lights out, but I'm getting pierced primers and ejector flow with mid range loads in both of my rifles.

One thing I noticed is that the base to shoulder measurement is almost exactly the same on my factory loaded ammo, and virgin brass when compared to fired brass out of the Savage chambers.

Anyone else notice this in their Savage rifles when reloading?

Thoughts?

My chamber in my 11TH .308 is pretty short too. I've read a lot of different places that Savages are known for being tight in a lot of instances, but have nothing to base it off of, since this is my first Savage.

Using my Sinclair bump gauge (measures at base of shoulder), my fire formed headspace is 1.577", which is just above what SAAMI lists. I also have my measurement to the lands, which still leaves me plenty of room to fit in my magazine. Using my RCBS Mic set, it actually says it's below SAAMI for headspace, but that measures at the middle of the shoulder.

I went to Hodgdon's site when I was working up my loads. I have nodes that will have all three touching at 100 yds (out of my sporter barrel!) @ 42.2 and 44.1. I worked up to 45gr using my Black Hills brass (WW), but I got all kinds of signs (ejector flow, soot rings on primers, crazy recoil) @ 45gr. I've never compared them to factory loads, though, I'd be curious to see if I measure the same as you see.

The positive side is that you get more bang for your buck with lighter powder charges and higher speeds. This is why it is so important to always start low and work up.

Yep...what stomp said.

I have been mostly using Federal brass from the American Eagle AE223GTV ammo discussed here in another thread, but I also have Hornaday and Winchester brass also once fired in my model 12 in .223.

Like you, I've used my Hornaday guage to measure the base to shoulder height on all my new ammo both before firing and after, and have only seen it grow .001 maximum even after repeated loading. Speaks volumes about Savage head spacing being close as I never need to shoulder bump, just neck size.
I also have been trying to fill, as much as possible the cartridge case when reloading, having read that detonation can occur if too little power, especially ball type powder is used which may result in overpressure conditions. But I'm no expert on this, quite the opposite in fact.
What powder are you using, and how much of the case is filled?

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Originally Posted by Texas10

I have been mostly using Federal brass from the American Eagle AE223GTV ammo discussed here in another thread, but I also have Hornaday and Winchester brass also once fired in my model 12 in .223.

Like you, I've used my Hornaday guage to measure the base to shoulder height on all my new ammo both before firing and after, and have only seen it grow .001 maximum even after repeated loading. Speaks volumes about Savage head spacing being close as I never need to shoulder bump, just neck size.
I also have been trying to fill, as much as possible the cartridge case when reloading, having read that detonation can occur if too little power, especially ball type powder is used which may result in overpressure conditions. But I'm no expert on this, quite the opposite in fact.
What powder are you using, and how much of the case is filled?

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Not sure why I wasn't getting email notifications of this thread, especially since I'm the one who started it?
Anyway, I'm currently using IMR8208XBR, most of the case is filled, but not compressed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stomp442

The positive side is that you get more bang for your buck with lighter powder charges and higher speeds. This is why it is so important to always start low and work up.

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True on both accounts, but in the past I've never had to start clear at the bottom. Usually I can start midway and sneak up to the top loads without issue. I'm starting to think it's because the chamber is fairly short. It's not normal (in my experience) to see no growth from a factory cartridge (or virgin brass) between new and fired.