Hard to chamber round in Savage Hog Hunter

[SouthernWoodworking]

I am having a lot of trouble chambering factory 7.62x51 Greece Nato rounds in my gun. They go in very tight and are hard to eject. Some chamber fine. Why is that? Is it a headspace issue?

[earl39]

If that is the only rounds you have trouble with then i would lay blame on the ammunition

[SouthernWoodworking]

If that is the only rounds you have trouble with then i would lay blame on the ammunition

Well, I have trouble with reloads but im using the brass from the NATO ammo.

[BlueDog]

Is this limited to the decommissioned Greek ammo? Or does this happen to current factory 308 offerings as well? I bet it's the Greek ammo. A lot of "NATO" ammo floating around are seconds or blems that didn't make the cut.

[SouthernWoodworking]

Is this limited to the decommissioned Greek ammo? Or does this happen to current factory 308 offerings as well? I bet it's the Greek ammo. A lot of "NATO" ammo floating around are seconds or blems that didn't make the cut.

havent tried any other ammo.

[Robinhood]

Well, I have trouble with reloads but im using the brass from the NATO ammo.

Full length resize, make sure you bump the shoulder back a couple of thousandths. How did you set your sizing die up?

[SouthernWoodworking]

Full length resize, make sure you bump the shoulder back a couple of thousandths. How did you set your sizing die up?

I've been using fire formed cases from the NATO ammo that are trimmed down. I did for a buddy reload some .308 where I FL resized. Here is how I sized it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDvt4f-dbvM

[Robinhood]

Did you back your die of 1/4 turn like in the video? Is the die a collet or full length sizing die?

[gotcha]

You have a CARTRIDGE head space problem. Particularly, if your having difficulty chambering some factory ammo. Neck sizing with a Lee collet die won't resolved the issue until you stabilize the cartridge head space measurement...... Full length re-size so that brass chambers easily. Ideally you want .001" to .002" clearance at the shoulder. If you don't have a cartridge head space tool, hand tighten your F/L die down to shell holder with two pieces of typing paper on top of shell holder (.008" clearance) then full length resize and check that brass will chamber. Turn die in (down) 1/16th turn at a time until cartridge chambers with minimum resistance....... check several, if not all, cartridges in chamber as you may need an additional die adjustment to get all cartridges uniform in head space. Let us know how this works for you :)

[gotcha]

Forgot to mention. Start F/L resizing with fired cases that are difficult to re-chamber. Also. if you suspect a chamber headspace issue a local gunsmith can use go, no-go gauges to verify your chamber is in "spec". If you're reloading for your Buddy the F/L sizing procedure would apply to his chamber also, as his chamber can be of different dimension than yours.

[Robinhood]

yep. Use a wax lube for the most consistent results.

[gotcha]

+1 for Robinhood.