Savage bolt heads are generally oversized and cases are usually a bit undersized. For instance, most Savage standard bolt heads (.473" case head dia.) measure around .480-.482" while most brass will measure in the .467-.470" range. I would suspect a brass issue long before I would try to attribute the issue to the bolt head. I've run some pretty hot loads over the years and never had a case head expand to where it wouldn't fit into the appropriate shell holder (well, except for that .204 Ruger I turned into a belted mag...)
What's his brass prep consist of between loadings?
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