Savage 111 head space check

[Grumpyoldguy]

Hey guys. Been having some omgoing issues with a 111 338 win mag. When i first got it i had light primer strikes, but after i started neck sizing. this went away, except for a rare exception. so with the neck sizing i have been shooting some older 4064 powder, imr. with 230 eld bullets. these bullets seat very deep to stay clear of lands. I got up to 64 grains but had presseure signs with primers. so worked back down to 62,7 grains. Still had leaky primer, and a cracked case head above the belt on another one. So i poured powder out on paper to look for rust, but powder looks good. There is some rust spots on inside of can. Metal can. blue can. so decided to start over with once fired and some new brass. and i full lenght resized about 15 rounds same bullet and seat, at 60.1 grains. third shot total case head separation and collapsed shoulder. i checked the head spacing before with blue tape for shims on the case head. but i didnt take the extractor out. So it probrably wasnt accurate..measurement. i am thinking either powder or head spacing?? what you guys think? Full lenght brass gives me issues, but could also be old powder. any thoughts?? Should i take extractor off and try to check head space again ???. some guys use aluminum can shims also. Not sure what is giong on but it sucks...i got the separated case out by the way. been reloading 41 years and never had to deal with this

[Grumpyoldguy]

O yea... Im the second owner. i bought it used never fired. off of GB. Do you think savage would warranty it?? or look at it??

[Dave Hoback]

Do you mean the Ejector? The Extractor has no bearing on headspace whatsoever. Another course of thought is the Ejector makes no difference either. Still, I doubt headspace is a problem. You said you were seating the bullets deep in the case. And using 230gr ELD’s, what is your COAL? Remember, seating depth can affect pressure drastically. After a certain point, very small amounts of seating depth can significantly raise pressure. I’ve seen 9mm, 40SW pistols & 5.56 in AR’s have catastrophic KABOOMS from bullet setback.

If it indeed is a problem with the rifle, I believe they would warranty as it came from factory with the problem. A chamber causing pressure problem is not something that develops. It’s made that way.

[Robinhood]

but after i started neck sizing. this went away, except for a rare exception. so with the neck sizing i have been shooting some older 4064 powder, imr. with 230 eld bullets. these bullets seat very deep to stay clear of lands. I got up to 64 grains but had presseure signs with primers. so worked back down to 62,7 grains. Still had leaky primer, and a cracked case head above the belt on another one.

Sounds like you have hard brass and or you are over-sizing the brass. Anneal your necks and shoulder. Fire and use that round to set you die up to bump the shoulder back .002". We can work on your load from there.

[Grumpyoldguy]

Hey guys, yea thanks for feed back. talked to gun smith today.Old school guy in alabama. he is retiring in june after 50+ years of gun smithing...So yea we think its the powder. its old metal can stuff i keep getting pressure spikes. I keep reducing the load a little bit at a time and then i think i got it a safe load and then whamo... I will see pressure signs. its all random too. no pattern to it. So gonna try powder a powder switch first. What do you guys think of nickel plated brass by the way??? Is it stronger?

[Dave Hoback]

No, it’s not. It’s fine to reload, however, it doesn’t last as long, is more brittle & necks will crack/split easier.

[prdatr]

Hey guys, yea thanks for feed back. talked to gun smith today.Old school guy in alabama. he is retiring in june after 50+ years of gun smithing...So yea we think its the powder. its old metal can stuff i keep getting pressure spikes. I keep reducing the load a little bit at a time and then i think i got it a safe load and then whamo... I will see pressure signs. its all random too. no pattern to it. So gonna try powder a powder switch first. What do you guys think of nickel plated brass by the way??? Is it stronger?

That powder is way too fast. I used to load 225's for my BIL's 116 25 years ago and always full length sized too. That rifle never saw factory ammo from day one. Use new brass, doesn't matter if it is nickel plated or not.

[chesterReno]

Have you tried using new brass or factory brass that you have shot? I’m usually wary of “mixed brass” bought online, and I prefer to track how many firings for each price of brass.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Blue Avenger]

Die set to crimp bullets? If not all trimmed the same, that can get you. When you have a problem and your reloading, The first thing to do is use eliminate as many things as possible. One brand of brass only. One bullet only until you establish a base powder charge. On your blown case's, pay attention to how much pressure it takes to seat the primer. even a well intentioned brass scrounger may pick up something I threw away as defective.

[Whynot]

My opinion is that someone is a little too comfortable with case separation..... It doesn't always go as good as it seems for you- and I'd be very cautious until problem is found and fixed.