Thanks all for the input. I don't yet reload so don't have all of the equipment to seat the bullet deeper or bump the neck back a little further. I will have a full set of reloading gear by the end of the year but had not planned to purchase a headspace gauge for a factory rifle. I purchase the Hornady overall length gauge and bullet comparator and will be taking some measurements once it arrives. I took some measurements with the tools I have right now.


  • The case that got stuck
    • loaded and ejected easily
    • has a case length of 2.0065 (max case length per Hornady reloading manual is 2.0150).
    • I don't have a headspace gauge but the best measurement I could get from
      • the base to the top of the neck was 1.7270 which is slightly over the published 1.7110
      • the base to the bottom of the neck was 1.5600 which is exactly equal to the published value



  • I tested the fired formed FGMM
    • 5 out of 6 closed easily.
    • The fire formed brass that was a little stiff seems to measure completely within specs (2.0110, 1.7100, 1.5600)



  • I also measured the remaining unfired rounds in the box (15 rounds) and they were all under the max C.O.L. with an average of 2.8000-2.8010 (max C.O.L. per Hornady reloading manual is 2.8100).



  • I also got a box of Lapua brass I have to see if the cases loaded easily. In 10 cases only one was slightly stiff on bolt close.


I guess I might just have a gun that has extremely tight tolerances. My primary concern is with safety if it is slightly below specifications. I certainly would not have expected a factory round to have jammed in the lands. I have 55 more rounds of the FGMM that I can shoot through. If I notice a sliff bolt close I can try opening the bolt up and see if it is lodged but this seems like a pretty crude method for testing. I can also try the sharpie method but will have to wait until I can get back to the range since I don't want to be loading live ammo into the chamber in my house.

Jonbearman - I cannot say for sure if there was resistance closing the bolt on the round I experienced problems with.

Any and all further input is appreciated.

P.S. Clearly each forum has its protocol but I don't mind the partial high-jack in this case. It drew in a few more views and some additional input.