60 Grain V-Max-Ogive wrong or short throated rifle?

Bluedog

Bluedog

Member
Having an issue with my savage .223. Getting extreme pressures with recommended OAL for the 60 grain vmax. After some shooting I found that with the OAL set at 2.260, I am still having difficulty closing the bolt easily. It's also showing extreme pressure at the primers.

I am actually pushing the bullet into the throat. I am using the Lyman reloading manual for my info. Should I continue to decrease the OAL until I am not into the throat? Or is it possible I have a short throat on this barrel? Haven't run into this problem before.

This is the only combination I have tried so far in this rifle. It shoots very accurately...just major pressure issues, blown primers etc.

Thanks
 
They manuals are just a recommendation not law as there are loads that are higher than recommended in some guns, OAL can be wrong for your rifle also.

Just asking how did you not notice the wrong OAL for your rifle when working up your loads. I don't have fancy gauges to test for this I just smoke a bullet and keep seating it deeper until the bullet is no longer touching the lands.

You can try seating the bullet deeper until it is no longer in the lands but with it showing signs of high pressure I'd start over.

I have done this in the past, the rifle I planned to shoot at the egg shoot this year I.ve loaded the same target load for years from the same lot of bulk bullets I bought a number of years ago. I bought a new box of bullets to load for the match. No pressure signs but the bolt was closing snuggly and just wrote it up to necksized brass until I unloaded a live round and left the bullet in the barrel and ended up with an action full of powder. These I will set deeper as there were no signs of pressure with the bullets into the lands. I did use a different rifle for the shoot.
 
CCI BR4 PRIMERS ...27GR VARGET...

I had the same problem you did with a stuck bullet in the lands and an action full of powder. I went ahead and ordered the guages so I can make sure I get it right. First time I have had this happen in 30 years of reloading.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: BluedogCCI BR4 PRIMERS ...27GR VARGET...

I had the same problem you did with a stuck bullet in the lands and an action full of powder. I went ahead and ordered the guages so I can make sure I get it right. First time I have had this happen in 30 years of reloading.

I’ve had it happen one time....
On the second stage of a match-about a 5-hour drive from home-in the rain.
If you think an action full of powder is bad, try an action full of wet powder.

grin.gif


*
 
Just because the manual gives a powder charge, COAL, or any other bit of information does NOT mean that it works in every gun. I have 2-264 Winchesters, neither one will chamber a round if the bullet is seated to book length, with the bullet listed in the book. I have had rifles that show pressure signs well before book max, and others that give me 200fps over max with no pressure signs.
Seat the bullet to keep it out of the lands, work up charges with that seating depth.
 
Bluedog, 1st do you resize and trim all your brass ?

2nd ,check this video out...I do this for every bullet I use.In every gun I shoot.

I`ve learned the hard way,and wont do it any other way .Actually sunday I had some cases stick after shooting,sighting in my savage model 12 308 for the upcoming deer season..
loaded 30 rounds , thinking I grabbed fully sized and trimmed brass.Guess what I grabbed and loaded brass that I did not do the resizing to yet .Make your own seating depth tool,you will not regret it.Hope it is a cure for what you are dealing with sir.Gary

 
I`m shooting 25.4 gr of varget in a cartridge length of 2.250" using the 60gr vmax pill.
Every gun is different , unless you use factory ammo.
And we are in the reloading section
wink.gif
 
Last edited:
27 varget and a 60 vmax will sometimes not seat to 2.260 depending on case volume. The seater plug will smash a ring into the bullet with that much of a compressed load resulting in a longer than 2.260 coal.
 
Last edited:
Well...ya gotta tap the case under the powder measure...it will fit...and yes it is compressed. I may back up to 25 once I get the guages and work from there. I full length resize and trim all my brass to "trim to" length before I load it. I sincerely appreciate all of your replies...again...this os my first experience with this specific issue in 30 years. I learn something new every day and appreciate ya'alls input on this problem. Keep em coming.

Bluedog
 
That trim length is 1.750 correct ?

hornady 60gr vmax load data
Hodgdon
Varget
.224"
2.250"c.o.a.l
25.0 start
2,924
40,400 CUP
27.0C max
3,159
51,900 CUP

 
Last edited:
I wonder why the Lyman 49th suggests 2.260. Very interesting. Yes 1.750 case length...using a lee case length trimmer setup. Also max in the Lyman manual is 27.2
 
As to my video,how do (you) measure this guns c.o.a.l ?
One more thing, how long have you had these rounds loaded for ?
The powder being compressed will swell and also make the bullet come out even making the length longer...Just racking ,,,trying to pin it down...
 
Originally Posted By: MIvarminter50As to my video,how do (you) measure this guns c.o.a.l ?
One more thing, how long have you had these rounds loaded for ?
The powder being compressed will swell and also make the bullet come out even making the length longer...Just racking ,,,trying to pin it down...

Very nice observation! They did grow! Anywhere from .005 to .010. I reseated a few to 2.260 and they are still going into the lands of the throat enough that i have to tap them out from the bore.

Once I get the guages and get everything measured up I will post the OAL I come up with for this rifle. I am anxious to see how far under 2.260 it will have to go.

I measure the OAL with calipers end to end.
 
I have Hornady OAL gauges but I also have a resized fired case with slots cut in the neck. I then insert a bullet and chamber the dummy round, then slowly open the bolt and extract the dummy round. This will give you the OAL also. Cheap and easy.
 
Back
Top