Off to the range I went today packing my Savage in .223, my trusty Beretta M9 in 9mm and of course my K31. For once the Prairie winds were calm so I hoped for
a good day's shooting.
The Savage shot well, the M9 not so well and finally I was ready for the moment I looked forward to all week, shooting my K31 at 100 yards. My joy came to a crashing halt when all I got were CLICKS instead of bangs!!!! The bolt was not closing completely. I suspect the problem was due to the cartridge being too long. 2.850 inches with a cheap Remington 150g soft point bullet. Suffering a terminal case of disappointment, I packed up and headed home.
Part of the problem was that due to dents to the soft lead point of the bullets it was hard to get an accurate and consistent overall length. Out of desperation I pulled out a round of GP-11 and measured the bullet diameter just above the neck of the brass. To my surprise it measured .304 inch, I guess I was expecting .308. So this seems to confirm the premise that K31 have a very short throat ( I am not sure if that is the correct term.).
I next thought that if I loaded my 150g to measure .304 at the neck my load would work well. Back to the press and I pushed the bullets in about .060 further into the case until the bullet diameter just above the case was about .305. Prior to doing this I wanted to confirm my theory so I loaded a dummy round to the .305 diameter and filled the primer hole with plastercine ( a soft, clay like material). The round loaded well and I got a solid firing pin strike in the clay.
My first rule of reloading is: "If something doesn't work the way it should STOP". In looking at the newly reseated rounds, the canalure on the bullet is nowhere in sight.
Do you see any potential problems with seating the bullet so far into the case? I am certain that it is nowhere near compressing the load as I am only using, about 44 grains of Varget and there was lots of room in the case.
Your collective wisdom would be appreciated.
The Savage shot well, the M9 not so well and finally I was ready for the moment I looked forward to all week, shooting my K31 at 100 yards. My joy came to a crashing halt when all I got were CLICKS instead of bangs!!!! The bolt was not closing completely. I suspect the problem was due to the cartridge being too long. 2.850 inches with a cheap Remington 150g soft point bullet. Suffering a terminal case of disappointment, I packed up and headed home.
Part of the problem was that due to dents to the soft lead point of the bullets it was hard to get an accurate and consistent overall length. Out of desperation I pulled out a round of GP-11 and measured the bullet diameter just above the neck of the brass. To my surprise it measured .304 inch, I guess I was expecting .308. So this seems to confirm the premise that K31 have a very short throat ( I am not sure if that is the correct term.).
I next thought that if I loaded my 150g to measure .304 at the neck my load would work well. Back to the press and I pushed the bullets in about .060 further into the case until the bullet diameter just above the case was about .305. Prior to doing this I wanted to confirm my theory so I loaded a dummy round to the .305 diameter and filled the primer hole with plastercine ( a soft, clay like material). The round loaded well and I got a solid firing pin strike in the clay.
My first rule of reloading is: "If something doesn't work the way it should STOP". In looking at the newly reseated rounds, the canalure on the bullet is nowhere in sight.
Do you see any potential problems with seating the bullet so far into the case? I am certain that it is nowhere near compressing the load as I am only using, about 44 grains of Varget and there was lots of room in the case.
Your collective wisdom would be appreciated.
Lucky for me there was a gentlemen there shooting
muzzle loaders and he lent me a ram-rod to back out the bullet. I went home, and fumed and huffed and stewed, until logic dictated I do exactly what
Parashooter suggests here. It works.
