Need help with Hornady XTP reloads for CVA Scout

[CJP1]

I'm having an issue with my reloads not loading all the way into the chamber of my CVA Scout. My cases aren't too long and bottoming out on the case mouth. The bullets are not touching the rifling. I don't have trouble with every round not going fully into the chamber. All my rounds will go into the chamber as far as the extractor/ejector. When I go to close the action, sometimes it will close, yet other times it won't. I have forced the action closed but when I do, it is wipeing
the primer tops. The brass is once fired Hornady from multiable sources. It acts like the case is swelled down by the rim. All the brass was sized with Hornady sizing die. Thanks for any help that you might have.
CJP1

[Hoot]

The sizing die only goes down so far. I would take a box of factory ammo or buy a box/bag of factory new brass and see if they have trouble. If they do, your chamber could be out of spec. If they don't then it still could be on the tight side of spec and sensitive to even the small amount of case head growth that any case experiences after each shooting. Yes, they all grow, just at different rates depending upon how stiff the were loaded or the platform they were shot in. You can force the sizing die down a little further by reducing the height of your shell holder. I know because I have one modified that way for problematic brass. It is visibly marked so I don't get it confused with one that isn't modified, since many calibers use the same shell holder as the 450b. Do the ones that fail to chamber all the way feel tight when trying to pull them out by hand? That's the sign of case head growth, though it can also occur if your sizing die is out of spec. Though they shouldn't if you clean your brass adequately, dies do wear over the course of their lifetime and they wear wider. If like me, you have more than one shell holder that fits your 450b brass, you can send me one and I'll turn it down a little on my lathe. You can also shorten the sizing die body but that's a lot more expensive than a shell holder. Make sure that when setting up your die height prior to sizing, that you feel a little "cam-over" at the top of the stroke height. That eliminates linkage slop that occurs as your press ages. I keep mine well lubed, to reduce wear as they are an expensive tool.

Hoot

[Al in Mi]

Check the edge of your barrel for sharp edges or burrs from the extractor cut, or you might have to start with new brass or factory loads fired from your gun.

I'm guessing the CVA is like a Encore, the case being fully in the barrel, where as bolt guns and AR's the case head stick out about 1/8". Brass fired in those guns could have that slight swell your referencing. As Hoot noted, making sure the sizer "cams over" and you might need to shorten the die or shell holder to resize more of the case.

[Blackedout12v]

Ive also reduced shell holder height with sand paper and a piece of glass. Sandpaper on glass and shell holder in a figure 8 motion, kinda slow but only needed a few thousandths in my situation.

[plant_one]

Check the edge of your barrel for sharp edges or burrs from the extractor cut, or you might have to start with new brass or factory loads fired from your gun.

I'm guessing the CVA is like a Encore, the case being fully in the barrel, where as bolt guns and AR's the case head stick out about 1/8". Brass fired in those guns could have that slight swell your referencing. As Hoot noted, making sure the sizer "cams over" and you might need to shorten the die or shell holder to resize more of the case.

im betting thats the case - either that or they're fired from a gun with a closer to SAAMI max spec chamber.

it sure would be nice if wee could pass these cases thru something similar to the Lee Bulge buster that used to remove glock bulge from 40 cal cases.


like Al said.. just go buy a batch of new brass from starline and use that. its pretty much the same price as once fired hornady, and they sell them in bags of 250 so you could probably get away just buying one bag and being done with it for quite a while.
https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cas ... USHMASTER/

[shadowwalker]

I'm having an issue with my reloads not loading all the way into the chamber of my CVA Scout. My cases aren't too long and bottoming out on the case mouth. The bullets are not touching the rifleing. I don't have trouble with every round not going fully into the chamber. All my rounds will go into the chamber as far as the extractor/ejector. When I go to close the action, sometimes it will close, yet other times it won't. I have forced the action closed but when I do, it is wipeing
the primer tops. The brass is once fired Hornady from multiable sources. It acts like the case is swelled down by the rim. All the brass was sized with Hornady sizing die. Thanks for any help that you might have.
CJP1

Same here, most of my 450 Bushmaster cartridge cases (brass) came from multiple ranges but sold from one online source. But, I don't have the same problem as you. One thing that was not mentioned, was short stroking the handle when sizing the brass. If you don't raise the ram to the top of it's stroke, then the cartridge case is not fully sized. One thing I do that stops this from happening. I raise the ram to the top of it's stroke and wait 2 seconds before lowering the ram. This ensures me...that what ever cartridge case I'm sizing...gets fully sized. I have done this for so long, I now have muscle memory and do it without even thinking about it. Also, when setting up your sizing die, keep sizing the casing until it fits inside of the chamber. Sometimes, you might have to take all of the slack out of your press by allowing the press to cam over. If you'd like to take one step further, you can purchase a Case Gauge. The case gauge will tell you for sure if your full length sizing your cartridge.

Cartridge Slotted Case Gauge from Tromix
http://tromix.com/product/cartridge-slotted-case-gauge/

[Hoot]

...snip... I raise the ram to the top of it's stroke and wait 2 seconds before lowering the ram...snip...

I do something along the same lines in all the calibers I reload. I run the ram all the way up, lower it enough to reach in to the case, rotate it approximately 90 degrees and run it up again. Like shadowwalker, it has become so automatic that I don't even think about it any more. That and ample use of lube (even on pistol brass) makes me feel assured that the brass has a chance to migrate back to where it belongs before moving on. I suspect that its as much positive thinking as science. One thing I am not, is in a hurry when I'm reloading. Its a welcome retreat from an already too hectic, too time constrained world.

Hoot

[CJP1]

Thanks for all the replies. Special thanks to Hoot for turning down a shellholder for me. With the reworked shellholder and taking any slop out of my press (camming over), I now have brass to fit my CVA Scout. I also ordered a Lyman brass checker to maybe cut down on the number of cases that I have to resize. I'm getting set up to reload 50 rounds each for three family members with CVA Hunter models.