Reloads in .416 Rigby with used brass will not feed in my Mauser 98E

[Sjakon]

Hi guys. I have reloaded new cartridges to change the projectiles for my .416 Rigby and they fed with no problem in my Mauser 98E rifle. When I used fired brass the cartridges were not picked up by the bolt and jamed. Not a problem with factory ammunition or new brass. Any thoughts on why this happens? I was advised to file down the ramp but I don't want to mess up my rifle. Thank you for any advice.

 

[Azklmsr]

Hi guys. I have reloaded new cartridges to change the projectiles for my .416 Rigby and they fed with no problem in my Mauser 98E rifle. When I used fired brass the cartridges were not picked up by the bolt and jamed. Not a problem with factory ammunition or new brass. Any thoughts on why this happens? I was advised to file down the ramp but I don't want to mess up my rifle. Thank you for any advice.

DO NOT FILE ON YOUR GUN

Sorry for the caps! lol

If Factory ammo feeds, its not the gun. Next, your loads with new brass are working, correct? Fired brass that has been re-sized is your problem? So, you need to inspect the differences. If the bolt is missing the pick-up, there is likely a difference in the shoulder, which is causing a difference in the cartridge base orientation.

Do all the dimensional comparisons you can, but if need be, smoke a piece of new brass and run it into your die and see where it IS NOT making contact. Then do the same with a piece of fired brass.
Look particularly at shoulder set back from Factory, to new brass to fired to resized.

You will find this.

 

[Azklmsr]

OH, 1 other item. Measure the expansion on the base with new and fired cases and then with the resized case. If head expansion is not fully sized back, and it often is not, the case base can be missed by the bolt and it will jam up on the expansion

 

[uplander01]

Agreed on Don't file anything on your rifle,...this is a brass issue.

Am I understanding you that the bolt face is not picking up the rim when moving the bolt forward to feed?

Want to make sure I understand the problem correctly. You need to look at and measure the rim of the cases to start with and look at the angles. for example, I have had CRF rifles that handle Hornady and Norma brass quite differently because of the rim and the chamfer on the back of it. What brands of brass are we dealing with?

 

[deewayne2003]

What brand of brass, dies and factory ammo?

Are you full length sizing?

I suspect it’s a sizing issue that is throwing off the geometry of the cases when loaded into the magazine.