Feeding Problem on my Model 70, .375 H&H

So I was at the range today with four different loads of 300 grain North Fork soft points. On my way to the range I picked up some "cheap" Federal factory ammo to do some sighting in first.

After firing off several of the Federals and getting the zero roughly 2 inches high at a 100 yards with no feeding issues, I moved on to the NF loads. I loaded the NF bullets last night with brass that had been shot once before. I measured the length of the brass prior to loading and all pieces were under the maximum, so I did not trim any cases.

While shooting, I loaded the magazines each time with either 3 rounds or 2 rounds. I had 20 bullets made up with 5 shots per each of the 4 different powder loads, so 3 and 2 was the logical way to load them.

On several occasions the bullets did not want to feed properly into the chamber. They came up out of the magazine it seemed with no problem. But when going into the chamber the bolt would stop short. After a bit of jiggling or starting over with the bullet resting on the magazine, they would feed. But obviously this isn't the way it should be.

When I originally fired this brass it was with Nosler Accubonds and no feeding issues whatsoever. Again, the Federal factory ammo also did not have a feeding problem.

So the difference with the problem loads today was using the North Fork bullets and once fired brass. I have a hard time believing the bullet had anything to do with this problem. I'm guessing it was the brass being a little bit longer and the bullet jammed on the neck.

What do you all think? And what should I do about this?

Thanks for your replies.

Phil

If it stops just before full chambering it might be the crimp if you are crimping. Sometimes its easy to overcrimp, making a bulge in the case mouth. You can see when you pull them back out if the mouth is all burnished looking. If it is hanging up well before chambering then the bullet may be hanging up in the pre-chamber area before chambering. Is it a round nose with a big meplat? I have a similar problem with my CZ .404 Jeff but only using Barnes Banded Solids as they have that huge meplat, they will jam against the right side chamber entry when coming off the left rail. Run fine off the right rail, just the left is a problem, and all other bullets feed fine. Since there are plenty of good solids out there I dont really care if one doesnt feed.

Originally Posted by sestoppelman

If it stops just before full chambering it might be the crimp if you are crimping. Sometimes its easy to overcrimp, making a bulge in the case mouth. You can see when you pull them back out if the mouth is all burnished looking. If it is hanging up well before chambering then the bullet may be hanging up in the pre-chamber area before chambering. Is it a round nose with a big meplat? I have a similar problem with my CZ .404 Jeff but only using Barnes Banded Solids as they have that huge meplat, they will jam against the right side chamber entry when coming off the left rail. Run fine off the right rail, just the left is a problem, and all other bullets feed fine. Since there are plenty of good solids out there I dont really care if one doesnt feed.

I'm not crimping. The North Fork soft points really don't have a meplat like the Barnes Banded Solids. It is somewhat flat, but compared to the factory rounds I also shot today, it's more cone shaped, so I don't think that's the problem either. Since my first post I went to the garage and put three of the Federal's in the magazine and cycled all three several times without a hitch.

If you go here you can see what the NF soft points look like: http://www.northforkbullets.com/mage...5-300-ss.html/

Is the overall case length the same with the North Forks as the Federals?

Originally Posted by tim416

Is the overall case length the same with the North Forks as the Federals?

I don't know, I'll check the length of the Federals. It was the same for the Accubond loads I made up, which was 3.6 inches per the Nosler manual. NF actually advised I load them longer, about .035 to .050 inches off the lands to improve accuracy.

One other thing you might check if you havent already is check the rim size in diameter on all the cases. The rim opening on the bolt face might be tight and a larger size rim can make it seem as though the problem lay elsewhere. Found this happening to me one time AFTER I had ground the extractor lip down to a point of uselessness thinking that was the problem. Not likely the problem but worth a closer look.

Originally Posted by tim416

Is the overall case length the same with the North Forks as the Federals?

Originally Posted by PHOENIX PHIL

I don't know, I'll check the length of the Federals. It was the same for the Accubond loads I made up, which was 3.6 inches per the Nosler manual. NF actually advised I load them longer, about .035 to .050 inches off the lands to improve accuracy.

The OAL of the Federals averaged about 3.58 inches, so 0.02 less than the NF and Accubond loads. A poster on another forum suggested it is the big front end catching as it feeds. The Accubond's have a much sharper point, so I could possibly buy into this.

sestoppleman,

I've checked about everything now. The only real difference between the Federals and the NF reloads was the case length being about 0.010 inches shorter on Federals as would be expected. I think I'm going to try loading up some Swift A-Frames and Nosler Partitions. I think the bonded A-frames and NF are better bullets at the terminal end with the weight retention. But having said this, I've used Nosler Partitions on elk and moose out of my 7mm and never had to track the animal.

if it gives you any confidence, I have shot elephant, buffalo, plains game, moose and bear with swift a-frames and love them. They have always performed beautifully.

If you load a small number of other brand bullets and leave all other factors the same, you will at least know if the problem is the North Forks or not.

Originally Posted by tim416

If you load a small number of other brand bullets and leave all other factors the same, you will at least know if the problem is the North Forks or not.

I seated a NF bullet in an empty case to the same depth as the others. It fed no problem just as about 1/2 of the ones I shot did. I then "pulled" the bullet out for a longer OAL to check the maximum OAL. I.e., the bullet would hit the lands and then be forced into the case until the bolt was shut. The bullet was then measured to be 3.744". Per NF's advice, I should then seat the bullet .035 to .050 inches deeper from this point to improve accuracy. So I seated the bullet to 3.70 inches OAL, measured from base of the brass to the bullet tip. I then reloaded this bullet from the magazine and it jammed just like the others did on Friday. I posted this in another forum and several posters have had this problem. The recommendation is to polish the internals so that the front of the bullet does not catch on these presumably rough edges.

And then of course if you seat them out to a longer OAL, they may not fit the magazine box which in a 375 may not be any longer than 3.65 or so. The 300 gr Nosler Part is a great bullet too. Have you tried Barnes Triple Shoks?

Originally Posted by sestoppelman

And then of course if you seat them out to a longer OAL, they may not fit the magazine box which in a 375 may not be any longer than 3.65 or so. The 300 gr Nosler Part is a great bullet too. Have you tried Barnes Triple Shoks?

LOL, isn't reloading great?! Tail chasing at it's finest. I used the TSX this past summer in my .300 Win on my safari. Terminal performance was fantastic. Long range accuracy not so much. I found in reloading them, they would have a large variation in seating depth to the tune of +/- 0.030", whereas any other bullet I've loaded is more on the order of +/- 0.005".

But with this being a .375 intended for DG and perhaps for plains game to 200 yards it is probably worth taking another look at these.

I think I saw you mention that once before about the 3skok bullets. I have not experienced that problem with them, in fact am planning to use them in June in Zim for eland on down and my loads (9.3x62) are pretty consistent as to OAL and they do shoot well, though I dont think they shoot quite as well as the Nosler AccuBond I used in Namibia in '07 with the same gun, but good enough. I have yet to try them beyond 100 yards but plan to do so soon.

Originally Posted by sestoppelman

I think I saw you mention that once before about the 3skok bullets. I have not experienced that problem with them, in fact am planning to use them in June in Zim for eland on down and my loads (9.3x62) are pretty consistent as to OAL and they do shoot well, though I dont think they shoot quite as well as the Nosler AccuBond I used in Namibia in '07 with the same gun, but good enough. I have yet to try them beyond 100 yards but plan to do so soon.

Do you have any load recipes for the 300 grain TSX for the .375H&H?

Hi Phil,

I use 71 grains Reloader 15 for the 300 grain TSX in the .375 H&H with good accuracy at 2570 fps. I use 70 grains of R15 for their 300 grain Banded Solids to shoot to the same POI.

Best,

jpj3

Originally Posted by jpj3

Hi Phil,

I use 71 grains Reloader 15 for the 300 grain TSX in the .375 H&H with good accuracy at 2570 fps. I use 70 grains of R15 for their 300 grain Banded Solids to shoot to the same POI.

Best,

jpj3

Thanks! Do you seat the bullets to the SAAMI OAL of 3.6 inches?

I never used them in my 375, using Nosler Parts and Horn solids. My loads used mostly IMR 4350 and 4831. My rifle is an 80's vintage Whitworth Express that shoots really well but I havent hunted with it since '96 in Zim.

Well I seem to have figured out the issue with feeding. The bullet is not the issue, it's the brass. Specifically the leading edge of the neck is hitting the rear end of the chamber and stopping the progress of the cartridge. The bullet has already entered the chamber at this point.

As mentioned I have not been crimping the brass. I use the hand held deburring tool to set a chamfer on the inside of the brass and then use the opposite end of the tool to debur the outside of the brass but only lightly to as I say just debur. A friend of mine at work asked me if I was actually chamfering the outside of the neck, which I've never done. He suggested that I use a little more effort to actually set a chamfer. Well I tried that using these dummy loads I used to figure out the problem and voila they feed just fine.

The question that comes to mind at this point is should I go ahead and crimp as this would ensure an even smoother front edge? Thanks to Double D I now have a great load for the A-Frame. The bullet has a cannelure that aligns perfectly for a crimp, so it would seem wise. Are there any drawbacks to crimping? I ask because I've never bothered to do this on my other handloads.

If so, would the Lee crimp die be a good choice?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

I personally do not crimp anything other than cartridges for my lever guns and handguns.
Some claim crimping causes a more uniform pressure thus better accuracy, I can't confirm or deny this.
If crimping allows your rifle to feed more smoothly then there is no downside to it. You may have to pay a little closer attention to the length of your brass for uniformity.