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

[sestoppelman]

Tim is right, length becomes a bit more critical. And as I mentioned before its easy to overcrimp and cause a bulge in the neck which can cause tight chambering. I do however crimp all the big bore stuff providing a cannelure in the right place. The heavier the bullet the more apt it is to want to pull out on recoil. Usually with proper bullet fit to case neck, the neck tension is enough to hold them but on hunting loads a crimp is good insurance against that happening. Lee crimp dies are good and most dies have a built in crimp which usually works well. I must confess, I dont think I have ever had the situation you mention happen to me as to the brass edge hanging up.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Tim is right, length becomes a bit more critical. And as I mentioned before its easy to overcrimp and cause a bulge in the neck which can cause tight chambering. I do however crimp all the big bore stuff providing a cannelure in the right place. The heavier the bullet the more apt it is to want to pull out on recoil. Usually with proper bullet fit to case neck, the neck tension is enough to hold them but on hunting loads a crimp is good insurance against that happening. Lee crimp dies are good and most dies have a built in crimp which usually works well. I must confess, I dont think I have ever had the situation you mention happen to me as to the brass edge hanging up.

Well I measured the brass of these dummy loads and they were all between 2.84 and 2.85 inches which I think is right where I need to be. 2.85" is maximum before trimming.

I think I'm going to give the crimp a try, it's a $10 investment that may pay off versus having the gunsmith cut on it and I'm not even sure what he would do.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Well it seems I've found the solution to the problem. I took the M70 with some dummy loads that would hang up on feeding as I've described to the gunsmith at the range I shoot at. After seeing the issue himself, the 'smith was checking out my rounds and asked if I was crimping, which of course I wasn't. He recommended before doing any surgery I try crimping first.

So, I got the Lee Factory Crimp Die and crimped those dummy rounds and they fed perfectly. I loaded quite a few TSX and A-Frame crimped rounds and got to the range today. I seated the A-Frames to crimp at the cannelure and seated the TSX's to crimp into the first groove. I was a little concerned as this changed the OAL from previous loads that shot very accurately, but no issue in the end.

I shot 12 of the A-Frames after sighting in to dead center at 100 yards. One of the shots was 3/4" high and 3/4" to the right. Another two shots were 3/4" low and 1/2" right. A fourth shot was 1/2" right, 1/2" low. The remaining eight shots were dead on vertically varying from 1/2" left to 1/2" right. This was done with anywhere from a cold barrel to flat out hot.

And best of all of course, no feeding issues!

The 12 TSX rounds I shot were nearly as accurate too, fine enough to hunt with that's for sure. I don't know if it's just coincidence, the caliber or the rifle, but interestingly enough they shot nearly to the same POI as the A-Frames, only about 1 to 1 1/2" high of the bullseye.

Anyway I like the Lee FCD. Easy to use and adjust and can be had for $10 at Cabelas.

 

[D.M.V]

Larry Willis die is also a nice investment for belted magnums it's saved me lots of headaches and cases

 

[sestoppelman]

I know this is old but it was rekindled so I will relate something that happened recently. I had the same exact thing happen that Phil did, occasional hangups in chambering.
Turned out to be the same thing, the case mouth hanging up. It was in a .270 I had. Only happened a few times but I was mystified at first.
With one of the offending rounds I noticed a slight flare at the mouth, almost a roughish edge, so being the ham fisted mechanic type I took a file to the case mouth and smoothed it off: no more hangup.
So a little crimp here would have been the solution it seems.

 

[TOBY458]

I know this is old but it was rekindled so I will relate something that happened recently. I had the same exact thing happen that Phil did, occasional hangups in chambering.
Turned out to be the same thing, the case mouth hanging up. It was in a .270 I had. Only happened a few times but I was mystified at first.
With one of the offending rounds I noticed a slight flare at the mouth, almost a roughish edge, so being the ham fisted mechanic type I took a file to the case mouth and smoothed it off: no more hangup.
So a little crimp here would have been the solution it seems.

I've seen several model 70s that had this same issue. It's definitely the case mouth hanging up on the sharp edge at the rear of the chamber. I've found that a good crimp will eliminate this altogether. The 458 Win Mag seems to be the worst offender when it comes to this problem. With it being a large caliber straight wall case, a crimp is definitely needed to prevent this. I would bet the Winchester 70 isn't the only rifle to have this problem. Seems it could affect most any crf rifle.

 

[D.M.V]

I once had a beautiful Ruger euro full stock model in 243 that was a jama-matic I worked on it a little and had to pay attention to the pills it liked. I ended up selling it. Too bad to cause it was such a beautiful rifle.

 

[colorado]

I like the Lee Factory Crimp Die. I use it on my 500 Jeffery because otherwise the bullets in the magazine tend to "walk out". I don't use it on my 375 Weatherby.

 

[woodsrunner]

Came across the old, once-refreshed thread, refreshing it here a third time. Noticed a slight issue myself this weekend in a new-to-me 1955 Model 70, with 300 grain North Fork cup nose bullets (.375's). I'm now paying more attention to chamfering and crimp, had no issues cycling my last batch of handloads. I do notice that compared to my custom CZ 550 .375 that it's a tighter squeeze in the Winchester magazine, being the machined-out .30-06 sized action as opposed to the magnum action on the CZ. That said, the cycling on the old Winchester, let's just say one can understand what all the fuss was and is about. Exudes excellence.