I got a deal on a bag of Fed nickel-plated .300 WSM brass and loaded up some (came primed, don't know what with). Went to the range yesterday and shot one in my Winchester 1885, a starting load. It acted normally but one of the things I do after shooting is to run a bullet into the neck of the fired brass just to make sure the fired bullet was released properly and to get an idea how sloppy the chamber neck is. Ideally the bullet should slide in with little resistance, but not be loose.
Well, I couldn't get the bullet in at all! Even trying to force it. That means higher than normal pressures. This is one of the reasons starting loads are lower... I didn't shoot any more. It's a good thing falling block actions are so strong, although the primer did not look abused or cratered and the bullet hit the target in a reasonable place (except higher than my regular loads).
I got my knife and trimmed a little of the brass around the inside of the neck at the end, and then the bullet would slide in. Apparently the plating process leaves a thick edge on the neck. I had not bothered to bevel the case mouth before loading.
All the cases are at the trim-to length, very uniform in that respect. I only have a fired-case holder for my Wilson trimmer anyway, so I don't want to trim them. I guess I will just bevel the mouths inside and out and hope that does the job. Annoying I have to tear my loads down...
Well, I couldn't get the bullet in at all! Even trying to force it. That means higher than normal pressures. This is one of the reasons starting loads are lower... I didn't shoot any more. It's a good thing falling block actions are so strong, although the primer did not look abused or cratered and the bullet hit the target in a reasonable place (except higher than my regular loads).
I got my knife and trimmed a little of the brass around the inside of the neck at the end, and then the bullet would slide in. Apparently the plating process leaves a thick edge on the neck. I had not bothered to bevel the case mouth before loading.
All the cases are at the trim-to length, very uniform in that respect. I only have a fired-case holder for my Wilson trimmer anyway, so I don't want to trim them. I guess I will just bevel the mouths inside and out and hope that does the job. Annoying I have to tear my loads down...