Tight Ammo

[carthorse]

Has anyone had experience of inconsistency in ammo, specifically Seller & Bellot in 6.5 creedmoor (yes, yes, i know,6.5 creedmoor blah blah etc etc, I also have 308 which is my favourite) I use this as my preferred round, good accuracy, sensible price point, but of late I have been getting 3 or 4 rounds in a box of 20 that have been tight in the breach. Not overly tight to think it’s the wrong calibre but noticeably tight on closing the bolt. Might also be overthinking this, but the tight round also seems to be slightly less accurate, but that may be an ism, me thinking tight round and a slight less than perfect shot or miss!

 

[User00056]

More than likely to be variations in the manufacturing tolerances for the shoulder bump. If you can chamber the rounds without excessive force they're safe to fire

 

[trickie]

I shot 200 S&B through my then new 6.5, Tikka in my case. Not a single hard close or open.
I did reload them once and had no issues at all.
You might have a slightly tight chamber

 

[HonestJohn]

What rifle?

 

[carthorse]

Sako finnlight

 

[Taff]

I have seen problems with PPU, we even had problems with Winchester and hornady in bergara this year,

 

[Mike1979]

Nothing wrong with the 6.5 creed...just lots of jealousy out there

 

[HonestJohn]

Is this the first factory ammo you’ve put through the rifle? If so, could be a tight chamber; if other ammo has been fine, likely batch tolerances are off. S&B is on the lower end of the factory ‘quality’ spectrum, so the most likely reason.

 

[Bowland blades]

Has anyone had experience of inconsistency in ammo, specifically Seller & Bellot in 6.5 creedmoor (yes, yes, i know,6.5 creedmoor blah blah etc etc, I also have 308 which is my favourite) I use this as my preferred round, good accuracy, sensible price point, but of late I have been getting 3 or 4 rounds in a box of 20 that have been tight in the breach. Not overly tight to think it’s the wrong calibre but noticeably tight on closing the bolt. Might also be overthinking this, but the tight round also seems to be slightly less accurate, but that may be an ism, me thinking tight round and a slight less than perfect shot or miss!

You should clean your chamber and the throat and more , it could be hard carbon build up . Check the overall length of your case and confirm some cartages are not too long in the case or your bullet is not getting jammed into the rifling . Tolerances can conspire together so test , a hunting rifle and the ammo its fed should be checked

 

[NP435]

Has anyone had experience of inconsistency in ammo, specifically Seller & Bellot in 6.5 creedmoor (yes, yes, i know,6.5 creedmoor blah blah etc etc, I also have 308 which is my favourite) I use this as my preferred round, good accuracy, sensible price point, but of late I have been getting 3 or 4 rounds in a box of 20 that have been tight in the breach. Not overly tight to think it’s the wrong calibre but noticeably tight on closing the bolt. Might also be overthinking this, but the tight round also seems to be slightly less accurate, but that may be an ism, me thinking tight round and a slight less than perfect shot or miss!

You might chamber a loaded cartridge and then eject without firing, look for marks on the projectile that would cause a bit of resistance when chambering. If nothing found that way, it's simply a brass dimension issue.

 

[Stover Rover]

I have had problems chambering factory Nosler 140 RDF 6.5 CM in Tikka T3x. It just won't fit. Thought it might be a SAAMI-CIP thing.

 

[jthyttin]

If you look at CIP specs, 6.5 Creedmoor MAX cartridge won't fit in MIN chamber (at least w/o mild violence).

Creedmoor is not alone, in e.g. 308 family the dimensions are even more apart.

This just gives both rifle and ammo manufacturers some options.

PPU was mentioned, I've had "problems" with them in 308 T3. It just happens that their range ammo has slight resistance closing the bolt, and hunting ammo not. Only real world issue is, I don't use PPU range ammo if I want practice with multiple shots on single running moose "run". Just switch to homeloads, or could use PPU hunting ammo also (it's only for range practice for me, got a good deal some time ago).

 

[carthorse]

Sako finnlight

I should also mention, this rifle has had no more than 150 rounds through it, I’ve had it from new. I think it is inaccuracies in the brass. But wanted to see if others had seen the same thing. Never have issues with the .308s but they are arguably more high end guns.

 

[Selous]

Yes I’ve seen it with PPU in 308 and Nosler in 300WSM. A brief trip through a Redding body die solved all the problems.