303 Weirdness

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303 Weirdness

Post by Stoney » 10 Dec 2018, 7:54 pm

G'day Fellas, I have a question for the .303 reloaders here who would care to help me with a bit of a mystery. So, I recently loaded an extensive batch of ammo to test in 2 of my 303's. 100 grain Hornady .312 XTR pistol round for plinking, with Trail boss and AR2206H. 130 grain Woodleigh PPSN with BM2, AR2206H and AR2208, 174 Hornady RN with AR2206H, AR2208 and AR2209. Also Hawksbury River 180 grain cast with AR2206H and Trail Boss. So, I shot the 174 grain Hornady's in 5 shot groups respectively. All good. I then shoot the 130 grain Woodleigh PPSN in BM2 and notice the primer has backed out above the rim. I stop shooting that load and go to AR2206H load, shoot one and the primer backs out very proud. So I stop shooting that load. I move to the 100 grain loads and all good. I then swap guns and fire the cast loads in my other .303 and the AR2206H load is good but the Trail Boss load the primer is backed out again. Every round was a brand new Hornady un-fired brass. Both bolts on both rifles were not hard to open at all. All loads were minimum starter loads. Is this common to the .303? Cheers.
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by bigrich » 10 Dec 2018, 8:14 pm

303 weirdness ? all 303 shooters are weird mate :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :thumbsup:
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by Stoney » 10 Dec 2018, 8:17 pm

bigrich wrote:303 weirdness ? all 303 shooters are weird mate :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :thumbsup:



Go away pest. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by bigrich » 10 Dec 2018, 8:29 pm

Stoney wrote:
bigrich wrote:303 weirdness ? all 303 shooters are weird mate :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :thumbsup:



Go away pest. :lol: :lol: :lol:


:drinks: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks: wok'n'woll :lol: :lol: :lol: :thumbsup:
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by brett1868 » 10 Dec 2018, 8:30 pm

How flat is the bolt face?
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by Stoney » 10 Dec 2018, 8:49 pm

brett1868 wrote:How flat is the bolt face?



Both are like brand new. I am aware of the bolt face numbers for headspace also.
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by trekin » 11 Dec 2018, 4:02 am

Did you have the correct bolt in each rifle? Might seem a silly question, but has been know, in a moment of absent mindedness, to mix up the bolts.
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by straightshooter » 11 Dec 2018, 5:37 am

The primer backing out simply means that the loads are fairly moderate.
There is enough pressure for the case to grip the chamber walls but not enough to stretch the case until the primer is flush with the case head. So the the next line of least resistance is the grip of the primer in the primer pocket which then backs out to take up all available headspace.
I have described the process in more detail elsewhere on this forum.
If you are happy with those loads - use them. Your brass will last much longer than the usual 3 or 4 reloads before case head separation.
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by Stoney » 11 Dec 2018, 6:36 pm

trekin wrote:Did you have the correct bolt in each rifle? Might seem a silly question, but has been know, in a moment of absent mindedness, to mix up the bolts.


Yes, both bolts were good mate.
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Re: 303 Weirdness

Post by Stoney » 11 Dec 2018, 6:37 pm

straightshooter wrote:The primer backing out simply means that the loads are fairly moderate.
There is enough pressure for the case to grip the chamber walls but not enough to stretch the case until the primer is flush with the case head. So the the next line of least resistance is the grip of the primer in the primer pocket which then backs out to take up all available headspace.
I have described the process in more detail elsewhere on this forum.
If you are happy with those loads - use them. Your brass will last much longer than the usual 3 or 4 reloads before case head separation.


Thanks for the advice straightshooter.
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