Hornady A-Max diameter

[Anemic AL]

Hi, quick question regarding projectile diameters. In my case, it's regarding Hornady A-Max, but can apply to any other projectile also.

If you're using .264", what should the max diameter at any point be?

These reloads simply will not chamber. The measurement to the ogive is a tad shorter than with bullets that will chamber/shoot. But the sharpie test is showing rub on the A-Max; not the brass.

Measurements show .2645" at certain points. Is this .0005" the problem? Or do I simply need to keep seating it further until it chambers?

[bsumoba]

the quick answer is most likely to keep seating the bullet down until it fits....with a caveat. 0.2645 is fine. most will be right on the money at .264, but I've seem bullets measure 0.0005" more.

when you say "doesn't fit", what do you mean? doesn't chamber when you close the bolt?

what are you shooting? gun, caliber, cartridge?
what is your load? bullet, case, powder, OAL?
did you reload these and if so, what dies and setup do u have? it could be that you didn't size the brass down enough.

[AGGRO]

Check overall length for .264 (6.5 grendel) in the AR. I'm guessing you are hitting the lands. Check brass length, check overall. Has brass been fully resized?

[Anemic AL]

Okay, let's see if I can explain what's happening. Here's some more details.

6.5 Grendel AR
Virgin Lapua brass
6.5mm 100gr A-Max


Okay, so a while back I fire-formed a handful of this virgin brass with cream of wheat. No problems. Virgin brass fit and functioned fine.

I loaded up 20 rounds on more virgin brass. Had malfunction/ftf at range with first reload. Couldn't pull bolt back. Had to butt-slam to eject casing. Next round, bolt wouldn't close completely. Found out there was stuck projectile in barrel. Thought was squib load from previous round that malfunctioned.

Finally figured out all A-Max rounds are getting stuck in barrel. Stuck so bad, when they are finally ejected, the case and projectile get separated; with powder flying everywhere. This is on non-worked, virgin brass.

Loaded up a dummy round on once-fired Lapua brass. Full-length sized on Hornady die. Will not fully chamber. I have now reduced the OAL slowly. Bolt is now closing completely. Had to butt-slam to eject dummy round. Will have to clear barrel, as the A-Max pill is stuck inside.

[JMP]

Post some pictures and take a look at the bullet and see where/what the contact spot is. If there is no prominent mark, cover the entire cartridge with a sharpie pen and cycle it through to see what is getting caught first. I'd guess that it is from not seating deep enough, but the fact that it happens sometimes and not all the time makes me suspect an issue with the rifle or ammo consistency. If you didn't size the virgin brass, sometimes it'll need to be sized before loaded into a small chamber. Some of your virgin brass may have shoulders a tad rounded.

[Anemic AL]

Here's a pic of what my dummy round was looking like earlier. I believe the trouble spot is at the arrow.

Before I forget again, the rounds that DO work are PPU. None of my reloads worked. They all got stuck.

The PPU pills are measuring .2635" at the largest point. So there's a bit of a difference between the two brands.

I will clear the projectile from the barrel and start all over. Is it possible to know when my OAL is correct by removing the extractor and seeing if the bolt will close on hand pressure? Kind of like doing headspace check. If I let the bolt fly forward again, I'll keep getting stuck projectiles.

[bigdawg86]

Necks need turned?

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[maxx03]

I load for 6.5 Grendel using PPU and Hornady brass with 123 gr Amax bullets. I seat the bullets to magazine length and have never had a problem.
Try seating to magazine length and go from there, if you are still having problems after that, the problem could be your brass not being sized correctly.

[Anemic AL]

Okay, now you're losing me. How does neck turning come into play here? At this point, I'm thinking it has nothing to do with the brass. Then again, I have no idea wtf is the prob.

I'll have to check to see what the exact numbers are for mag length. But I'm thinking these are seated below that spec.

Here's what it looks like after removal. Major rubbing. I'll try closing the bolt with the assist. Hopefully that will get me in the ballpark to see how short I have to go with these.

[TKM]

When you have assembled your version of 6.5 Grendel how long is the entire cartridge?

[Anemic AL]

The magazine length specs range from 2.25-2.265" depending where you look.

The original rounds I made were coming in at 2.2475", so they were under mag length. The dummy round went even shorter and still had problems.

It's not getting stuck now and bolt closes. The OAL is 2.1780"

Published data always shows max length. But what is minimum OAL? Hornady's manual says to make these 2.245". With the minimum powder charge, pressure should still be okay even at 2.1780"?

I'm starting to think the micrometer adjusters for seating dies would be a good idea.

[JMP]

The bullet is making contact. The problem is that it's starting well before the bullet is full diameter. I am thinking that you may be scratching it when loading. Guide the cartridge in with your hand and ease the bolt closed. See if that helps the problem. Your bullet is pretty mangled so it could also be how it's loaded given you are using an AR.

[bigdawg86]

Neck diameter sounds crazy but my thought was measure the neck of a loaded factory round, and then measure yours. If neck brass is too thick it won't chamber once bullet is loaded in. My 6.5 Creedmoor neck diameter is .290 loaded, and when I processed my brass (converted from 308) I had to turn the necks to get it to factory . 290

Reason I ask is because you said it was Virgin lapua brass.

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[Anemic AL]

Yeah, this bullet is wasted. I'll start with a fresh one that's been verified at .2640". At least it'll take the extra .0005" out of the equation.

I see what you're saying about the neck size. I don't know what the max diameter on a loaded round is. But the virgin brass is below the specs found in my manual. As for the factory ammo -- diameters are smaller and lengths are longer.

I'm trying to decide on an OAL gauge. I'll get either the Sinclair or the Hornady. Once it comes in, I'll hopefully have a better idea of what's going on.

[silvertriple]

I load my Grendel to mag length with 123 amax's and 100 ttsx's. They chamber without issue.

I agree with dropping the round into the chamber and letting the bolt close to see where the contact marks are. If you let the bolt strip off the round from the mag there will be marks left from contact on the feed ramps before entering the chamber (at least that's what both my rifles do).

Also, did you ensure the cases are properly full length sized?

Have you tried chambering factory Hornady ammo to see what it does?