Reloads/Headspace Issue

[ETEX HUNTER]

new build. tool craft bolt carrier & a Grendel hunter bolt, BCA barrel. it will battery fine, but it is like it is stuck very tight have to struggle with it to eject the round. no it will not cycle. bolt opens and comes back enough to unlock.
it has be head spaced checked, that is all good. you can drop a round of ammo in the barrel and it falls in easy, turn it up and the round falls out easy. so it is not a chamber issue.
here is my question
could it be the extraction claw is to tight or the injection pin spring is to stiff ?
what else could it be ?

[Lemonaid]

Some things to check, what does the extracted brass look like? Gouges at the rim might indicate that the extractor isn't popping over the rim.
A good head space test dose not tell if you have a short throat/bullet into the lands issue, inspect the bullet of the cartridge you have ejected unfired for marking from the lands. Last, measure the over all length of the round before it has cycled and after. Sometimes if the neck tension is not sufficient the loading process can let the bullet slide forward in the case and into the lands. It should not "grow" more than a .001 or .002 if any.
Pictures of the brass and bullet will help in the diagnostic process, along with ammo brand, measured bolt length, bolt face depth.

[ETEX HUNTER]

Some things to check, what does the extracted brass look like? Gouges at the rim might indicate that the extractor isn't popping over the rim.
A good head space test dose not tell if you have a short throat/bullet into the lands issue, inspect the bullet of the cartridge you have ejected unfired for marking from the lands. Last, measure the over all length of the round before it has cycled and after. Sometimes if the neck tension is not sufficient the loading process can let the bullet slide forward in the case and into the lands. It should not "grow" more than a .001 or .002 if any.
Pictures of the brass and bullet will help in the diagnostic process, along with ammo brand, measured bolt length, bolt face depth.

well, your info was a great help. the extractor was stiff and not working properly. little work on that it is working fine now. next I had gotten some hand load ammo from what I thought was a reputable guy local to me. the neck had not been trimmed after resizing which made the case to long. I'm cycling Hornady Black 123g ELD & Hornady 123g SST with no issues .

[VASCAR2]

The brass needs to have the shoulder bumped back on reloads to chamber properly. If the person didn’t test the sized brass in a 6.5 Grendel chamber for fit to get the shoulder pushed back this could also cause the issue you experienced.

[ETEX HUNTER]

The brass needs to have the shoulder bumped back on reloads to chamber properly. If the person didn’t test the sized brass in a 6.5 Grendel chamber for fit to get the shoulder pushed back this could also cause the issue you experienced.

I thought this person knew what they were doing on the reloads.. anyway, factory ammo works great.

[olde sarge]

If you are wanting to reload I would be happy to give you any help I can. Live close (Goodrich) and have reloaded for near 60 yrs. I have found that my two Grendels shoot factory SST's well enough I have not reloaded for Grendel but can help with basics.

[Klem]

ET,

VAS is on the money here. Your hand-loads are too tight for the chamber. You can drop them into a chamber and they will fall back out with gravity and a wiggle but once they are fired they expand to grip the chamber. They then contract as the pressure drops so they can be extracted. If they were a tight fit to start with they will not contract enough. The ammo your friend gave you would not be brand new cases, but reloads, yes?

Sarge's offer is very kind.

[Mesa1978]

A SAAMI spec ammo checker is a worthwhile purchase to verify reloads.

[A5BLASTER]

A SAAMI spec ammo checker is a worthwhile purchase to verify reloads.

The problem with that is noone resized to sammi spec. We bump the shoulder at max 5 thousands and shot for 3 to 3 thousands shoulder bump and that will still be outside of the sammi gauge.

[Mesa1978]

The problem with that is noone resized to sammi spec. We bump the shoulder at max 5 thousands and shot for 3 to 3 thousands shoulder bump and that will still be outside of the sammi gauge.

To each their own.

[Klem]

To each their own.

Mesa,

SAAMI spec ammo works but if he is reloading spent cases from his own gun then bumping them 3-thou is better than squashing them back to SAAMI. To be fair, both will work.

[Mesa1978]

Mesa,

SAAMI spec ammo works but if he is reloading spent cases from his own gun then bumping them 3-thou is better than squashing them back to SAAMI. To be fair, both will work.

Just trying to help out the OP at his ability level.

[ETEX HUNTER]

If you are wanting to reload I would be happy to give you any help I can. Live close (Goodrich) and have reloaded for near 60 yrs. I have found that my two Grendels shoot factory SST's well enough I have not reloaded for Grendel but can help with basics.

thanks for the offer I'm doing well with Hornady Black 123g ELD M & 123g SST factor ammo.

[olde sarge]

You are welcome. I am shooting the same stuff and find it will shoot between .75 and 1.25 inch in my rifles depending on me. For the hog hunting I do I am perfectly satisfied with them and they seem to stop hogs much better than the 7.62x39 I used before.

[LRRPF52]

Get one of these (Hornady headspace comparator kit) to measure your headspace before and after firing, and set your die up based on what it will take to get consistent lock-up without moving the shoulder too much.

[ETEX HUNTER]

thanks for the info

[riuma]

well, your info was a great help. the extractor was stiff and not working properly. little work on that it is working fine now. next I had gotten some hand load ammo from what I thought was a reputable guy local to me. the neck had not been trimmed after resizing which made the case to long. I'm cycling Hornady Black 123g ELD & Hornady 123g SST with no issues .

When I was young, many decades ago, the guy who taught me to reload warned me to never, under any circumstances, shoot someone else's handloads. Any idea what happens when the too long neck becomes impinged by the rifling? Catastrophic failure.
Reload or don't, but don't shoot someone else's handloads. JMHO~ Riuma

[ETEX HUNTER]

When I was young, many decades ago, the guy who taught me to reload warned me to never, under any circumstances, shoot someone else's handloads. Any idea what happens when the too long neck becomes impinged by the rifling? Catastrophic failure.
Reload or don't, but don't shoot someone else's handloads. JMHO~ Riuma

guy has a home gun shop . I had many people tell me what a great gun smith and custom reloader he was.
yep, lesson learned on my part.

[LRRPF52]

When I was young, many decades ago, the guy who taught me to reload warned me to never, under any circumstances, shoot someone else's handloads. Any idea what happens when the too long neck becomes impinged by the rifling? Catastrophic failure.
Reload or don't, but don't shoot someone else's handloads. JMHO~ Riuma

Normally if your case mouth has grown past its limit into the cone that transitions from the mouth to the freebore in the chamber, that cone will basically crimp the mouth around the projectile if it is forced into battery.

That can spike pressures significantly, depending on how excessively long the mouth is (neck not trimmed), and where the charge weight is.

With Lapua and Hornady brass, I’ve never seen them grow to 1.530” length, which is where the max case length is for 6.5 Grendel to the mouth.

The lower chamber pressure precludes excessive case growth.

Now on my .260 Rem brass or .308 brass, it’s a totally different story. Brass has to be trimmed often.