help wanted , cant eject case after fired ?. 308

[jerryatric]

ok, i bought a 308 omark - ive allways had them & never had any problems untill this one . ONLY bought it because it came witha nielsen adaptor fitted - as i intent to rebarrel to 6.5x47 lapua or 6.5x55 . WHAT I did was full size some cases then load to a moderate 46 grains of 2208 with 155 projectiles . after firing i can not eject case or pull bolt back without tapping it .ONLY fired 2 rounds & had same problem so stopped .. has a maddco stainless barrel which looks pretty good to me .. could it be head spacing or a simple problem ?. last owners told me they have fired & used rifle without a problem but i find this hard to believe - due to scope base being stripped so no way they could have fired it & actually hit anything lol . .

[saum2]

You don't have primary extraction. check the camming of the bolt/action, it may need a dob of weld on the bolt to give you primary extraction. A common fault with Omarks.
Geoff

[AlanF]

I've seen this happen when you FL size brass from a bigger chamber. Normally brass springs back after firing and extracts easily, but brass with a history of a bigger chamber does not spring back. I would try some new brass.

Alan

[6shooter]

"Moderate load of 46gr of AR2208"??? I use Winchester brass in mine and their isn't a hope in hell I can get 46gr in the case without continual tapping of the case to settle the powder - then it is still chockers. If you consider 46gr moderate, what do you usually use??
Number one reason for a stuck bolt is overloading and high pressure, which I'm sure you know. What is a good and safe load in one gun is irrelevant in another gun. Glad you don't make ammo for me!!
Simply loading a case with a max load in an untried rifle is asking for trouble. I would suggest before welding, soldering, buying some brass to fix it, I would have a think about what you are doing. Too high pressure is the first thing you would look at if you have to open the bolt with a 4x2, rather than welding your bolt!!.
I am currently on 7 or 8 shooting forums, mainly American. Aussie sites tend to have members that are too quick to blame their equipment rather than themselves or what they are doing and hence don't offer much constructive, usuable advice.
If unsure about the advice you are getting, google sticky bolt lift - 99.9% will mention pressure.

[AlanF]

6Shooter,

46gn 2208 in a 308 is commonly used. ADI is quite conservative with their load data and list 47gn (compressed) as a maximum.

Alan

[Barry Davies]

I Have no problem getting 47 gn 2208 in a Lapua case. No signs of overloading.
Problem is probably as Alan said. ie cases from a larger chamber - they never really FLS. Try some new cases and if problem still exists have a look at primary extraction.

[jasmay]

Pressure is something to watch as 6shooter has said, but 46gr 2008 behind a 155 is not a heavy load by any means, I put that behind a 175gr SMK with no pressure issues. Most people who rant like that simply don't understand how to Build/chamber rifles.

As Others have said, check camming action and brass, brass first.

Are you able to bore scope the chamber to see if there are any noticeable issues?

[dave]

FWIW
in my 308, (tobler 30" barrel)- more than 45/08 lapua cases /155projectiles or 46/08 w-w cases/155 projectiles leads to excessive pressure and difficult extraction/chambering within 2-3 loadings.
however i realise that in other rifles these loads are OK pressure wise!
cheers
dave

[IanP]

Be careful when making statements about pressure relating only to the load of powder. The reason I say this is simply because we all dont share the same chamber and remember pressure is inversely proportional to volume.

Whats high for one chamber may be moderate in another and that is why we all start with a lower than max load and then work up.

Ian

[6shooter]

Pressure is something to watch as 6shooter has said, but 46gr 2008 behind a 155 is not a heavy load by any means, I put that behind a 175gr SMK with no pressure issues. Most people who rant like that simply don't understand how to Build/chamber rifles.

As Others have said, check camming action and brass, brass first.

Are you able to bore scope the chamber to see if there are any noticeable issues?

The OP's problem is difficult extraction, Jasmay. Telling him how much you use in your gun is not helping his problem. His issue has nothing to do with "understanding how to build/chamber a rifle" as you refer to my post. I own 3 Omark's and run the main one at 45.5gr AR2208 with very good accuracy. Our club champion for the past 4 years running uses 45.6gr '08. Nobody at my club uses 46gr any more - some used to but saw no difference in accuracy for extra pressure - and yes they get possibles at all distances back to 1,000yds.
I still stand by helping the OP in recommending doing correct load testing first - not simply bashing in a load that he has used before or that "everyone" uses. Everyone doesn't own his particular rifle. Everyone doesn't have their eyes 6 inches away from his chamber when he pulls the trigger.
Difficult extraction is mainly caused by excessive chamber pressure. He doesn't mention difficulty in loading - only extraction - and he FLS the brass - so simply buying new brass will not show what the problem is - it only removes one variable. It could be something as simple as not removing all the case lube from the loaded rounds which will put excessive backthrust on the bolt face and difficulty camming the fired case out.
I also run three WSSM's which are notorious for difficult loading/extraction due to the thick brass. Correct resizing techniques solves this problem ie. shoulder bumping, annealing. They are the thickest cases out there but resize with no problems if done correctly.
Without knowing more info from the OP about how he loads his rounds, the first thing to look at with difficult extraction is always pressure, that is such a basic piece of advice I find it astonishing that the other posts don't recommend that. Apart from Dave, other posts tell the OP that he can virtually put more powder in cos "it works fine in my gun"!!
From my first post on OZFClass to these ones, I have seen a bit too much opinion and not enough good advice for those seeking it. This should not be a sounding board for the elitist shooters that throw money at a gun in the hope of winning an event. And yes Jasmay, I work for a gunsmith so have a fair idea on chambering etc. but that is irrelevant to the OP with his problem extracting. Having spent 8 or so years on US forums where they almost fall over themselves with good advice and encouragement to solve a gun issue, I will no longer continue with Aussie forums. I was on another Aus. forum years ago but that too was full of attitude ie: people wanting to argue or give non-advice (you can just see the OP out in his shed putting a dab of weld on his bolt or making some more rounds with more powder in them...!!)instead of trying to genuinely assist OP's or share their shooting experiences with the rest of us.

[Triplejim]

ok, i bought a 308 omark - it came witha nielsen adaptor fitted -.

Common problem with a particular batch of Neilsen adaptors at that time, Lloyd machined the lugs too far back which meant no primary camm. Best to speak to the NRAA Gunsmith Keith Hills.

[Cameron Mc]

Geeez, looks like I will have to join some USA forums and learn some hey

Cam

[AlanF]

I'm just disappointed that this is the first time Barry's ever agreed with something I've said, only to find that the Americans wouldn't agree.

I hope Jerry comes back - otherwise we may never know what caused the problem .

Alan

[Barry Davies]

Hey 6 shooter, there is only one person contributing to this thread suffering from attitude, the rest have given genuine advice ( not gleaned from US sites ) as to what may or may not cause the problem. FLS cases that have been fired in a larger chamber are a source of problems particularly if the cases are somewhat old -- they simply do not fully resize.
How on earth do you resize the case base web once it has blown out grossly oversize ( apart from turning in a lathe)
At the risk of giving Alan a cardiac, what he said was correct-- you simply cannot resize a blown out base in a sizing die-- it's solid metal apart from a primer flash hole.
A case that has lost it's maleability ( work hardened ) will in all probability chamber ok, but clean extraction is another story.
If the case is new or in good condition ( not hard ) it will most times still extract even after an overload.

[Tman]

I find this interesting to hear, as I shoot an Omark as well, and had similar problems as described, 45g of 2208 and Nosler 155g Custom Comp projectiles and once-fired winchester brass, neck sized only.
I had previously run up some loads as above, with no problems, with similar elevation as the factory loads, which was encouraging as this was what I looking for. My only thought at that time was an issue due to excess resizing lube being left on the cases. On talking to some of my mates in the club their comment was that Omarks can be fiddly like this.