Thread: So what do I use for pressure signs then

A flat bolt face is a good start

I never saw a single case come out of certain forum members rifles that did not have an ejector mark. You counted the firings off the ejector marks.

Sticky bolt lift tells you your chamber is expanding. This is obviously extremely bad because working the steel will work harden it and introduce defects, make it brittle and give the possibility of a future failure.

Some brass is just soft and flows into the ejector space without any sticky bolt lift, but not Lapua. Hornady used to be very variable hardness in my experience.

Brass flowing like liquid is higher pressure than you want, or softer brass than you want. Any deformation in the action (sticky bolt lift) is 100% bad every time unless a gunsmith tells you your chamber/action is off spec, which is still bad.

Creedmore and X47 with the small rifle primer and very solid/hard case base allow higher pressure without the usual case base deformation pressure signs. It does not mean the pressure is not there. You need to use a hard primer to go with the tough case base or it will flow in around the firing pin. A custom firing pin fitted to your bolt will also prevent this. All you are doing is hiding pressure under the carpet, but at the end of the day if the action is not deforming you don't really have a problem. Pressure is what makes the pill fly.

If your chamber is expanding it will shrink back to its original dimensions and the case will not, jamming in the chamber. You probably new all this but it did me no harm to job the memory.

This is a very cool article
https://www.primalrights.com/library...nding-pressure

Pressure does not matter. Deformation matters and pressure, or an off spec action will cause deformation. If there is no deformation you do not have a problem.