Halp... ammo doesn't fit

I bought some Highland 308 from TradeMe, supposedly unused factory ammo.

Went to the range with my new Tikka T3 and tried loading a round to find she don't fit. D'oh. It seems to get all the way into the chamber but I can't turn the bolt down. I got one in but it was quite tight, a handful of others I tried were obviously not going in so I didn't force them. The empty is a little tight but nothing like the live rounds.

A couple of the dimensions around the neck and the bullet are slightly larger than Federal stuff that fits without problem, but still in spec according to the drawing. The Highland bullet is 7.820mm at the base, compared to 7.760mm on the Federal. Highland overall length is 68.770mm, Federal 68.490mm.

What's going on here boys and girls?

Email the guy and ask if he is sure they are not reloads and ask where he got them from does not sound right to me for a factory load, if in doubt pull the bullets and dump the powder

He said they were bought new along with a Remington R25 from Hunting & Fishing, and he put half a box through OK.

Is this a common thing? Anyone else ever had trouble like this?

I did, many years ago with Sako ammo. It turned out that the 150 grain "hammerhead" round nose projectiles were too long for my BSA chamber.

Are there any rifling marks on the projectiles of the rounds you tried to chamber?

I have found a few brands do not fit my Tikka and yet they fit my mates identical 308 gun Same thing tight to close bolt Once fired they are ok So now mark mine with felt pen to keep the same ones to reload I reckon my gun has tighter tolerances than his but it doesn't make either gun a bad one maybe his at top end Mina at bottom .? Having changed length etc it seems to be a shell shoulder problem

Highland ammo is shit, I had the same problem a few years ago with a 243 tikka. Biff it and buy another brand.

Good trick for new players! Damn. I have four boxes of the stuff. What I don't yet understand is how the ammo can be in spec (going by that SAAMI engineering drawing I linked to) yet not fit...

Next time I buy I'll take the rifle into the store (S/S) and ask to test fit each of their offerings. Someone needs to put together sample boxes for the mail-order fans among us :-)

Dont know that many shops would be happy about loading a rifle instore to test fit.

Some rifles have tighter chambers and prefer certain ammo find what suits yours and get a few boxes or work up a reload instead.

Dont bother trying the pivi stuff as its highland in a different box.

Good point. A helpful guy at the range gave me a few Barnaul rounds which cycled fine (cheap doesn't necessarily equal bad), so at least I have a cheap and a mid-range option which is all I really need... I've had enough after ten shots at the range anyway!

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Originally Posted by brodster

I bought some Highland 308 from TradeMe, supposedly unused factory ammo.

Went to the range with my new Tikka T3 and tried loading a round to find she don't fit. D'oh. It seems to get all the way into the chamber but I can't turn the bolt down. I got one in but it was quite tight, a handful of others I tried were obviously not going in so I didn't force them. The empty is a little tight but nothing like the live rounds.

A couple of the dimensions around the neck and the bullet are slightly larger than Federal stuff that fits without problem, but still in spec according to the drawing. The Highland bullet is 7.820mm at the base, compared to 7.760mm on the Federal. Highland overall length is 68.770mm, Federal 68.490mm.

What's going on here boys and girls?

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Whats going on is Highland ammo quality control, I had the same problem but returned it to the retailer no problems - I only run coreloks or federal now

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Originally Posted by brodster

Good point. A helpful guy at the range gave me a few Barnaul rounds which cycled fine (cheap doesn't necessarily equal bad), so at least I have a cheap and a mid-range option which is all I really need... I've had enough after ten shots at the range anyway!

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I use Federal in my T3. All good so far. I note your comment re enough after 10 shots - go for a suppressor on it! The difference is unbelievable - Gunworks did mine - really happy with it.

Hmmm. Do you shoot a lot at the range? I mainly bought it for deer hunting but I'm starting to like target practice.

How do you find the suppressor affects accuracy? What does it cost to add?

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Originally Posted by Bonecrusher

Whats going on is Highland ammo quality control, I had the same problem but returned it to the retailer no problems - I only run coreloks or federal now

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Indeed... or lack of it. You'd think poor old war-torn Serbia would know a thing or two about producing munitions.

The T3 chamber must also be tighter than spec for it to become a problem.

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Originally Posted by Clint Ruin

Dont know that many shops would be happy about loading a rifle instore to test fit.

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You could take the bolt apart so there is no firing pin in it. I do this quite a bit with a Sako of mine when deciding if my cases need to have the shoulder bumped back.

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Originally Posted by brodster

Hmmm. Do you shoot a lot at the range? I mainly bought it for deer hunting but I'm starting to like target practice.

How do you find the suppressor affects accuracy? What does it cost to add?

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I do no range shooting - all field hunting. sheets of card board or tins with some water in are are sophisticated as it gets when sighting/checking.

gunworks suppressor fiitted and barrel shortened (by about 2") cost $480 door to door - check out their website. Overall length only slightly increased. Ask for the suppressor back to 5mm of your stock. no need to alter stock. gunworks service was excellent. sorted my trigger at same time.

Balance on my weapon has not changed significantly (Mine's laminated stock version) - it carries the same, and when bush-bashing, is no more of a hassle than any other rifle.

accuracy not affected - in fact I was inclined to flinch occasionally - I don't even think about it now. so my accuracy has actualy improved.

the big thing after recoil reduction is the noise reduction - I took a shot in a forest recently - and the remaining animals were still standing looking at me after the shot! I know we're off-topic there from original thread - but admit I'm a passionate convertee to suppressed weapons.

spend the $ and find an ammo that suits you, your weapon and the game, and stick with it. One shot - it's all you've got for that trophy animal.

Had a few Federal Power*Shok 6.5x55 that were hard to close the bolt on. Most were ok.
Put the vernier on each one left in 2pkt and they all varied in the OAL :wtfsmilie:

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Originally Posted by SiB

... I know we're off-topic there from original thread - but admit I'm a passionate convertee to suppressed weapons.

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Not at all -- all good tips thanks.

Hi, for reloaded ammo the usual place the dimensions get too big is at the shoulder. This can happen if it's fired in a gun with a long chamber then not full length sized back into SAAMI spec. I had this happen when I didn't realise I had to wind the die down to contact and after 3 or 4 firings they were starting to get a little bit squeezy. This shoulder headspace dimension can be measured using a .400" dia collar on the shoulder and it should be no more than 1.634". This is dimension B on the case drawing.

Less commonly, after many firings the case can grow in length and need trimming. This typically takes 5 - 10 firings to reach SAAMI max (2.015") if you start from min (1.995").

Rarely, the base diameter can blow out > .4703" but this means it has had been permanently damaged by too much pressure and needs to be thrown away.

If you post a picture of the ammo, someone here will be able to spot whether it has been reloaded.

It seems unlikely that any factory ammo or even fairly new reloaded ammo would be made so far out of spec it doesn't fit a factory chamber. Have a careful look at your gun. Is there a bit of dirt in the chamber or some gunk in the bolt recess where you can't see it ? Is the extractor sticky or pushing on the case somehow ?

Thanks for the info Bagheera. I've attached some photos of a typical unit but they all look very similar. I thought the small scuff marks and so on might indicate reloading, but the Federal and other name-brand stuff I've bought new from a store also looks like it was made in a tractor factory.

The chamber and bolt don't appear to have any obstructions.

Cheers

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Sure is.