Problem - 28 Nosler !

[frankm]

Friend just received his newly ordered Fierce CT in 28 Nosler I was recruited, as normal, to help him breakin barrel and find a load.

New Hornady brass he brought me with 180 gr ELDMs and Retumbo. For first shot I used 77 grs of powder which is a starting range per Hodgdon data. Bullet .010 off lands and case was stuck in chamber. I did not chronogragh as trying to get shoot and fire breakin done. With a couple firm pops on bolt it finally released. Next case loaded at 75 grs powder and set OAL deeper to achieve .100 jump. Fired round and not as 'stickly' but still hanging up, extraction S/B easy in my mind at this point. Loaded 2 more at 75 grs and used a different lot of Retumbo; same story.

So, anyone have ideas or experience with this? I m leaning towards soft brass and/or a rough chamber. I did notice a few scratch marks on the brass upon removal from the chamber. I m reluctant to go any lighter on powder charge, thinking of finding a different couple brands of brass to try also. Other suggestions? I will shoot a couple over chronograph but not sure of which steps to try first.

I guess if a couple of these tricks don't solve issue friend will have to decide whether to send gun back to Fierce or risk a local smith polishing chamber and then being stuck as far as manufacturer excuses if problem still persists.

I see why I like my basic guns over these $4000 + customs!!

Thx in advNce for any expertise/experiences.

 

[FOTIS]

Run a chrony, seat to suggested coal and report back

 

[frankm]

Fotis, great minds think alike! Got four loaded rounds and chrony out... will give update.

Hopefully tomorrow. Thx for feedback!

 

[FOTIS]

saweeeeeet

 

[frankm]

Fotis, 2850, 2837 and 2813 fps. All three had the sticky bolt right when hitting the extraction part. A rap with the soft part of my palm got them to release; not right though.

Carefully measured fired brass and necks outside are .319 while inside is .283 ish... bullet won't side into fired case. One went in tight and stuck where you d expect a donut. Thinking these Hornady cases (new) that he got are a little thick and/or the chamber was cut on the tight side of SAAMI. Going to try to get my hands on a different brand of brass.

Weighed a couple of the unfired new cases are 257-260 grs... sure wonder if those are extra heavy??

Ideas or thoughts? One other thing I m thinking of trying is outside turning a couple cases and then trying same load. Never run into having to do that on a factory chamber; my custom tight necks yes but that's expected.

Thx for any ideas/thoughts.

 

[desertcj]

Yes, turn the necks and are the cases still coming out of the chamber scratched? Can you see any burrs or machining marks in the chamber?

 

[frankm]

Desert, I concur, gonna turn a couple and then see what happens. Have access to borescope so mightvwant to look chamber over closely. If issues friend will need to decide if he wants to send back or try his own fix... any fooling with rifle and warranty will most likely be voided!

 

[26NosFan]

How does Factory Nosler ammo act?

 

[Darkhorse]

I'm not a fan of Hornady brass and I've found it to be hard rather than soft. Of course it's likely it's actually all over the map.
I had a box of .300 Win. Mag. factory Superformance 165 gr. I shot 10 of them and the group was all over and way right and high. Compare this to my handloads shot under .5 and the rifle was sighted in.
I decided to load the 10 for comparison. So I started prepping the cases starting with removing the burr from the flash channel. I couldn't cut it out with a regular tool. The burr itself was huge and would surely cause inconsistent ignition. Using an endmill and a couple of other centerdrills I finally got 2 cleaned up and quit.
The brass was so hard I could hardly cut it except with a drill press.
In my .308 I shoot 150 grain Interbonds Superformance and they shoot into an inch. I checked some of those fired cases and found the brass to be much softer and easy to cut. The burr was much smaller and I had no problems cutting out the burr.
I just felt quality control was lacking and the cases would be inconsistent. I strive for consistency in my handloads and didn't feel the Hornady cases would deliver it.

 

[jezzolo]

Do you have any factory loads for it? I have 2 boxes if ya wanna kick me a few bucks for shipping.... 160gr AccuBond btw. Then you could a load a few up after shooting some of the factory rounds to see if it was the brass or not....

 

[FOTIS]

Try factory to eliminate some issues

 

[frankm]

Jessolo, thx for offer. Will keep that in mind. Got some Nosler brass to try and then it's like Fotis said, factory to see if that works.

 

[jezzolo]

What did you find out?

 

[frankm]

Factory Nosler Custom, 175 ABLR, stuck same or slightly worse than Retumbo loads. Friend has been in contact with manufacturer and rifle went back today I believe.

He also talked with Mike S at Nosler technical services and according to Mike they ve been having issues with other Fierce owners and not just in 28 Nosler.

Hopefully this will be made right as that rifle wasn't in-expensive.

Did see scratches on fired brass from just above the web to mid case... that may be the cause of the problem. Not seeing any marks on my rifles fired brass in this area!

 

[FOTIS]

Yup sounds about right. Always test factory loads in them......

 

[jezzolo]

Glad they are taking care of it. Keep us posted on the cause..

 

[Charlie-NY]

"It sounds like" that gun should have never left the factory. Don't they test fire ALL rifles before leaving the factory?

 

[IdahoCTD]

I have a buddy with a Fierce 30 Nosler. Its a inconsistent piece of junk.

 

[frankm]

Had a test target with gun. Supposedly 150 Etip. One cold bore shot and then 3 shot group measuring .575 ish. Didn't specify what weight of sledgehammer was used to open bolt. lol

If in fact that target was fired by a 'tester', he or she s/b dismissed from their job IMO for letting that rifle ship.

Will be interesting to see 'what manufacturer says'

 

[jamierichardson521]

Factory Nosler Custom, 175 ABLR, stuck same or slightly worse than Retumbo loads. Friend has been in contact with manufacturer and rifle went back today I believe.

He also talked with Mike S at Nosler technical services and according to Mike they ve been having issues with other Fierce owners and not just in 28 Nosler.

Hopefully this will be made right as that rifle wasn't in-expensive.

Did see scratches on fired brass from just above the web to mid case... that may be the cause of the problem. Not seeing any marks on my rifles fired brass in this area!

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