Hi guys,

I have a carbine with a rifle barrel cut down. Some of you helped me identify what I had. Thanks

I am now trying to reload for it. The problem I feel is the shoulder. I have some reloads for this carbine from the guy I got it from and they will not load. I have a factory round that loads just fine. I resized some old (60s- 70s ) brass both Win and Rem (not sure what rifle they were shot from). Casing length in spec, but the bolt will not close. the start of the shoulder should be .500s, these are 700s. I have RCBS FL dies, so I am not sure what the deal is?
Do I need to aneal the brass to get the shoulder moved back?

I am also going to cast the chamber for GP.

Thanks
Martin

There is both I first noticed this when I went to test the fit some 220 grain rounds that my friend  reloaded. I then went on to try a used casing and it didn't fit. I've then resized and made sure that the length of the casing was alright and it still doesn't fit with the shoulder. I put sharpie around the shoulder and was able to see that it was rubbing right at the beginning of the shoulder. Since the die was not fully forming the cartridge, I pulled the stem so I can fully seat into it without any obstruction. The start of the shoulder was still the same.

There was 20 rounds that came with the carbine. He reload them long ago it's a family friend. I don't think he ever got a chance to shoot the carbine unless it was factory rounds. Factory rounds will load in the carbine.

The other empty casings that I have we're given to me from a friend that's passed away. I am not sure what they were shot in, but I think it had a loose chamber.

The dies have are full length dies. I have resize the casings but they still do not chamber. These are without bullets that I am trying to chamber. Bolt moves down 1/4" for lock up and then stops.

Sounds like you might have something in your chamber.  Or you might have some cases that were shot in a 30-40 improved chamber.  Let me see if I got it straight.  Factory rounds will chamber, sized down cases will not.  If they won't go, they have to be bigger than they're supposed to be.  But unless the die is cut long, or you're not running them all the way into the die, full length sizing should take of it.  If the cases are already bigger than they should be, they may have been fired in a 30-40 improved chamber.  Even if so, full length sizing should fix it, but it would require a bit more force than usual, and perhaps some sizing die wax.  This is a hard one without some hands on checking of things!  Pic of a case that will chamber beside one that won't may be of help.

I have ran into a few rifles that were tightly chambered.  Not done by the Armory, but by someone else over the years.  Rental of a chamber reamer will fix that.  One that was short I could chamber a round, but it was pushing the shoulder back on an already full length sized case.  My reamer took care of that and it's now the same length as the rest of my rifles.  Oh, and make sure your FL die is not marked 30-40AI, the AI standing for Ackley Improved.

If the factory rounds chamber and you are confident that everything is safe (remove bolt and look through the chamber), try firing a single round (or maybe 2 or 3) and compare the cases.  There were many who "improved" the Krag case over the years, not just Ackley.

Look carefully at the markings on your FL die.  Might it be a Neck Sizing die?  Make sure you have the right shell holder.  Make some careful measurements of the fired & resized cases.

If you are like me and have one of those ancient presses (Pacific or Herters) that Mr. Hosmer described, RCBS sells an adapter or replacement kit ($12.50, IIRC) that brings it up to date, +/-.

I think I found the problem. Someone mentioned the shell holder. I will have to figure out which one I have as it is not marked. I need a #7.

I will try that and report back.

Well crap. I have the #5 Hornady.

Yes the#7 is RCBS. The RCBS dies don't Say anything about improved. I wouldn't doubt that the casing were shop in an improved or sloppy chamber.

I will get pictures Wed.

This is shapin' up to be a real By-God Mystery!

Did you purchase the die new or receive it from someone... and if you did receive it from someone, is it possible that someone modified the die to move the shoulder location?  Perhaps ordering a new die set from LEE (should run about $36 for the Pacesetter set at Midway) would provide the answer.  LEE is about the easiest on the ole wallet... and IMHO just as good as anything else!