7MM-HT Advice

[G. McAlister]

Hey all, I have a Howa Alpine Mtn. Rifle in 7MM-08 that has a very tight chamber resulting in flat primers and hard pulls when I cycle the bolt with factory ammo. I also handload and when I make loads for it I have to load lower powder charges and can’t make a cartridge longer that 2.795. Has anyone else had this type of issue or can any of you armchair (or real) gunsmiths offer some advice?

 

[T Bone]

Check and see if your lands are in contact with bullet when chambered.

You can color the bullet with a black Sharpie or candle smoke to aid in seeing the marks.

 

[blueridge]

Nosler by chance??

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Hey all, I have a Howa Alpine Mtn. Rifle in 7MM-08 that has a very tight chamber resulting in flat primers and hard pulls when I cycle the bolt with factory ammo. I also handload and when I make loads for it I have to load lower powder charges and can’t make a cartridge longer that 2.795. Has anyone else had this type of issue or can any of you armchair (or real) gunsmiths offer some advice?

Had similar issues hand loading myself. I never could figure it out, nor could a smith.

Good luck

 

[Dougfirtree]

All I can say is that if I were getting tight bolt lifts/pulls from several different brands of factory loads, I'd start by going back to Howa and then if they couldn't help me, I'd be talking to a very good gunsmith. That's not a problem I would tolerate (unless you're totally happy with your reduced handloads).

 

[mtmuley]

Howa down the road. mtmuley

 

[44hunter45]

All I can say is that if I were getting tight bolt lifts/pulls from several different brands of factory loads, I'd start by going back to Howa and then if they couldn't help me, I'd be talking to a very good gunsmith. That's not a problem I would tolerate (unless you're totally happy with your reduced handloads).

+1

Years ago a buddy brought me his Kleinguenther/Voere 7mm RM rifle to make up loads. The Kleinguenther (later just KDF) rifle action looks a lot like a Browning A-Bolt. It has three lugs equally spaced around the bolt head.
It is a quality action. I was never able to get above 1/2 way up the load range in my manuals with anything heavier than 145 grain bullets. He sent it back and they re-reamed it for him.

If you have early contact with the lands, you still have a problem even with reduced loads. There is nothing so frustrating as ejecting a loaded round and having powder dump all in the action because the bullet is still lodged in the lands. That Boresnake isn't going to fix it. In the field you are done for the day if this happens.

This could be a short throat, narrow necked chamber, excessive headspace, etc. Time to talk to customer service.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I get some pretty snug fits in my Remington 700s using fire formed brass, but I've never seen that with factory ammo. My limited gunsmithing knowledge is not coming up with any specifics, but this does sound like a problem.

 

[G. McAlister]

Check and see if your lands are in contact with bullet when chambered.

You can color the bullet with a black Sharpie or candle smoke to aid in seeing the marks.

T Bone, I have a COL gauge and the lands should not be in contact with the bullet based on my measurements.

 

[G. McAlister]

Nosler by chance??

Yes, 140 gr E-Tips. Handloads use Nosler brass but I hand check oal for each one.

 

[G. McAlister]

All, thanks for your answers which point out it could be a variety of issues. I wanted to provide a little more information to see if that may help narrow down what the issue may be.
I went back and took a few measurements to ensure bullets were not touching the lands. I substituted a 140 gr. Accubond for the 140 gr. E-tip.

Current Handload: 140 gr. TTSX 41 gr. Varget C.O.A.L 2.795” C.O.L: 2.886”

Nosler Factory Ammo: 140 gr E-Tip, Powder unknown, C.O.A.L 2.756” C.O.L: 2.89

@Dougfirtree I have only shot handloads through it until trying the E-Tips, I will check and see if this applies to any other factory loads I have laying around. When I mentioned reduced loads,I should have clarified, it’s still a 99% charge based on Barnes data, just can’t get to 100%.

Follow up question: could the jump to the lands be too long? I am more concerned with the right action as after looking at the E-Tip cases again, the primers were not as flat as I had thought.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

My Alpine 7mm-08 had a pretty tight chamber. It wasn't uncommon for me to feel a heavy bolt lift 1 grain before max published loads. Since I was only using it for whitetails back east, I was never that worried about maxing out the loads, so it didn't bother me. But I think your issue is fairly common.

 

[G. McAlister]

Howa down the road. mtmuley

There is a part of me that would love to do that, but the stubborn majority says no, fully test it and see if we can fix it.