Reloading For the Sako .243 Win

[delta419]

I recently purchased about 300 onced fired brass for my Sako .243. My intent was to start the planning for a praire dog hunt next spring where 100s if not 1000s of rounds are fired in a 3 day hunt. I went and reloaded about 200 rounds and decided to check if they chambered OK. NOT! None of them fit. I have run about 100 thru the dies again, still they do not fit. All are OK as far as case length goes. I bought a new set of dies and still they do not fit. One of the guys on another forum suggested that Sako rifles do not like 1x fire formed brass. Have any of you guys had a semilar experience. I have ordered some new Remington brass from Midway. The spent brass was mostly Winchester.

 

[misako50]

Winchester has always worked well for me. I throw away the RP stuff (give it away). You are possibly doing something wrong with the dies. This has happened to me also but die adjusment has always been the answer. Sako chambers are usually very tight so full length resizing may be the only solution. Good luck, Misako

 

[5280sakonut]

delta: The advertised once fired brass may or may not have been fired only once depending on the source. Also, if they were fired at high pressures then one or more dimesions could be out of spec. It can work but you need to be careful. Full length sizing is always a good idea and check your length also. The chamber on my Sako 243 is very tight so everything needs to be just so but of course this also leads to good accuracy. Let us know how the Remington brass works out. I have had good experiences with the European manufactured brass for my Sakos including Lapua and Norma.

 

[chrisandpip]

If your die has been fiddled with, the decapping pin may be preventing your case from fully entering the die.
1) Remove the decapping pin and expander button from your die. (the threaded bit in the centre)
2) Put the die into the press, with the ram up, tighten it 1/4 - 1/2 a turn the shell holder should clearly bottom out on the bottom of the die at or near the end of a full stroke.
3) Resize a case - choose one without a primer. - Now try and chamber it - my bet is it will now work.
The neck of this case will have a smaller than normal diameter, so you won't be able to use it for reloading yet.
4) Reinsert the decapping pin, and adjust it so that the tip just protrudes through the primer pocket (enough to eject a spent primer only)
5) Run any cases you used in step three back through the assembled die.

 

[delta419]

I went thru all of the loaded cases yesterday and about 75% would not chamber. I will take your advice and disassemble the die and try that. I also got out a bunch of old reloads and chambered them and they worked 100%. Interesting that on examination of the misfit cases there seems to be a thin ring line just above the case head at about 1/16". I think that these 1x fired cases were fire formed in a rifle that was out of specs. But should not the die correct this problem? Will try your suggestion and let you know how it works out. Thank you guys for the help. This has been a puzzel to me!

 

[stonecreek]

Dies, chambers, and cases all have dimensional tolerances and sometimes those tolerances, if near maximum with one and minimum with another, may result in difficult chambering. Assuming that you have "full length resized" your acquired once-fired cases by running them into the die until the shell holder bumps hard against it, then you need to make some additional modification in order to use the cases. I have a set of "famous maker" .243 dies that will not resize the cases sufficiently for my chamber (this on a Remington). The easiest solution (other than outlay for a new set of dies of a different make) is to grind a few one-thousandths off of the face of your shell holder, thus allowing the case to enter the die further and therefore bump the shoulder back or otherwise size it smaller. The same thing can be accomplished by grinding a little off of the bottom of the sizine die, but since the shell holder is a less expensive item most people would rather do their jerry-rigging on it.

Of course, the problem could be that the cases were fired at relatively high pressure in a chamber which was significantly oversized, meaning that your dimensional incompatibility is near the head of the case rather than at the shoulder where it headspaces. If this is the circumstance, then you are probably better off discarding the offending cases than attempting to size them back into specifications. Several die makers offer a special "small base" die to accomplish this, but it is likey more trouble and expense than it is worth. If you will smoke the tight fitting case at both shoulder and base by holding it above a candle flame, you can determine where the tight fit is by inserting the smoked case into the chamber then seeing where the rub marks occur.

BTW: Your .243 Sako should make an excellent long-range prairie dog gun -- just be sure to give it a rest between shot strings. A .243 barrel can heat up pretty fast and you can significantly curtail its life if it is fired excessivly rapidly without allowing it to cool a bit. Be sure to carry along a .22 centerfire for the shots offered at more modest ranges and trade off the guns between shot strings if that option is available to you. There's very little that can compare to hunting an active prairie dog town for satisfying your lust for shooting at numerous and challenging targets.

 

[chrisandpip]

You need to be careful with these cases. A shiny ring forward of the web in cases that won't chamber suggests they may have been fired in a rifle with excessive headspace, and are threatening a case head separation. Use a bent paperclip to circumferentially scratch the inside of the cases around the ring. If you feel a step - throw the case out after crimping the neck closed so an opportunist can't use it either.

See if you can post a photo, as a normal case will also appear to display a 'ring' at the web where bolt meets chamber - this represents normal expansion within a rifle's chamber.

 

[delta419]

I disassembled the die and took out the decapper pin and went thru a batch. I ran them thru several times both with the decapped die and the pinned die. They now chamber but are a tight fit. Some I discarded. I will also try the paperclip tip and see if any are ridged. Don't need a seperated case head that pulls off. Once had that happen in an 08 Luger, not fun.

On another note, I am also reloading for a Tikki 25-06 for this hunt. It has a Piccard 2x12 scope with 56mm bell and German twist off mounts and rings that is a tack driver. My short range gun is a Colt Trooper III with 8" barrel in 22mag. I hope this covers all bases. Also thinking about taking a little 25-20 Win SRC as a backup gun for fun plinking. Will be driving up so don't have to bother with airports.This is my first "dog" hunt and the more I plan for it the more exciting it seems.

 

[paulsonconstruction]

delta419: I would recommend you dump those cases and get some new unfired brass to start your load development. As chrisandpip said you could have a very real & very dangerous situation with a case head separation. Unless you are doing something wrong in your sizing procedures, having trouble with once fired cases (by somebody else) is a WARNING sign. The risk of injury to you or others is not worth the few dollars you would lose. After you get back from your PD shoot, I have a feeling you will be in the market for a 22 heavy barrel centerfire for your next trip. The recoil from a 25-06 & 243 are going to wear you out. Plus you won't be able to see bullet impact & adjust your next shot.
Just getting a case stuck is not the only problem you may have if you get a separation. High pressure gases will blow out the action along with tiny shards of brass that can potentially injure or blind you.
Good Luck!

 

[stonecreek]

delta419: After you get back from your PD shoot, I have a feeling you will be in the market for a 22 heavy barrel centerfire for your next trip. The recoil from a 25

AMEN! I like shooting a heavy 6mm or .25 for very long range shots on PD's, but for the bulk of shooting a .223 or similar is the ticket.

Just getting a case stuck is not the only problem you may have if you get a separation. High pressure gases will blow out the action along with tiny shards of brass that can potentially injure or blind you.

Also, a head separation will usually blow the extractor off of a Sako's bolt head (don't ask me how I know.) If you are lucky, it can be located and reattached (shoulda bought a lottery ticket that day!)

 

[almargheim]

Delta419:
I shoot a Sako .243 at prairie dogs and have experienced first hand the fatigue that comes from shooting a lot of .243 rounds in a short period of time.
Something else you can do that will make shooting your .243 at prairie dogs more fun is wear a PAST recoil pad. A PAST pad is also very helpful when testing loads from a bench. In both situations it's all too easy to develop a flinch from the repeated recoil.
Happy hunting.
Al

 

[roninflag]

for my 243 i use lapua brass and either I4064 or varget . 37.5 grains and an 85 sierra bthp