Fired 243 WSSM cases difficult to eject

[gmg]

I went to the range the other day to work with my 243 WSSM. after firing factory ballistic silvertips, the bolt was very hard to raise to eject fired case (nickel cased). the no-frills factory rounds with brass cases were tight but ejected easier. can anyone please tell me what is going on and what i should do? thanks in advance

[kamikaze1a]

How did the primers look after firing? Any high pressure signs? Are they the first rounds fired through that rifle?

Difficulty extracting one of the signs for excessive pressure but might not mean that is the case. And just because it's store bought ammo does not mean it will work with every rifle created...just should be safe in most.

[kmitchl]

How many rounds through the gun? Any previous problems. I've seen a few chambers that were belled on the barrel end that would not extract but this problem is evident from the start.

[gmg]

The gun is not new. Winchester ballistic tips were pretty hard for the bolt to raise and the standard ammo was better but was still a little hard. The primers do look a little flat but I'm not a good one to be saying they are definitely flat from over pressure. May need to find someone that knows for sure to look at it.

[kamikaze1a]

Flattened primers usually a good indication but not definitive. Hard extraction another indicator. Commercial ammo USUALLY works in most guns safely but again usually. Other indicators are ejector marks on the headstamp area and sometimes cratering of primer if not present with lower pressure rounds...

There is a process where you would measure the brass expansion before and after near the head. You can find the explanation by searching for "excessive pressure ken waters".

Have you chrono'd that ammo? Velocity near the upper range would tell me that the ammo is hot...

[gmg]

i have not chrono'd the ammo. I cleaned chamber as best i could but have not refired it.