I went to the range yesterday with 6x45 reloads to fire through an AR with a BHW barrel.  I was shooting ladder loadings while working up an accurate hunting load using Varget and 70 grain bullets.



On the upper end of the loading I found the rifle begin to not fire consistently.  When I went to fire, the hammer would drop but nothing would happen.  I noticed that the bolt had not closed all the way.  It was a BEAR to get the charging handle pulled to open the receiver and to eject the load!  I almost needed to hammer the CH open.



I came home with two 6x45 cartridges that I was unable to fire.  A few minutes ago, I took one of those loaded rounds and tried to drop it in the chamber with the BCG removed.  The round lacked about 1/2" of going in all the way on its own.  I then took an empty piece of 6x45 brass and ran it through my RCBS SB sizing/decapping die.  I wiped it dry and it easily dropped into the chamber all the way.  No problem with the sizing die.



I had loaded the 6x45 brass with Varget and 70 grain bullets.  I remember this loading clearly as this was the first compressed load I had ever loaded.  The powder crunched as I seated the bullets, even leaving a noticeable deformation on the bullets from the seating die.  I'm guessing the case bulged as I seated the bullet and compressed the Varget powder.



The difference in case size between the sized brass and the bulged loaded cartridge is negligible (I can't measure it accurately with my caliper) but it is enough to prevent the cartridge from fitting into the chamber!



I will try to avoid compressed loads in the future.  Maybe I should have tried to settle the powder better before I seated the bullets.  I have other loadings that use ball powder so I am going to give them a try.  



Something to think about!



Garland in VA

Slam the butt of the AR and yank the charging handle at the same time. Much easier to eject stuck brass. I doubt you bulged the brass because of a compressed load, but maybe you did. Show us a picture. My guess is a collapsed shoulder. Similar to what an excessive crimp looks like.

Would an issue with the cartridge shoulder result in changing the shape of the cartridge to the point where it wouldn't chamber?  If so, how can I make the fix?  



All I know is I have two rounds that won't fully drop into the chamber like newly-sized, unprimed brass will.  I just put one of the bulged cases in a mag and tried to load them again, as usual.  Stuck again.....your method of opening the action works.  I hope to not have to use it again.



I'm going to load a different recipe later this evening.  I will check to make sure the reloaded rounds chamber easily before I do the whole lot.  

Are you crimping?  Seating and crimping in one step? You might be slightly crushing the shoulder

Measure the case in multiple spots against one that has been resized but not loaded. Brass is tough enough to resist the pressure of the compressed loads, so the powder isn't an issue. You can try a long drop tube for charging, that will compact the powder and may reduce the crunch. I'd bet the shoulder is deformed some how, maybe during seating the case is collapsing a small amount. I have multiple compressed loads, I get a slight ring on the bullet but that is all, anything more and I would look to make sure that the cases were chamferred and deburred, The only case I have collapsed so far was a flat base bullet in a case that I missed chamfering on.

Ah, maybe two cases that didn't get trimmed and there for got excessively crimped.

I am not crimping when I seat the bullets.  This was the first time I had reloaded these once-fired Hornady cases.



I've never had an issue with collapsed or otherwise affected shoulders but I have never reloaded for ARs previously, either.



I don't remember trimming these cases to length but I did deburr and chamfer them inside and out before seating bullets.  

The first clue is he said that he could see deformaty to the bullet after seating it.  You should not have any bullet damage. What happened  is you collapse the case some when seating the bullets. Back off the powder some. Different cases have different capasitys because of the thickness of the brass.
The reloading manuals are just guides. Just because they say XX GRS of ## powder is the max charge doesn't mean that with what you are using it will be the same. It just shows that it was the max for what they where using. this is why you should work up your loads.

There is not enough pressure in a compressed load to cause a case to expand like that.  Something else is wrong as it is not the amount of powder used.

Well, I solved the mystery!  I checked a number of the fired cases that I was able to chamber as well as the two that wouldn't chamber at all.  They cases were way too long.  Guess I got in a hurry and did not trim.  



I have since PROPERLY trimmed, chamfered and deburred the same bunch of cases and they all fit perfectly.  



So, I have relearned to follow the proper case prep regimen, don't reload late at night, and don't be in a hurry!  I got lucky this time...



Hope this lesson helps someone.

FPNI...I've had the same thing in some .223 reloads.

Get a case gauge.  I have one for every caliber I reload for and they are awesome.

All you have to do is drop the case in and it tells you if it needs trimming or if it's good to go.  Plus it tells you if it will fit in the chamber.  Lots of data from one simple tool.

Which type of case gauge are you using?  Something like the Lyman case length/head space gauge?