Pietta Smith Problems

[oscarlovel]

I picked up a very nice Pietta Smith back around Xmas in pretty good shape. However, this is the second one of these that I've had that appears to be short chambered. My brass cartridge cases will not work, as the carbine action will not close on them. The carbine will close on the black plastic cases, but you have to snap the action forcefully or else the top spring will not fully seat. The Yore rubber cases will work ok. It appears that the both the black and Yore have enough give that they will compress. The brass cases are actually shorter than either of the others. Has anyone else encountered this. If so, how did you resolve this. Any suggestions?

[Joe]

Check your PM's

JS 3rdNC CAV

[jonk]

Could be a lot of things, from a short chamber to a short throat to a tight chamber. Had the brass cases been fireformed in another chamber already? If so that's what I'd bet is the issue.

Easy to check, just measure the depth of the chamber, it's diameter, and compare to your cases.

My Pietta is fine, but I have seen other guys out there with pliers and such.

[Lou Lou Lou]

Take a file to one of the metal case mouths. 1 or 2 swipes might correct it

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

There are multiple things that could be going wrong. It could be the OAL of the case, or it could be the diameter of the reduced portion of the case. To give an example my smith cases are .657 in diameter and the diameter of the reduced portion is .557, if it is any larger the case jams and the firearm will not close. The length of the reduced portion of the case also matters. So the fact that the cases do not fit could be one of these three reasons.

Then sometimes if the case does fit, once you fire it, the gun will not open, and if that happens the OAL is the culprit.

[oscarlovel]

So I decided to sacrifice a couple of brass cases. First case I filed across the mouth of the case until the carbine closed. Took about 0.012" off. Closed great, but after seating a bullet and trying to close, it quickly became apparent that the bullet was being forced into the lands and grooves. Had to knock out the bullet with a cleaning road. Tried then removing material from the rear of the cartridge with same results. My conclusion is I have a short chamber.

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

Do you have anything you can measure chamber length with?

[oscarlovel]

I have dial calipers, FWIW.

[marv762]

measure all your cases and see how close they match up. then bring the longest one with the bullet you are going to use to Nationals. you need to talk to Hoyt or someone else that can re cut your chamber to the depth you need. it will save you a lot of effort trying to file down anything else. Marv