DPMS Oracle 308 rifle

Striper69 · Jul 12, 2017

I bought one yesterday.

I took it to the range today to see how it shoots. I loaded a hand-load that has shot well in my bolt action rifle into the gun. Squeezed the trigger...

nothing.

Tried to pull back the charging handle and the latch unlocks but it only move about an inch and stops.

I'm taking it to a gunsmith tomorrow. The warranty is probably void since I used a hand- load.

Any thoughts about what happened?

Striper69 · Jul 12, 2017

I'm now thinking that the round did not go into the chamber completely. I'm going to tap on the forward assist tomorrow morning to see if I can move the bolt forward enough to eject the round.

Brikhaus · Jul 12, 2017

Was/is the bolt and chamber area dry?

Striper69 · Jul 13, 2017

Brikhaus said:
Was/is the bolt and chamber area dry?

That might have been part of the problem. I also think that it was because I used some of those recycled military cases that they sell cheap and didn't resize them. The label says that they're resized... :rolleyes:

.

The round came out after I tapped on the charging handle.

Striper69 · Jul 14, 2017

Some of the rounds I reloaded also got stuck today. I'm now thinking that the sizing die I bought isn't squeezing the cases narrow enough. I bought a box of factory ammo and that stuff works fine. I also had problems closing the bolt on my bolt action rifle and was using reloads with that gun too.

I'm returning the die set tomorrow and getting a different set.

byf43 · Jul 14, 2017

Striper69 said:
Some of the rounds I reloaded also got stuck today. I'm now thinking that the sizing die I bought isn't squeezing the cases narrow enough. I bought a box of factory ammo and that stuff works fine. I also had problems closing the bolt on my bolt action rifle and was using reloads with that gun too.

I'm returning the die set tomorrow and getting a different set.

For ALL of my semi-auto rifles, I use RCBS "Competition Dies".
I've NEVER had a problem with a round NOT going "bang"!

Now, keep in mind........... when I bought these die sets, they were only like $40.00 a set.

Recently saw a Competition Die Set, that cost an arm + leg. :rolleyes:

Striper69 · Jul 16, 2017

I supect that the die set I bought had a "neck sizing" die in it. I bought a bag of Winchester brass and the gun fed, shot and ejected them without a hitch. I had the new model die set by Lee so I took the newer set back and got an older style set. I sized some old brass with it and with load rounds with that brass tomorrow.

molonlabe · Jul 16, 2017

Striper69 said:
Some of the rounds I reloaded also got stuck today. I'm now thinking that the sizing die I bought isn't squeezing the cases narrow enough. I bought a box of factory ammo and that stuff works fine. I also had problems closing the bolt on my bolt action rifle and was using reloads with that gun too.

I'm returning the die set tomorrow and getting a different set.

I feel your pain. Several things. Not setting the shoulder back completely. Not lubricating the case neck can cause the expander die to deform and pull the shoulder. I SB size all my AR and M1A Ammo now and of course oal and max length. And for an added check I check them in a Wilson die. I have never had a problem since. I like to use RCBS dry case neck lube.
How do I know this. I had to pull 100 rounds of 308 because the bolt would not go back on my M1A I pounded it back. Same with my first .223 in the AR before I discovered the reason.
As for my bolt gun I neck resize. And keep them separate.

After reading your post about the bolt gun I'm sure your not setting the shoulder back far enough. Yo ca reduce the stress and growth on the bolt gun Ammo by neck sizing.

Also avoid overcrimping it too can expand the base of the shoulder. You can mic this but you can probably see it. I understand their are better dies to crimp than RCBS (lee maybe) but I don't know too much about them.

Striper69 · Jul 17, 2017

The ammo that failed to feed on the AR loaded and shot in the bolt action rifle.

I got the different die set and reloaded some more ammo but forgot the ammo when I went to the range today. Duh...

Gotta wait till tomorrow night to test out the new die set.

Striper69 · Jul 18, 2017

The problem seems to have been solved by getting the new die set. I had no FTF or FTEs today out of 25 rounds.

molonlabe · Jul 18, 2017

Striper69 said:
The problem seems to have been solved by getting the new die set. I had no FTF or FTEs today out of 25 rounds.

Thanks for reporting back, I was curious and never expected it to be the die.

Striper69 · Jul 20, 2017

I'm going to load up 50 rounds tomorrow and shoot those tomorrow night. Will report.

sgt23preston · Jul 20, 2017

Striper69 said:
Some of the rounds I reloaded also got stuck today. I'm now thinking that the sizing die I bought isn't squeezing the cases narrow enough. I bought a box of factory ammo and that stuff works fine. I also had problems closing the bolt on my bolt action rifle and was using reloads with that gun too.

I'm returning the die set tomorrow and getting a different set.

#1. Measure the diameter of factory ammo (before you shoot it) & write it down...

#2. Measure the diameter of your re-sized brass & write it down...

The diameters need to be the same = .473 at the end & it tapers to .454 at 1.560 from the end according to Lyman's 49th Edition...

Striper69 · Jul 25, 2017

Looks like the ammo problems with my 308 are a thing of the past. It's firing my handloads with no problems. :bannana:

Striper69 · Jul 26, 2017

I shot 7 rounds today from 50 yards just for the hell of it. I use paper plates with a bulls-eye sticker on them for targets.

The rifle hit the plate every round but I'm using a cheap red dot for now. I just bought a couple of Leupold scopes so I may put one on it just to see how accurate it can be.

Any opinions about this?

Striper69 · Jul 27, 2017

I installed an AR scope mount on the rifle and will put a Nikon scope on it tomorrow but probably won't be able to use it to sight the gun in until next week.

Striper69 · Aug 8, 2017

I shot it with the scope today and started zeroing it in. The gun shot pretty good at 100 yards with the red dot but I want to see how accurate I can get it with a scope.

DPMS Oracle 308 rifle

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