Stiff bolt close on Stevens 200...

[salukijoe]

I have a new Stevens 200 .223.  I have only shot 25 rounds out of it using Black Hills 68 gr. MHP ammo.  It feels like the ammo is too long...the bolt doesn't lock down smoothly/easily like it does with my other rifles, it requires a heavier than usual push to get the round into the chamber.  Is there something wrong or something I need to have checked out?  Accuracy was only so-so, 1.25" MOA.  I was disappointed after having read so many bug-hole accuracy posts with the 200.  Also, the bore feels "rough" when pushing a patch through it.  Is this normal for the 200?

Thanks.

[MGMorden]

IIRC, Black Hills ammo is reloaded.  They may not have properly trimmed the cartridges before seating the bullet.  That would cause some compression when closing the bolt.

Try a different brand of ammo (something pretty plain like Winchester or such) and see if it does any differently.

[rickyp]

go out and get some factory 223 (not 5.56) and try it.
my savage is the same way with some 308 brass. I have to use a small base die to make sure it fits well

[mountainview]

I agree w/ MG. Try measuring the blue box Black Hill Ammo cartridge lengths and see how much variation there is shell-shell length and if any of the brass is out of spec on OAL, there likely are several. Also as noted above, you'll want to try some different brands of ammo, not all ammo gives the same accuracy in all guns. Even the accuracy guarantees offered by various gun mfgs invariably carry the caveat "with a specific brand of ammo". Also look at SP rather than FMJ ammo.

[salukijoe]

Thanks guys.  I will try what you suggest.

SJ

[salukijoe]

I measured several rounds and the C.O.L. average is 2.221".  I pulled several bullets to measure brass length.  The average was 1.766".  I;m not setup to reload .223's but I have a couple of manuals and they say the maximum brass C.O.L. is 1.760".  Would/could this be the problem?