Tim, I think you are absolutely spot on!! I do roll my own and that's all I will be shooting through this rifle.So, I agree, not a big deal. This has been my thought process through the whole deal, but kind of anal about wanting to know exactly what the cause is...just so I know. But I think you are right on!!
Spot, grew up in Lake Mills. I think what you describe is the very same thing going on here. I would suspect Federal is squeezing them a bit, especially in this bulk stuff, for all the gas guns, as Tim stated. I would bet my chamber is just a fuzz big, but within spec. Most of the Fed shoots, but you get that couple that won't. The two other brands tested and my reloads, all performed flawlessly. I'll continue to dink around, grab a head space gauge, but not going to lose sleep I guess. This was just a project gun I got into for cheap!! Thanks guys, you are top notch!!! JH