Gentlemen, I apologize for the long absence. I just got the mauser back from the shop. Mr. Brunner said that he just polished the chamber a little, but working the bolt on an empty chamber is incredibly smoother now too. The bolt also closes on Norma factory ammo now without the effort it took before. Fired cases are smooth at the case neck tip now. I left the old fired brass with him so I don't have anything to compare the length with. I suspect that the slight stiffness I felt in closing the bolt before putting it in the shop may have been tight headspace. If it was tight enough, would that have caused the brass to appear to flow into the barrel?

Thanks to all for your help and suggestions on reloading. I will be loading for this one, just so I can afford to shoot it more often.