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Do you reload?

MrGroundhog

By MrGroundhog,
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Daveboone
Daveboone

I have been reloading for about 40 years, about 12 diff. calibers. My opinion is the most important piece of equipment is a current reloading manual (my preference is Speer), which will explain a lo

Culvercreek hunt club
Culvercreek hunt club

but you haven't shot it?   Take it for what it is worth. I wouldn't recommend loading a bunch of any one load until you see if your gun even likes it.

Culvercreek hunt club
Culvercreek hunt club

Understood. But for a beginner the load data in a manual is an important piece but the explanation of the process and theory is the key

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Culvercreek hunt club

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shawnhu, on 01 Mar 2016 - 1:17 PM, said:

Flattened primer, crater, and hard bolt lift.

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Weird. Maybe wildcat can chime in. I would have never expected to see that in a mid range load. Are the primers going in with very little effort with that brass?

Edited by Culvercreek hunt club
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airedale Grand Master

airedale

Posted
Posted (edited)

Also if the necks are stretching and they are being trimmed several times the neck's thickness will sometimes increase to the point of causing higher pressure. In that case you should turn the outside of the neck down.

 

Al

Edited by airedale
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chas0218 Newbie

chas0218

Posted
Posted

Flattened primer, crater, and hard bolt lift.

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That is strange, I have seen flattened primers and crater because of loose primer pockets but never the hard bolt lift. I did load up .243 with about 5 grains more powder. Not sure how i did it but it made operating the bolt a little stiff. I think when I was re-loading with my son he knocked it and I didn't notice. I noticed at the range, never had a .243 kick that hard or whistle one that fast out of that .243.

 

Personally I would FL size for that gun if new or range pickups. But once fired in it I would just neck size. How much growth are you seeing in your case lengths? You trimming? 

I can usually get 2 reloads before needing to trim on once fired (fired 3 times Full length sized 3 times). I haven't loaded any new brass in a while. I'll have to check my logs to see if I get any more reloads out of new brass.

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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

Posted
Posted (edited)

Weird. Maybe wildcat can chime in. I would have never expected to see that in a mid range load. Are the primers going in with very little effort with that brass?

Internal case volume can have a significant affect on chamber pressure as can the chamber being over/undersized as well as loose/tight spec bore. I never work up loads W/O a chronograph. Book loads are only safe in the particular rifle with the particular components used. 

 

A "fast" barrel means a high pressure combo. There is no free lunch. I start 10% under max & shot 3 rounds over the chronogfraph increasing by 1 gr increments until I get near listed max Mv. Then I fine tune W/5 round volleys looking for the best standard deviation.

 

I like 100% load density or lightly compressed loads. They normally are the most consistent.I also set my bullet seating die to have the ogive of the  bullet @ .015" or less from the lands in the throat.

 

I often have the load development done before I go to the range & put the load on paper.

 

The target below was the 1st group I shot W/my 8x57 using 200gr Nosler Partitions after working up a max Mv low standard deviation combo W/compressed loads.

VZ500ObendorfMauser013.jpg

 

 

Right before that group I shot 3 rounds of 180gr Ballistic tips at the target. The gun does well W/180gr bullets, but it loves 200gr pills better. Again, this was the 1st 3-shot group on paper for that combo.

VZ500ObendorfMauser014.jpg

 

Hard bolt lift is usually due to the brass of the case head flowing into the ejector slot/hole. If you look closely at the case head after a hard bolt lift you can see a shiny spot were the brass is wiped as the bolt turned shearing off the brass that was extruded into the ejector slot/hole. That is time to back off considerably. Flattened primers can be a sign of excessive pressure or it can be a sign of excessive head space or excessive re-sizing of the cases. Hard bolt lift is a sure sign.

 

I no longer use "book" data.. I use QUICKLOAD to find the most efficient loads W/the best load density between 100 & 107% at a given pressure ceiling.I input the (fired) case capacity in grains of H2O, the bullet, COAL & barrel length. Using a fired case for capacity takes the chamber of the particular rifle into account. I have found that Remington chambers are larger than Savage chambers & the Savage will reach the same Mv W/perhaps 3gr less powder than the Remington.

 

 As W/"book data" I watch Mv & pressure signs stopping when I reach maximum Mv predicted regardless of charge volume or when pressure signs appear..

Edited by wildcat junkie
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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

Posted
Posted

I found some nickle plated 7mm-08 cases that had the brass wiped when the bolt sheared off the metal that extruded into the ejector hole from over pressure. (M700)

 

It's easier to spot on the nickle case head as the nickle is gone & brass is showing. These weren't extremely hard bolt lifts BTW. I've heard of guys having to hammer the bolt handle with a wood or rubber mallet to get it to open.

 

When Wifey gets home I'll ask her what she did W/the camera & I'll try to post some good close-ups.

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shawnhu Newbie

shawnhu

Posted
Posted

I found some nickle plated 7mm-08 cases that had the brass wiped when the bolt sheared off the metal that extruded into the ejector hole from over pressure. (M700)

It's easier to spot on the nickle case head as the nickle is gone & brass is showing. These weren't extremely hard bolt lifts BTW. I've heard of guys having to hammer the bolt handle with a wood or rubber mallet to get it to open.

When Wifey gets home I'll ask her what she did W/the camera & I'll try to post some good close-ups.

My bolt lifts never get to that point, but it was the most I've had since started reloading.

No indication of any marks from ejector hole on head stamp. Just stretched brass. It won't chamber smoothly without bumping the shoulder back. I believe it's just a softer, thicker brass.

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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

Posted
Posted

My bolt lifts never get to that point, but it was the most I've had since started reloading.

No indication of any marks from ejector hole on head stamp. Just stretched brass. It won't chamber smoothly without bumping the shoulder back. I believe it's just a softer, thicker brass.

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I think I would be finding some better brass if I were you.

 

For American brass I always liked Federal.

 

I have about 60 Federal once fired 243. (I never got around to getting dies before I sold the M700 turd that I had)

 

A small flat rate box is $6.80. If I can get them in a small flat rate box I'll sell them for $25 shipped.

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shawnhu Newbie

shawnhu

Posted
Posted

I think I would be finding some better brass if I were you.

For American brass I always liked Federal.

I have about 60 Federal once fired 243. (I never got around to getting dies before I sold the M700 turd that I had)

A small flat rate box is $6.80. If I can get them in a small flat rate box I'll sell them for $25 shipped.

I have a bunch of federal brass as well, just haven't really used them for loading yet. When I do, I'll let you know how they do and if I need more.

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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

Posted
Posted

My bolt lifts never get to that point, but it was the most I've had since started reloading.

No indication of any marks from ejector hole on head stamp. Just stretched brass. It won't chamber smoothly without bumping the shoulder back. I believe it's just a softer, thicker brass.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

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What is the case neck diameter of your loaded rounds?

 

It is possible that the cases are too thick at the necks. That can raise pressure and might lead to stretching the brass. 

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shawnhu Newbie

shawnhu

Posted
Posted

These are the results from my first batch of handloads. I used IMR 4064 under a 150 grain fmj bullet. The loads were 43,44,45,46, and 47 grains with 47 being the winner.

attachicon.gif20160305_182603.jpgattachicon.gif20160305_182550.jpgattachicon.gif20160305_182538.jpgattachicon.gif20160305_182523.jpgattachicon.gif20160305_182503.jpg

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Cool. What do you plan on doing with the other 17 cartridges loaded in 46gr? Any signs of pressure on the cases for the 47gr? How many shots in that last target? Now the hard part is to repeat that recipe and go test it out again.

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Borngeechee Rookie

Borngeechee

Posted
Posted (edited)

Cool. What do you plan on doing with the other 17 cartridges loaded in 46gr? Any signs of pressure on the cases for the 47gr? How many shots in that last target? Now the hard part is to repeat that recipe and go test it out again.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

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4209d00ac598201271627e7fc42d2a91.jpgc26b49f68fe01c7611afb4e15c521f29.jpg404e016899ccd708da23c0d87c4956ea.jpgd5ddfffe7155da11641814b6f48c1c28.jpg

The cases look fine to me. I don't see any bulging or deformation in them and the primer strike looks good to me. The other 17 from the 46 grain batch I shot just because it was fun but that's the last time I'll be making 20 round batches to test. Thanks for the 3 round method. They were all 3 shot groups.

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Edited by Borngeechee
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