MY Reloading Adventure

[Acer-m14]

electroplate some brass back onto the brass

that may seem funny but when i was in the NAVY , the big ass machine shop was under the shop i worked in , i have seen them doing that on the lathes
on steel shafts to build the metal back up to to the tight tolerances where a bearing would go ..

 

[meketrefe]

As a norm one will discard bras with enlarged primer pockets because many times they are enlarged by more than average pressure.
But I would be cautios of fast diagnogsis becsuse pressure related problems normslly show themselves in twos or threes at the time.
There is the possibility that pockets csn be enlarged if the flash holes are too large or no uniform and in any case the rest of the case being ok for more reloads.
Primer pockets can be swagged back to spec and also slightlt larger primers might be used. Not all primers measure precisely the same dismeter across hard or soft primers and match and or military type primers.
So you can cut a case and or meaure wall thickness using a jig for the micrometer or caliper.
I would do both with several cases to see if any deformities if the web are consistent.
Even small variations are ok as soon as the streching is not larger than 3 to 5 thoudands and see indications of incipient head separation.
Hornady brass is good but on the soft side so the pockets might crap out prematurely like federal american eagle. The difference americsn eagle is reused cheap(or free) brass and hornady is not. That is why we scrap cheap brass many times.
Also consider that many brass can be repurposed for lower pressure reloads many times accurate loads or for one last use load given we feel good about the rest of the case not failing.
So investigate a little.
I dont follow much of the books and online prescriptions because I have precise tools that give me pretty accurate measures. That is the only thing I trust.
Measure, measure again and just in case measure once more.
It is hard to give precise advice if we cannot measure and see your caees up close.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Thanks met. I typically dont load for light speed rounds but trying more for consistancy. Some guys will push and push until they see pressure. Advertised max for my 6mm is around 41-42 and I like to stay at 38g. Never even seen any indications of pressure even when I tried 41g.

Starline just got delivered and I'll be spending some time with those. Ran CCI primers when I started now I'm into Federal. Haven't tried the old CCI's yet to see if they're tighter. Dint really want to get into special sized primers. Thanks again.

 

[meketrefe]

Thanks met. I typically dont load for light speed rounds but trying more for consistancy. Some guys will push and push until they see pressure. Advertised max for my 6mm is around 41-42 and I like to stay at 38g. Never even seen any indications of pressure even when I tried 41g.

Starline just got delivered and I'll be spending some time with those. Ran CCI primers when I started now I'm into Federal. Haven't tried the old CCI's yet to see if they're tighter. Dint really want to get into special sized primers. Thanks again.

no problem.
Not light speed but you will see in score competition (close range) most accurate loads (the most accurate match winners) are close to minimum charges with many calibers. Of course there are exceptions.
Again, 2 cases with the same case pressure produce different primer pressure if the the flash holes are different. Larger hole, more pressure on the pocket. It is simple physics.
No need for specialized primers. Even popular primers vary between brands. not by much but some. And CCI hard cup military primers are very good primers for match loads too.
Voodoo pressure comes in twos or threes so along with loose or blown primers you will see extrusions, split necks, cratering, flattening, etc... and you are not having any of that.
So do some research with your tools and might be able to swag and uniform those back to give them a bit more life.
If you need a jig to check walls I will make you one and send it to you in an envelope. no big deal, just let me know.
Or get one of these and grind the base (with some support) until it fits your case mouth...
inexpensive yet accurate enough...

6 in. Long Reach Digital Caliper

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Not sure which job you speak of but I'm always willing to learn something new and useful.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Two separate questions here.

1. Last match I had what I thought were 2 dead primers. Well, I never had it happen until now. Pulled bullets and waited for powder to pour out cause there was none. Never happened to me before as I'm pretty diligent. My question is this. There was no sound and the bullet never moved. I can only assume the primer went off because it was struck. Maybe I was lucky I didnt get a round stuck in the barrel, but twice lucky? Any experience?

2. Also noticing my groups were opening up after last two matches. I assumed barrel was toast but I decided to check the lands. Maybe I should've paid more attention. The last seating vs. current measurement yields this...

Safe to say I may be WAY too far off creating my accuracy issues? Last time I set seating I was between .015-.020 off the lands.

 

[ManrisFrack]

Yeow, 0.108" is a lot of setback, no wonder it was opening up. That much will definitely change your pressures and it's a truly rare bullet that shoots as well at an eighth inch off the lands as it does at 0.017" off the lands.

You drop your ammo?

Is it recoil induced (was that round sitting in a magazine while you fired the 9 rounds that were on top of it)?

If the setback was reloading related... well I'd say you need to work on your reloading process. No powder, .100+ off on your seating depth, those are fairly big mistakes - especially if you aren't double checking enough to prevent those kind of mistakes from making it into the chamber.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Yeow, 0.108" is a lot of setback, no wonder it was opening up. That much will definitely change your pressures and it's a truly rare bullet that shoots as well at an eighth inch off the lands as it does at 0.017" off the lands.

You drop your ammo?

Is it recoil induced (was that round sitting in a magazine while you fired the 9 rounds that were on top of it)?

If the setback was reloading related... well I'd say you need to work on your reloading process. No powder, .100+ off on your seating depth, those are fairly big mistakes - especially if you aren't double checking enough to prevent those kind of mistakes from making it into the chamber.

No, I didn't drop ammo. I simply wasnt paying attention the the throat burnout and maybe never thought it would go that fast.

I try to be as conscientious as possible but I am still human and hence subject to errors. First time in over 2,000 loads so I don't know what the math works out to but a low occurence rate.

 

[ManrisFrack]

No, I didn't drop ammo. I simply wasnt paying attention the the throat burnout and maybe never thought it would go that fast.

I try to be as conscientious as possible but I am still human and hence subject to errors. First time in over 2,000 loads so I don't know what the math works out to but a low occurence rate.

Okay, so the measurement is the actual chamber's seating depth, not batch to batch? In other words, your most recent batch of rounds are not .100" shorter OAL than previous?

If that's the case, I take back what I said about your process. Missing the charge isn't great but it happens to the best of us. I'm glad they didn't get stuck.

How many rounds are on the barrel? I didn't think 6mm Creed was a known barrel burner.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Okay, so the measurement is the actual chamber's seating depth, not batch to batch? In other words, your most recent batch of rounds are not .100" shorter OAL than previous?

If that's the case, I take back what I said about your process. Missing the charge isn't great but it happens to the best of us. I'm glad they didn't get stuck.

How many rounds are on the barrel? I didn't think 6mm Creed was a known barrel burner.

The photo represents the difference e between where I've been seating and where they should be touching the lands.

Everytime anyone asks what caliber I'm shooting and I tell them their immediate response is "oh, yeah the barrel burner".

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

Do you have a light set up so that you can see in each case as your seating the bullet? I would say get that so you can easily verify that there's powder in the case. I'd much rather have a little setback then an empty or even worse partially filled case.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Do you have a light set up so that you can see in each case as your seating the bullet? I would say get that so you can easily verify that there's powder in the case. I'd much rather have a little setback then an empty or even worse partially filled case.

I do, and I check, but sometimes I'm not always left alone to concentrate. When the wife doubles up on her dose of Nagipril or Bitchitrol, I tend to lose focus.