I have an AMP so will anneal after firing each time.
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I have an AMP so will anneal after firing each time.
Great service from Whidden...immediate reply and sending out a new plug easier on o-rings. Also recommended annealing prior to sizing for Lapua - that AMP just got better. Suggested an expander to help the seal. Is that just a seating expander die just to barely push the neck mouth out? Any recommendations for one?
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One hydraulic formed and one FF:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ede2cb1052.jpg
Both Lapua and I can't see the difference. New regime is anneal, form, anneal, FL size. Sounds a bit too it but the longest part is the forming. Lapua seems to respond very well as can be see above. Lost 1 case because FL'd too quick from the annealer and the case mouth deformed a little (useable but not passable for my OCD).
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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3c9605316c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...391b4171f4.jpgm think it's a Wilson neck only
That's the one...is it 6.5?! :)
Washers were easy to replace but it definitely chews through them after 5-6 cases so looking forward to the new plug they have already posted.
The I am thinking of puts a little step in the case mouth, for straight walled cases but also to aid seating flat base projectiles.
This one is 7mm, maybe just flare the mouth a little?
Yep just needs to be barely done... you not using this one? Just be doing more this morning and stoked with results, equals FF now.
Cheers will see where I can them.
Yep thought they were ok before but now will never need to fireform again.
Hydraulic on left and FF on right.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8e084e17d5.jpg
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I find on some brass once fired that there is a minor tightness to chambering, say 2 out of 10. I have body taper die and that doesn't work but a feeler gauge under the case seems to work well to make it like new brass again. Is this the shoulders requiring a bump back? I will drop the load back as it must be slightly hot, and perhaps take some before and after case head dimensions...what is the consensus on allowable case head expansion?
With my AI (6.5SM AI) I find with the 40 dgree shoulder and the only slight case taper I go around 5 firings b4 chambering is a concern and FLS becomes required. Virtually zero brass flow.
Re base measurement - yep did that, took mic to range, recorded movement, if any. Analysed the hell out of it. Discarded checking in the future.
There was a good article on Accurate Shooter quite a while back debunking using base growth as the ultimate pressure guide.
Some chambers (yours would not fit into the category I assume) are a bit "sloppy" so you can get what appears to be excessive base grouth after 1 shot with safe pressure loads. Subsequent loadings of the same brass at the same safe pressures, neck sized only, would see little or no movement. Panic over.
Rule of thumb used to be anything around 1 thou and panic. Or anything that continues to grow.
I have also seen very loose primer pockets with in some cases no proportional change in base diameter.
On my AI I gauge the primer pockets b4 each load as I did have one load that opened up the primer pockets. Depends if you are running hot or not. On the Swede (6.5mm) I get 3010 fps with 142gr projectiles but did take it up to a lot faster/hotter than than that - hence BIG primer pockets. Very annoyed with myself given the effort required to make brass.
No I don't. Also tried some RCBS competition shell holders but seemed to make little difference. I think I will back off perhaps a grain and see how I go. 45.5gn destroyed primer pockets after a couple of firings, so 44.5gn still a bit hot with those couple of cases...so will try 43.5-44.0gn.
Not tight to extract, bolt closure and lift just a little stiffer from new brass.
Yep, cannot ignore enlarged PPs :-)
Normally when I fire form I use a forming load and second rate projectiles. After the first firing I run my normal load (or do serious load development). But with your case forming method the capacity must be close to fireformed size.
I found the same with my 30deg Imp. Bump die with feeler gauge sorted the issue & I backed it off 0.5gr. All the cases seem to be ok now and primer pockets tight. I did stuff 7 cases by running 1gr over where I'm at now, the primer pockets were loose as. Trying too hard as a velocity hound :D
I hear ya...
I have a forster press so no choice in shell holder as such and had similar issues with my AI
I had to get my redding FL die ground as it didn't bump the shoulder at all in my press.
So now all I do is anneal tumble and bump the shoulder around a thou.
Have not had any issues since.
After around 5-6 uses I need to use a body die then bump to extend the life of the case a bit more.
My primer pockets get a bit loose around 8 goes on a moderate load.
I have changed powder recently so haven't seen if there is any change to case life yet
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Yes it feels like on some cases the FL dies just isn't 'reaching' the shoulders well enough...and have the shell holder hitting the base quite firmly on the cam over of the press.
Just a suggestion, but get your FL die ground a bit so you can bump the shoulder. Body die won't do the shoulder.
If you are worried about case head expansion (I wouldn't worry about a little more than normal in an ackley. In my experience pocket will go first in the .260 AI even with hot loads) get a body die.
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Righto... how much ground off the FL die?
What ever gives you a bump with the feeler gauge.
I got 15 thou off mine iirc.
Adjusted until I got the bump I wanted and locked her solid. Works a treat now😆
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Cool...yep .010 works for me.
Yeah, if your die is only sizing the body and not quite reaching the shoulder what will happen is the shoulder will actually move fwd and the situation is made worse. The best analogy is if you wrap your fingers around a peeled banana (no crude comments required) and put your other hand hard (shit another opening) against the hand holding the banana and then squeeze. Some banana will obviously ooze out around your fingers but most of it will go up. This is what happens when you only partially FLS and squeeze the body and don't contact the shoulder.
Please excuse if I appear to be teaching granny to suck eggs. :P
One of most innuendo laced posts I've read on here right to the end with granny sucking.
Might be time to invest in a comparator of some sort, or if you are handy with a lathe make something up to fit on your caliper blade. They are a handy way of knowing / measuring what your moving back.
If you don't have a gauge - I have a Sinclair 40 degree one - the best way is to remove the striker/firing pin assembly from your bolt and with the bare remainder chamber your cases. This way you can feel the bolt closure against the case without the influence of the main spring. For my target rifles I set the FLS so there is just resistance (need to ensure locking lugs are kept well lubed) as the bolt handle is reaching the bottom of its closing stroke. For field/sporter rifles I set the FLSing so there is no resistance on bolt closing. Need to be careful though you don't over size and create a new problem. If you size a case and it is still too tight, make an adjustment but then use another unsized case to check your adjustment. Don't just keep adjusting and sizing the same case as you will get a nice fit with it but too loose for all subsequent cases sized.
I just used an .30 cal collar on an OAL gauge to measure the bump. I don't bother any more.
But yeah, just adjust the die down an 1/8 of a turn until you achieve the desired result. All that you will be missing is the 10 or so thou sizing at the bottom of the case.
Depending on the brass you will get a bit of spring you have to overcome.
You may need a bit more off to give a 1-2 thou bump.
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If you insert your stripped bolt without a case you should feel a wee bit of slack when moving it fwds and backwards off the locking lugs - I like about 4 thou on my custom guns. This wee bit of slack is a guide to how much you have sized, or oversized.
No: 010 worked but not always so thinking 15 thou of an inch...
Definitely some minimal play with the bolt so guess that is a good thing.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bac72e511d.jpg
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44gn RL17 140gn VLD. LRABs shoot just under an inch, eldx's slightly better but the VLDs seem to do really well...can someone tell me CTC size of group please??
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f138e5d121.jpg
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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c041169ca9.jpg
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This is what I got
Attachment 65715