Until now I had been using round nose and H&G #68 style bullets without any feeding issues. I recently bought 6,000 H&G #78 style bullets. I don't recall the OAL offhand, but I load with quite a bit of the shoulder showing.
For a comparison between the styles see these photos:
H&G #78 style
H&G #68
I have not had much time to experiment with magazines but I have ran into a couple of issues with this design.
Problem #1: The base comes to a sharp corner and has zero bevel so it is very unforgiving during seating. If it is not perfectly straight during seating then the corner will dig into the side of the case and produces a dent and I suspect it also greatly reduces case neck tension by deforming the brass. There is some setback during rough feeding and jams which has not occurred with other bullet designs. Measuring a random sample tells me that the bullets are indeed around .452.
Problem #2: Excessive stem bind resulting from the nose of the bullets hitting the bottom of the barrel ramp. I think this is where the setback is occurring if it does occur. I think setback may be the reason it jams instead of pushing on through. I have only tried Wilson mags (47D) so far. The springs are pretty weak (seems common with Wilsons) and the mags have never been cleaned (have not had to up until this point).
It isn't a complete jam-o-matic but it isn't reliable either. I would say around 5 jams per 100. I probably need to number my mags and see if that is a contributing factor. Trying a new design with an order of 6000 bullets probably wasn't the best idea. From what I have read this is one of the most unforgiving bullet designs out there.
Does anyone have any experience loading this particular design? What setup worked for you?
[EDIT] FYI for those who don't know this is a .45 bullet. Someone was putting an order for stuff in to Brownells and was nice enough to add springs for me so I should get to try fresh Wilsons soon. I have ACT/Novak/S&W magazines which have excellent springs and a different feed lip design. I will try those next chance I get. I also have McCormick ten rounders, but the springs on those are a little weak to.[/EDIT]
For a comparison between the styles see these photos:
H&G #78 style
H&G #68
I have not had much time to experiment with magazines but I have ran into a couple of issues with this design.
Problem #1: The base comes to a sharp corner and has zero bevel so it is very unforgiving during seating. If it is not perfectly straight during seating then the corner will dig into the side of the case and produces a dent and I suspect it also greatly reduces case neck tension by deforming the brass. There is some setback during rough feeding and jams which has not occurred with other bullet designs. Measuring a random sample tells me that the bullets are indeed around .452.
Problem #2: Excessive stem bind resulting from the nose of the bullets hitting the bottom of the barrel ramp. I think this is where the setback is occurring if it does occur. I think setback may be the reason it jams instead of pushing on through. I have only tried Wilson mags (47D) so far. The springs are pretty weak (seems common with Wilsons) and the mags have never been cleaned (have not had to up until this point).
It isn't a complete jam-o-matic but it isn't reliable either. I would say around 5 jams per 100. I probably need to number my mags and see if that is a contributing factor. Trying a new design with an order of 6000 bullets probably wasn't the best idea. From what I have read this is one of the most unforgiving bullet designs out there.
Does anyone have any experience loading this particular design? What setup worked for you?
[EDIT] FYI for those who don't know this is a .45 bullet. Someone was putting an order for stuff in to Brownells and was nice enough to add springs for me so I should get to try fresh Wilsons soon. I have ACT/Novak/S&W magazines which have excellent springs and a different feed lip design. I will try those next chance I get. I also have McCormick ten rounders, but the springs on those are a little weak to.[/EDIT]
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