What did you do in the reloading room recently?

paul73 said:
so, just one comment.
if 2.330" up there is a COAL - the 69SMK does not like to sit that high. it is really best at 2.260-2.275 COAL.
if you prefer to sit bullet that high to be closer to the lands - you can look at nosler RDF lineup.

also, groups sizes you see are similar to what i had initially trying 2520, and why i switched to varget - that worked for my ar15, but you have a bolt gun here. so, dunno.
if it is NOT a bolt gun - then sit it for the mag at 2.260-2.265, where it belongs.
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Thank you for the info. This is a Tikka T3.
This is the first time I've played around with seating something longer than mag length. In reading about various bullets, I gather the 69SMK and 77SMK were meant to be loaded mag length for AR15 service rifle / highpower competition. I grabbed them intending to load them in an AR, but they are the only higher weight 22 bullets I have on hand so gave them a whirl.
 
p.. said:
Thank you for the info. This is a Tikka T3.
This is the first time I've played around with seating something longer than mag length. In reading about various bullets, I gather the 69SMK and 77SMK were meant to be loaded mag length for AR15 service rifle / highpower competition. I grabbed them intending to load them in an AR, but they are the only higher weight 22 bullets I have on hand so gave them a whirl.
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try those 69SMK at 2.270" and you can see if groups enhance, and can push them up to 3000fps, really, or at least 2950, should be up to 26gr or 25.5gr 2520, with usual precautions, of course. sitting them deeper should improve SD a bit and will increase speed, most likely.

i would say try getting those bullets while they are there and try again. they also used to have 75gr or 77gr but no more.

1675976181837.png
 
paul73 said:
try those 69SMK at 2.270" and you can see if groups enhance, and can push them up to 3000fps, really, or at least 2950, should be up to 26gr or 25.5gr 2520, with usual precautions, of course. sitting them deeper should improve SD a bit and will increase speed, most likely.

i would say try getting those bullets while they are there and try again. they also used to have 75gr or 77gr but no more.

View attachment 719404
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Oooh. Thanks for the heads up.

I forgot I also have a box of Hornady 75 grain BTHP match. I should probably give those a whirl.
 
MC56 said:
@p.. what's the barrel length? They make an 8tw and 12tw, I assume yours is an 8tw? Did you have any pressure signs at 24.5gr?
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24" 1 in 8 twist.
At 24.0 and 24.5, I had very slight primer cratering around the firing pin, but no primer flattening or hard bolt lift.
 
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paul73 said:
i suspect it may be either dust or mold accumulated on the sensors, may be, as it seems to be time factor related - it works fine for a while before issues become apparent.
and it is not consistent.

i do not think those $20-$10 scales use any different kinds of weigh sensors compared to blue dillon, so, do not really expect much, but, will see.
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The Hornady digital is the worst of what I used. I try like hell to make sure my scales are put away in box to keep dust to a minimum.
My goto scale now is the mini Lyman no frills a bit on the slow side
 
I had 20 rounds of .308 that I had handloaded for a 308 that I no longer have ( actually I have the receiver that turned into a custom build, but the barrel is gone). Problem is the 20 rounds were neck sized to the discarded barrel. So I dismantled them and full length resized the cases. However since there were only 20 to put them back together I went old school. Not the Dillon 550, not even the Rock chucker supreme. Pulled out my Rock chucker I bought back in ’80. Lee hand priming tool. I grabbed an old yellow Lee dipper, scooped and tossed the powder directly on the old beam scale until it was close to desired charge then hand trickled the last few grains tapping on the dipper. I found it surprisingly relaxing and a trip back in time.

Meanwhile back in the present reality, I’ve been doing a lot of prepping brass which I tend to put off to winter months. I’ve got 600 .233 ready, 500 6.5 CM, and another 600 .308 complete. Another 200 hundred 6.5 need trimming . That’s all for long distance work 500+ yards. I’m about half way through my brass prep ( and my sanity)

But I need a break from brass prep so next up is actually assembling some rounds. I did a quick run of 100 6.5 rounds and tested about 20 At the range. As they came out right where I wanted them, I’ve got the every thing set up to crank out a batch of 500. one day next week.
 
northny said:
I had 20 rounds of .308 that I had handloaded for a 308 that I no longer have ( actually I have the receiver that turned into a custom build, but the barrel is gone). Problem is the 20 rounds were neck sized to the discarded barrel. So I dismantled them and full length resized the cases. However since there were only 20 to put them back together I went old school. Not the Dillon 550, not even the Rock chucker supreme. Pulled out my Rock chucker I bought back in ’80. Lee hand priming tool. I grabbed an old yellow Lee dipper, scooped and tossed the powder directly on the old beam scale until it was close to desired charge then hand trickled the last few grains tapping on the dipper. I found it surprisingly relaxing and a trip back in time.

Meanwhile back in the present reality, I’ve been doing a lot of prepping brass which I tend to put off to winter months. I’ve got 600 .233 ready, 500 6.5 CM, and another 600 .308 complete. Another 200 hundred 6.5 need trimming . That’s all for long distance work 500+ yards. I’m about half way through my brass prep ( and my sanity)

But I need a break from brass prep so next up is actually assembling some rounds. I did a quick run of 100 6.5 rounds and tested about 20 At the range. As they came out right where I wanted them, I’ve got the every thing set up to crank out a batch of 500. one day next week.
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Eh old school is finding the right size dipper thats “close” and using a paper funnel to fill the case, lol.
 
p.. said:
Thank you for the info. This is a Tikka T3.
This is the first time I've played around with seating something longer than mag length. In reading about various bullets, I gather the 69SMK and 77SMK were meant to be loaded mag length for AR15 service rifle / highpower competition. I grabbed them intending to load them in an AR, but they are the only higher weight 22 bullets I have on hand so gave them a whirl.
Click to expand...
How much time did you spend on mag length seating depths and play with powder charges ?
I would pass by seating the SMKs beyound mag length , there are other profiles better suited.
Theres one thing about the 223 it seems to like to jump.
 
mac1911 said:
How much time did you spend on mag length seating depths and play with powder charges ?
I would pass by seating the SMKs beyound mag length , there are other profiles better suited.
Theres one thing about the 223 it seems to like to jump.
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With the 69 SMKs, none. I went straight to loading them long. I only tried mag length with Hornady 50 grain V maxes.

Just picked up the Tikka recently. Haven't played with it much yet.

I have to say though, I'm going to have to try pretty hard to find excuses for shooting it poorly. It has a vertically and horizontally adjustable cheek piece so I can get my eye in the same place behind the scope each time, full floated varmint barrel, and the nicest trigger I own on anything.
 
p.. said:
With the 69 SMKs, none. I went straight to loading them long. I only tried mag length with Hornady 50 grain V maxes.

Just picked up the Tikka recently. Haven't played with it much yet.

I have to say though, I'm going to have to try pretty hard to find excuses for shooting it poorly. It has a vertically and horizontally adjustable cheek piece so I can get my eye in the same place behind the scope each time, full floated varmint barrel, and the nicest trigger I own on anything.
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do you know what chamber they cut? m,y hunch is wylde
1676046544762.png
 
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240Geezer said:
Left to right.
Remington factory 1.095-1.105 COL
Reload @ setting for Berrys plated. 1.110-1.120 COL
At that setting the cast bullet seems to fat and long getting stuck in the chamber AND not allowing the slide to go into battery.
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I've been reloading range brass with Berry's 121 gr hp hollow base 9mm and drop-chamber checks are lining up correctly at 1.085 - 1.095" COAL - load is 6.6 gr HS-6 which is not compressed - question is with seeing so many COAL settings at 1.150 +"?
 
mac1911 said:
Im just questioning the 223 rem velocity capability of the heavier 223 bullets. The case being the limiting factor. Im sure with some faster powders pushing the max chamber pressure limits you might get a 75-77 gn to 3000. Just seems like pushing the safety margin.
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Hope I'm not duplicating someone's reply. Yes, .223 can push heavies to or close to 3000FPS. I'm pushing 85.5 hybrid Bergers to 2950 routinely with Power Pro 2000 MR in my mid-range F-Class rig (30" Shilen barrel). Precision is very good, with less than 1/4 MOA vertical at 500 yds and one-hole/cloverleafs at 100. CAN safely push these to 3K with Power Pro, but brass life is already reduced at current pressures/velocities, so not going the extra mile (so to speak).
 
RankAmateur said:
Hope I'm not duplicating someone's reply. Yes, .223 can push heavies to or close to 3000FPS. I'm pushing 85.5 hybrid Bergers to 2950 routinely with Power Pro 2000 MR in my mid-range F-Class rig (30" Shilen barrel). Precision is very good, with less than 1/4 MOA vertical at 500 yds and one-hole/cloverleafs at 100. CAN safely push these to 3K with Power Pro, but brass life is already reduced at current pressures/velocities, so not going the extra mile (so to speak).
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How many loadings do you get before you pitch the brass, and what generally fails first? Are you seeing neck splits, or case head separation, or something else?
 
p.. said:
How many loadings do you get before you pitch the brass, and what generally fails first? Are you seeing neck splits, or case head separation, or something else?
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I anneal before every loading so I've never seen a split neck. I've also, luckily, never had a case head separation. I "lose" my Lapua brass due to primer pocket loosening. When I pushed velocities to 3K, I'd pitch brass after about 3 loadings. Running the 85.5s just a bit above 2900, I've gotten 5-7 loadings, while slowing to just under 2900, I've not yet had to toss a piece of brass and I'm past 12 loadings at this point. I hot these up if/when I'm anticipating more wind and want every benefit I can get from the high BCs in a particular match.
 
RankAmateur said:
I anneal before every loading so I've never seen a split neck. I've also, luckily, never had a case head separation. I "lose" my Lapua brass due to primer pocket loosening. When I pushed velocities to 3K, I'd pitch brass after about 3 loadings. Running the 85.5s just a bit above 2900, I've gotten 5-7 loadings, while slowing to just under 2900, I've not yet had to toss a piece of brass and I'm past 12 loadings at this point. I hot these up if/when I'm anticipating more wind and want every benefit I can get from the high BCs in a particular match.
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Pic of the rig?
 
the other thing that always keeps me wondering during those experiments is - how much overcompression of powder will primer tolerate before going off, and how much fireworks it will produce inside of the bullet seating die, it is WILL go off while in there.
 
paul73 said:
the other thing that always keeps me wondering during those experiments is - how much overcompression of powder will primer tolerate before going off, and how much fireworks it will produce inside of the bullet seating die, it is WILL go off while in there.
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An interesting and frightening concept! I think it very unlikely due to the speed of compression. I seat bullets gently/slowly on both my turret and arbor presses as I want to feel the resistance from the neck and then the compression of the charge (when that happens). I have seated primers to crush depths with the Primal Rights CPS (by mistake) in the past and never had one go off. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but detonation of the primer compound requires a minimum velocity of compression. The slow crush of the primer into the pocket did crush the primer cake (I've pulled the primers and examined them closely). I believe the slow application of force only causes deformation while rapid application causes deformation AND thermal spiking ) from friction leading to detonation. I found this overcompression when a few rounds failed to fire despite solid firing pin strikes. The primer cake in those primers had already been crushed during seating and they would not detonate. So, just from that experience, I would guess that you wouldn't set off primers even if you added LOTS of compression during bullet seating as long as you weren't seating the bullets really fast.

Looking for other's experience here, but I also have never had a primer detonate even when crushed/folded in half when it is misfed on my Dillon. I suspect the same dynamics in that pulling the handle fast might lead to a primer detonation if the cake is rapidly crushed under the anvil or the side of the cup.
 
RankAmateur said:
An interesting and frightening concept! I think it very unlikely due to the speed of compression. I seat bullets gently/slowly on both my turret and arbor presses as I want to feel the resistance from the neck and then the compression of the charge (when that happens). I have seated primers to crush depths with the Primal Rights CPS (by mistake) in the past and never had one go off. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but detonation of the primer compound requires a minimum velocity of compression. The slow crush of the primer into the pocket did crush the primer cake (I've pulled the primers and examined them closely). I believe the slow application of force only causes deformation while rapid application causes deformation AND thermal spiking ) from friction leading to detonation. I found this overcompression when a few rounds failed to fire despite solid firing pin strikes. The primer cake in those primers had already been crushed during seating and they would not detonate. So, just from that experience, I would guess that you wouldn't set off primers even if you added LOTS of compression during bullet seating as long as you weren't seating the bullets really fast.

Looking for other's experience here, but I also have never had a primer detonate even when crushed/folded in half when it is misfed on my Dillon. I suspect the same dynamics in that pulling the handle fast might lead to a primer detonation if the cake is rapidly crushed under the anvil or the side of the cup.
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i also want to think that it is highly unlikely to happen, but the physics of the process there is still pretty much driven by the level of the compression of the primer material alone. because, again, the pressure is the temperature and vice versa. i am too rusty now to do an actual computation of what factual maximum pressure a dillon turret can do with the 223 bullet pressing into the powder.
when i deal with such situations i also always do it, well, gently. :) but, seating a 80gr .223 into a mag length on top of varget - well, it is a lot of compression there.

i also do not think i've EVER heard of the round going off while in the bullet seating die, so, may be it is indeed not possible.
 
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paul73 said:
i also want to think that it is highly unlikely to happen, but the physics of the process there is still pretty much driven by the level of the compression of the primer material alone. because, again, the pressure is the temperature and vice versa.
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Of course you are correct. I think the analogy for frictional heating does have velocity as a component. Even primers functioning as they are intended (primer compound being compressed between the cup and the anvil) will not cause a detonation if the primer is placed beneath a ram and slowly compressed to the thickness of a sheet of paper (grin). The same primer may detonate if struck by a hammer. Difference isn't just the amount of compression, it's the speed at which that deformation takes place. I'd also think the crushing of the powder under the bullet would absorb some impact rather than transferring it all to primer compound compression. Clearly, very rapid compression of the powder alone could cause enough frictional heating to ignite the powder itself, but that would have to be VERY rapid compression. I never say never, I just don't believe that even high-speed seating of a bullet would transfer enough compression, rapidly enough, to cause sufficient frictional heating of the priming compound for detonation. I ALSO don't intend to perform the experiment.

Physics professor once proposed a thought experiment about "infinity". A person is standing on railroad tracks in front of an approaching train. The experiment goes something like: do you accept that for the train to hit you, it first had to cover half the distance? And if you accept that, do you further accept that the train will have to cover half of the remaining distance before it hits you? Lastly, do you accept that there are an infinite number of "halfs" remaining (you can always divide the distance between you and the train by 2). Even if you accept that there are an infinite number of half-distances, are you going to stay standing on the tracks???

The primer detonation experiment is kind of like this thought experiment, because I ain't gonna stay standing on the tracks :p
 
loaded up some 9mm HPs today... single stage Hornday LnL.... no hurry for me.. just enjoying the peace,.. UNTIL.. :mad:

Priming. First tried the auto primer feed... you know, that tube thing attached to the press... thing started throwing 2 primers at a time, or none at all... until all the primers slid out onto the floor... only lost 2.. tried again.. then somehow, I got a primer stuck in the tube.. must've been a smidge misshapen... Tried to push it out, no luck.. had to go to the garage, use some 3" finish nails to bang it out.. it eventually went off, and I still couldn't get it out.. so tube is now unusable..

So, no choice now but to go to the hand held.. not sure what was going on with this thing, but is also was letting 2-3 primers onto the pin at a time.. It was so that I had to release the handle just enough to let one slide from the tray onto the pin.. if I let up too much, 2 would slide on.

there has got to be an easier way.
 

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