What did you do in the reloading room recently?

[38ExtraSpecial]

I don't mind shooting in the show. Super easy to pick out your brass against the while background.
They tend to melt and refreeze. Little annoying but then again it's a good reason to buy lots of revolvers

 

[BillNed]

A few days ago I had the time to cast some 120gr RN 30 cal. for my M1 carbine. Yesterday it was warm here so I Hi-Tek Coated them. I tried some thing new when I went to size them. I put them in a 1lb deli container and gave them a couple of squirts of my home made case lube and tossed them in the container, they were much easier going through the Lee sizing die!!

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Just loaded 50 rounds of 300 Blackout with the Lee 309-150f bullet coated with Hi-Tek.
I hope this sucker works. I had some leading issues with the 311365 cast of 50/50 pure and a slightly sweetened COWW alloy.
The new bullets are just the COWW+ water dropped on the last coating.

Bill have you ever hardness tested COWW that has been coated with Hi-Tek and air cooled vs ones that have been coated with Hi-Tek and water quenched on the load coat? I would love to hear some results if you do that.

I'm guessing the 1:8 twist of my blackout barrel is a little fast for a soft alloy, coated or not. I also loaded some 180 grain cast and lubed bullets that 1919FAN cast. His bullets are always super hard so if that doesn't work I guess I'll be switching to jacketed.

 

[mac1911]

Just loaded 50 rounds of 300 Blackout with the Lee 309-150f bullet coated with Hi-Tek.
I hope this sucker works. I had some leading issues with the 311365 cast of 50/50 pure and a slightly sweetened COWW alloy.
The new bullets are just the COWW+ water dropped on the last coating.

Bill have you ever hardness tested COWW that has been coated with Hi-Tek and air cooled vs ones that have been coated with Hi-Tek and water quenched on the load coat? I would love to hear some results if you do that.

I'm guessing the 1:8 twist of my blackout barrel is a little fast for a soft alloy, coated or not. I also loaded some 180 grain cast and lubed bullets that 1919FAN cast. His bullets are always super hard so if that doesn't work I guess I'll be switching to jacketed.

Where are you getting lead build up.
What velocity are you pushing these cast in your 300?
I played with cast loads in my AR and I used COWW with just a touch of tin. I don't know the velocity but once I had a powder charge that would cycle I started getting some lead fouling at the muzzle...my guess is its not the alloy but lack of lube...
My thoughts are from both reading and trials bullet size makes a huge difference in wether you have leading issues. To small I get leading from lead/throat to about mid barrel , lack of lube seems to lead at the end of the barrel.

Velocity also. I really don't seem to have a problem with leading for low velocity stuff say 1050 and under. For rifle I get right up to 1800- mid 1900s fps with COWW touch of tin water dropped. Before I have any problems. I use Lee tumble lube for anything under 1700fps and white label 2500 for anything else.
I have a 300 black out with carbine length gas system on the way and curious about how slow I can go with sub sonic and still cycle?

 

[bigblue]

If you are afraid of losing your brass then put a tarp or drop cloth down.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Where are you getting lead build up.
What velocity are you pushing these cast in your 300?
I played with cast loads in my AR and I used COWW with just a touch of tin. I don't know the velocity but once I had a powder charge that would cycle I started getting some lead fouling at the muzzle...my guess is its not the alloy but lack of lube...
My thoughts are from both reading and trials bullet size makes a huge difference in wether you have leading issues. To small I get leading from lead/throat to about mid barrel , lack of lube seems to lead at the end of the barrel.

Velocity also. I really don't seem to have a problem with leading for low velocity stuff say 1050 and under. For rifle I get right up to 1800- mid 1900s fps with COWW touch of tin water dropped. Before I have any problems. I use Lee tumble lube for anything under 1700fps and white label 2500 for anything else.
I have a 300 black out with carbine length gas system on the way and curious about how slow I can go with sub sonic and still cycle?

After some research and a little taking with guys I think the issue was too soft of an alloy. I'm using hi-tell coating instead of lube. Still getting leading towards the muzzle. The WAG is that the soft alloy is skidding and by the time it's made a full turn in the barrel it's stripped the coating and starts the leading.
Tried a harder alloy last night and also the very hard alloy from 1919FAN that was lubed. Both shot well with no issues and barrel is clean. The coated ones I used could have been a little harder. I'll sweeten up my alloy next time.

With a carbine system you won't be able to go too slow without some tweaks. You're most likely going to need a .125" or so gas port which is standard on a lot of barrels in that config.
A comp will help and also look into a damage industries spring. It's a consistent 9# weight the whole travel of the bolt which will help pick up the next round from the magazine without short stroking.

I think if you run subs on a carbine without some tweeks you will have issues. Not hard to fix.

 

[Dieseldog13]

We tried putting down a king size sheet and had trouble hitting it with the brass. Lol! When we shot in the snow, the brass sunk in far enough so that you could not see them. We are planning to shoot our first USPSA event this Sunday at Monson. Time to not worry about the brass and get some practice in.

 

[DW357]

We are planning to shoot our first USPSA event this Sunday at Monson. Time to not worry about the brass and get some practice in.

Yeah I don't even bother picking up brass after IDPA/USPSA/Steel Challenge matches

 

[NavelOfficer]

I used to get a kick out of the ejected brass from my Hakim. It would melt the tarp placed at the pin shoot firing line.

If I knew it would be difficult to recover my brass, I'd use the Romanian steel-cased ammo and reloads (yes, I often reloaded these).

 

[allen-1]

View attachment 194044

I started by bending the decapping pin. So, I figured out how to take that apart, (which actually turned out to be pretty simple). Put in the spare, and then happily churned out 30 or so rounds. Went to check them in the chamber gauge and SHIT.... None of them have primers in them. Now the fun begins. Start taking things apart, this can't be that difficult, right? Right?

In the end it wasn't that difficult. That yellow arrow's pointing to a primer that's sideways, preventing the spring-loaded arm from dropping into the wheel, so the wheel isn't turning, so the primers aren't getting brought forward to be pressed up. I wish I'd noticed that earlier. Because now I've got 30 or so rounds to pull apart.

Yeah, that's what I did lately in the re-loading room.

Oh yeah -- I also upped my 147 grn Berry's plated from 3.0 to 3.1 of Hodgdon's Universal so that it would cycle my LoneWolf G17; the 3.0 grn loads run my GlockG17 fine, but not the LoneWolf G17. Boxes are labelled accordingly.

 

[mac1911]

After some research and a little taking with guys I think the issue was too soft of an alloy. I'm using hi-tell coating instead of lube. Still getting leading towards the muzzle. The WAG is that the soft alloy is skidding and by the time it's made a full turn in the barrel it's stripped the coating and starts the leading.
Tried a harder alloy last night and also the very hard alloy from 1919FAN that was lubed. Both shot well with no issues and barrel is clean. The coated ones I used could have been a little harder. I'll sweeten up my alloy next time.

With a carbine system you won't be able to go too slow without some tweaks. You're most likely going to need a .125" or so gas port which is standard on a lot of barrels in that config.
A comp will help and also look into a damage industries spring. It's a consistent 9# weight the whole travel of the bolt which will help pick up the next round from the magazine without short stroking.

I think if you run subs on a carbine without some tweeks you will have issues. Not hard to fix.

Not sure how low I will go... For the most part I think I will just run jacketed ammo in the light bullet range? I just like to run cast in everything. I like the responses and funny faces from the folks at the range that don't get it.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Not sure how low I will go... For the most part I think I will just run jacketed ammo in the light bullet range? I just like to run cast in everything. I like the responses and funny faces from the folks at the range that don't get it.

I love getting those funny faces.
If you run a nicer buffer spring (like the damage industries thats a consistent 9 pounds through the whole travel) you should be ok with subs with a full open gas block. I wanted to tune the gas back some to make the gun run better with full power loads so I had some issues with the subs.

 

[mac1911]

I love getting those funny faces.
If you run a nicer buffer spring (like the damage industries thats a consistent 9 pounds through the whole travel) you should be ok with subs with a full open gas block. I wanted to tune the gas back some to make the gun run better with full power loads so I had some issues with the subs.

I'm most likely going to run the nosler 110 ballistic tips... might run 160grain cast and push them to the upper limits of velocity.

 

[DW357]

Cranked out another ~600 rounds of 9mm between yesterday and this morning. Over the last couple weeks I think I've done about 1500 rounds. Should last a couple more months.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Cast some lee 30 cal 170FP plain base and 155SP gas check. Water dropped both bullets. Lubed and checked and waiting a week before I load them.
The 155 looks like almost a perfect fit for the blackout. I would prefer a plain base and 2 lube grooves but lets see how they work.

 

[mac1911]

Cast some lee 30 cal 170FP plain base and 155SP gas check. Water dropped both bullets. Lubed and checked and waiting a week before I load them.
The 155 looks like almost a perfect fit for the blackout. I would prefer a plain base and 2 lube grooves but lets see how they work.

The 300 upper I received had a pistol length gas system? The add had me confused as it says carbine system but the description deeper in says pistol length....what ever.
So you run with out a gas check ? I would think gas checked would put a squash on most leading.
I have some 165 tumble lube design flat nose IF they feed it will be my go to bullet for cast in this upper. If not I will most likely just buy the cheapest 110-140 grain jacketed and run those.
I have a Lyman 30 carbine bullet that might do well?

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

The 300 upper I received had a pistol length gas system? The add had me confused as it says carbine system but the description deeper in says pistol length....what ever.
So you run with out a gas check ? I would think gas checked would put a squash on most leading.
I have some 165 tumble lube design flat nose IF they feed it will be my go to bullet for cast in this upper. If not I will most likely just buy the cheapest 110-140 grain jacketed and run those.
I have a Lyman 30 carbine bullet that might do well?

All of the non checked bullets I ran were all hi-tek coated. This will be my first run with a non check traditional lube design. I figure i'll load 20 or so to try out before going full bore. I would think the check would help out but I don't think it will make up for too soft of an alloy. I am kind of interested in trying some of this harder alloy with Ben's Liquid Lube for the heck of it. I wonder if that would work well?
You should be able to run nice and slow with a pistol length system without any issues. You might want an adjustable gas block so you can tune the gas back on the full bore loads. I guess it all depends on what you're looking to do with it.
You're going to love the first time you rattle off a mag of 200 grain subsonics with the gun flat as can be and so much quieter. So cool

 

[mac1911]

All of the non checked bullets I ran were all hi-tek coated. This will be my first run with a non check traditional lube design. I figure i'll load 20 or so to try out before going full bore. I would think the check would help out but I don't think it will make up for too soft of an alloy. I am kind of interested in trying some of this harder alloy with Ben's Liquid Lube for the heck of it. I wonder if that would work well?
Debating on a muzzle brake or just a plain cap over the threads?
You should be able to run nice and slow with a pistol length system without any issues. You might want an adjustable gas block so you can tune the gas back on the full bore loads. I guess it all depends on what you're looking to do with it.
You're going to love the first time you rattle off a mag of 200 grain subsonics with the gun flat as can be and so much quieter. So cool

Nice....not sure which way I'm going now that the gas system is pistol vs carbine...? I have only 2 different buffer systems to try out.
One is a RRA entry set up and a rifle set up with A1 length stock. I sort of jumped on the 300 idea with out looking ahead. If I need to by special buffers and springs I might just put it together put a few mags down range and sell it. Putting my old leupold 2.5x8x32 on there with a bit of hope I will go coyote hunting.

 

[Chet0729]

Cranked out about 1K 9MM rounds in the last couple days

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Primed some 300 Blackout cases tonight.
Forgot to put the hitch pin back into the primer pickup tube..... lost a good 10 or so primers on the floor.....
that made me realize how many spent primers I had on the floor. Time to sweep up I guess.

 

[mac1911]

Primed some 300 Blackout cases tonight.
Forgot to put the hitch pin back into the primer pickup tube..... lost a good 10 or so primers on the floor.....
that made me realize how many spent primers I had on the floor. Time to sweep up I guess.

im now trying to decide if I should make up my own 300 brass or just buy some all done....?

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

I borrowed a saw from a friend so it made sense for me. I also like to have lots of brass for everything I shoot no matter how little I shoot it. So it made sense since 223 is free range pickups all the time. Blackout brass is going to cost money. Making it however is all part of the hobby. It's super easy to make too.
Eddie Coyle had a great article on brass sorting in one of the GOAL papers. Basically stick to Lake City is what everyone says.

 

[mac1911]

I borrowed a saw from a friend so it made sense for me. I also like to have lots of brass for everything I shoot no matter how little I shoot it. So it made sense since 223 is free range pickups all the time. Blackout brass is going to cost money. Making it however is all part of the hobby. It's super easy to make too.
Eddie Coyle had a great article on brass sorting in one of the GOAL papers. Basically stick to Lake City is what everyone says.

the few sources I found on line use LC brass and for whats its worth I like doing things myself on the frugal side but im also getting older and lazier and my tiny space I use for "my" projects is getting smaller. Figure I could buy 500 LC brass and 500 150gn bullets for 160$ shipped was not to bad ?

 

[mac1911]

The Arisaka's have advanced

the type 99s have made their way to the front of the bunker....

Decided to make up some more brass from HXP 77 30-06 brass and load up some test rounds

 

[gerrycaruso]

5000 .45 bullets showed up about a week ago and I just finished loading them. That should keep the Shield fed for about a year.

 

[ruebarb]

5000 .45 bullets showed up about a week ago and I just finished loading them. That should keep the Shield fed for about a year.

The shield 45 is awesome, my 1911 obviously is more accurate and more tuned , I enjoy the shield 45 way more.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

[jtnf]

Loaded a dozen 32 S&W Short to test fire in my Model 30 revolver, to look for pressure signs.
The destination for this work-up is that Iver Johnson break-top that my buddy owns, I posted a month or two ago... It's about 95 years old, is a "3rd model" safety hammerless, and was designed for smokeless powder.

Mouse fart loads with ONE GRAIN of Bullseye behind 95 grain LSWC projjies, and in front of S&B small primers.
I had to assemble the new old stock, new in box Lyman 55 measure I inherited in order to reliably throw one grain of powder... My L&L AP Hornady measure didn't cycle full stroke with this little shell (I think I'll need a custom PTX to properly cycle with a case this little.)

I had FIVE failures to fire out of twelve, with a healthy S&W Model 30-1 that has NEVER had light primer strikes.
All five eventually fired but I had to hit them two or three times.
I think I'm going to have to keep these primers for something striker fired.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Loaded some lee 312-155r over 16 grains of Reloader 7.
Shot pretty good. 2.5" or so at 100 yards. I think I could close that up with some load development. Happy with the bullet though.

 

[mac1911]

Loaded a dozen 32 S&W Short to test fire in my Model 30 revolver, to look for pressure signs.
The destination for this work-up is that Iver Johnson break-top that my buddy owns, I posted a month or two ago... It's about 95 years old, is a "3rd model" safety hammerless, and was designed for smokeless powder.

Mouse fart loads with ONE GRAIN of Bullseye behind 95 grain LSWC projjies, and in front of S&B small primers.
I had to assemble the new old stock, new in box Lyman 55 measure I inherited in order to reliably throw one grain of powder... My L&L AP Hornady measure didn't cycle full stroke with this little shell (I think I'll need a custom PTX to properly cycle with a case this little.)

I had FIVE failures to fire out of twelve, with a healthy S&W Model 30-1 that has NEVER had light primer strikes.
All five eventually fired but I had to hit them two or three times.
I think I'm going to have to keep these primers for something striker fired.

Any possibility the primers where not seated all the way?

 

[jtnf]

Any possibility the primers where not seated all the way?

No, they were all good and flush.


--Edit, now that I'm not responding with a phone!
I think I've read here about these primers having hard primer cups.
I've also got SPP Winchester primers - I'll just build some with those and be done with it. The S&B can go to .223 or fotay.