You’re stuck with a lot of loser loads. Now what? READ MORE
Glen Zediker
Last time I threw out a circumstance where, during the will and want to deliver high-volume output a mistake was made and the result is that you’re left with honking pot full of substandard ammo. We talked about what might have gone wrong, but probably the worst is there’s something that’s created a load too hot. Too much pressure. There are other dimensional issues as well that might prevent graceful reuse. But, for the most part, unless the load produced is well over pressure, I’d be looking to send them downrange. Cut my losses, get the cases back, start over.
Directional miscues are pretty clearly decided on how to overome. Bullets out too far? Seat them deeper. It’s not going to be so little that there won’t be some influence, but not enough to escalate pressures.
I can’t say “how much” overpressure is safe to shoot, but can tell you that it’s likely to be a good deal more than you might think. Now, this doesn’t have to do accuracy or manners, just safety. That’s also not a recommendation from me to willingly ignore your own instincts. There’s varying of degrees or levels of abuse to be enured.
Digging all the way out from under this problem is also liable to require the use of specialty tooling, something like, dare I say, a bullet puller. One of these will salvage both propellant and bullet, and give the opportunity to crank right back up and a have another go at it. I have shot a plenty of pulled bullets and into very small shot groups. It was once popular among mil-spec-type target shooters to break down M193, replace the 55 gr. with a commercial 52, 53, or 55 match bullet and head to the firing line. Groups would be about 60-percent smaller. Right, just pull them and replace them. No extra sizing, no nothing.
Forster is my first choice for a bullet puller because it’s simple an fast, and because it allows the reuse of a bullet. It’s tedious, but way on better than the headache created by a kinetic type puller.
Back to the start: preparation prevents problems, as long as paying attention is involved! Taking time to make notes and run a checklist helps keep race cars on the track and airplanes in the air, and handloading ammunition safe. Take the time.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in Glen’s Top-Grade Ammo. Available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads. Also, check out our new lineup of eBOOKS!
In doing higher-volume loading, one fear is “what if” and that refers to having made a mistake… READ MORE
Not much worse than a bunch of newly loaded rounds tainted by potentially problematic imperfections. I’ve had more of these with pistols than rifles. Not sure why…
Glen Zediker
So you’ve put, say, 500 rounds together and there’s a flaw, and this may (usually always) be constant and consistant throughout. Or, maybe something changed during, someting shifted, at some point from then at the start to now at the end.
This can happen, and you’re fortunate indeed if you have no stories to share.
Before getting far into what it was and what was the influence or effect we’re now facing, this next will suggest a few things to check beforehand to head it off.
I don’t know that I’ve ever read much on handloading that didn’t come with at least a few ideas on checks, checkpoints. One of the first I propellant dispensing. Using a meter for these loads, throwing charges, there’s a question about how often to stop and run a check on your volume progress against the consistency of each charge thrown into each case.
Advice I’ve seen varies and ranges from the way too often to the every now and again. Folks, honestly, I never check or double check once I’m underway. I am also using expensive meters with Culver inserts. These I have proven to meter more accurately than my scale can determine. The level of effort and attention that went into my being able to make that statement is another article, and, along the way, will be. But, if you’re not using a Culver, it is a wise investment in a minute to throw a charge or two, weigh each, and satisfying the self that all’s well. If you see a problem, if your meter won’t hold a setting, that is a huge red-flag that needs fixed.
A truly good meter takes worries about case to case weight consistency away. Get one!
I always start a session checking propellant dispensing weight. I do this more to satisfy that tiny tickle of paranoid uncertaintly than I do for any tangible reason, but we do a lot of things to fix those tickles (like look both ways before crossing a one-way street). Well. I do. I click-dial my meter to where my notes say it should be (and do the same to the other Culver-equipped meters that might be involved in this session), then throw charges with each and see the right weight from each (I usually through 4-5 at a time, weigh the pan, and divide by however many throws are in the pan). Sometimes I think I do this more to just satisfy myself respecting how good this system is.
Next I essentially check die “tightness” by confirming that the sized case dimentions are what they should me. And then also do the same for bullet seating depth.
A few tricks here come from a treat like a good turret-head press. After getting the dies adjusted to what you want for a load (this load), snugging them down and adding index marks means that, one, no there should be no movement between uses, and, also, it will be easily seen becaues of the marks. Index marks are no more complex than a paint-marker-line from die body, to lock ring, to press top. I index the sizing and seating adjustments at the top of the die also.
The fewer times anything is loosened, moved, tightened the radically greater chance it has to stay perfectly in place.
Next I triple check the bullet seating depth. By the way, I’ve also become convinced that the more initial checks made reduce any chance for an erroneous check. I look once, then again, and then again, and by then I sho should have seen all there is to see. I might overlook something, though, if I look only once, and I have done that before setting seating depths.
I triple check seating depth before starting long loading session.
The best trick I can tell you to keep tools lined up where they should be, when they have to be moved, is to handle a threaded die ONLY BY ITS LOCKING RING! Never, ever hold on the die body to thread the piece in and out the press top. Handled only by the ring, there’s no chance of movement (well, assuming that the ring was snugged in place as it should have been).
Use index lines to easly see if anything changed (moved). And handle dies only using the lock ring!
Next time we’ll look at a few things that might have gone wrong, and see about getting them fixed, or worked around.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in Glen’s Top-Grade Ammo. Available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads. Also, check out our new new lineup of eBOOKS!
Due to range issues (not all, evidently, see themseves as “essential”) and general isolation this edition’s Reloaders Corner won’t be standard — no topic that can be handled and settled in a few hundred words. Like most folks, I guesss, I’ve kind of been thrown into pensive mode, and, mostly, find myself reacting to the daily challenges of this virus.
I also know I’m edging over into topics that have an end-of-year feel to them. And here it is not even really Summer. Reason for that is, know it or not, we’ve seen some big changes in our industry, supply side and consumer side. Anyone who’s tried to order and got put on the “be patient” list knows that. We’ve seen changes in shipping schedules, and there have been others in the logistics of promotion. We have survived. We are, from my side of my contribution to our industry, likely to see some changes that are staying around. Right here are Midouth we’re making some focus and topic-content changes in the Blog driven by some of the needs we experienced.
We’re also daggone tired of this daggone virus. Keep, however, firmly in mind that it can and will and has killed us deader than a hammer. When it finally settled into my home state I was frightned well beyond my core’s capacity to accept the toll it took. I know a lot of my competition-oriented friends have been REALLY put out that NRA ceased all tournaments until next year, that’s 2021. NRA take on it is that there needs to be a shot for it before we start shooting again.
And of course we saw some of the silliest, sadly now predictable, attempts to take advantage of the whole pandemic status and undermine gun rights. Good googly moogly. Even better was the radical (radical) increase in gun sales. My good friend Bill called me about a week in and asked me to go shopping with him for his first.
Next edition back on track with an actual reloading topic. I’ll have some to say about high-volume case prep!
Hang in there.
Finally: Please let me know more about what you’d like to see in these pages. Not only Reloaders Corner, but the whole publication.
Let’s get focused also on the “other” dangerous pandemic of misinformation. Not a whopping lot of time left to make some decisions on how some things are going to be decided on.
It’s on and we’re in and it’s pretty clear what might be a good focus during these times. A few thoughts coming next HERE
Glen Zediker
Corona, Covid-19, is daggone serious. I’m beyond on board taking the precautions I can to protect myself and mine. It can and has killed people. I have to keep that firmly in mind because about the time “we,” or at least those more immediately in vicinity where I live, really started to get into lockdown, shutdown mode now seems like a good while distant. Covid-19 isn’t nearly over with. It’s not yet even hit its stride. I’m not at all saying that to alarm or concern, just to keep firmly in mind that it looks like we’ll be all beyond arm’s length for a good long while.
Some of us will have more or less time on our hands.
But! Since we are interested in shooting, it sho could be worlds worse. There are so many ways to continue to productively participate in elements of our world. And, honestly, that’s an understatement. Some genuinely valuable things can be done and learned following a shooting focus away from target time.
I read and receive a lot of messages from handloaders digging into put-off projects (usually involving case prep or segregation, stockpiling, and on down a long list of opportunities to “finally” get something done that had been pushed back).
You might think about reviewing some of the Reloaders Corner articles in the past with respect to prep and segregation means, and also those dealing with ideas on how to bring the loading machinery into a little more comfortable, closer proximity. And! Always follow all the same rules, especially about cleaning up a the end of a loading session. Don’t leave primers or propellant to sit open.
We could all come out of this with from a little to a lot improved handloading accomplishments. Okay. I am admittedly grasping at straws, folks, because I’d rather just get back to normal, but I can tell you that shooting-related interests are way (way) easier to maintain and improve, certainly compared to something like mountain biking when there’s a forced layoff.
The status of range time access gets different answers. I know that virtually every organized tournament, outdoor or indoor, has been cancelled or postponed. I also just today see some conflicting views on the essential or non-essential angle of shooting ranges.
Finally, it looks like Reloaders Corner and the MSS Blog might be more frequent over the next bit, so keep looking for new material in these pages.
Check out Glen’s newest book America’s Gun: The Practical AR15. Available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
And here’s hoping that, if you try sometimes, you get what you need. Sorry Mick. READ MORE
Glen Zediker
Yet one mo time: the topic for Reloaders Corner comes from recent letters on a topic, and this time it’s brass. Specifically, some were asking me about this and that such and such brands of brass that I’d had no direct experience with. The reason for the question was because my long-standing and well-known in-print recommendations had, for these folks, just not been possible to find. They were, by the way, looking for “good” brass, which can mean different things, but mostly new cases that were going to be consistent and had nothing that wouldn’t recommend them, if that made sense. If it didn’t, it means that the cases weren’t unusually hard or soft, or expensive, or, generally, exhibiting low or quirky quality.
These were competitive shooters, NRA High Power Rifle, by they way.
Anyone who’s read much from me on this topic knows I’m partial to American-made cases, WW in particular, and also (now) Nosler. Nosler isn’t cheap. You would also know that I am not a fan of European brands. I have used and continue to use a good deal of Lapua because I have a good deal of it, but it tends to be virtually perfect in dimension but soft in composition. And, gas gun or not, I do not like soft brass.
For this next to be as helpful as I’d hope it might be, the circumstance is this: We are going to try a few before we commit. We’re first going to buy a box before we get a case.
So after opening a container of new brass, how do you know “what you’ve got”? Have to find some way to measure it, then measure it, and start quantifying its quality or suitability. There are a few different checks myself and others make that provide numbers we can use to represent consistency. For the most part, and this will likely get the most support in agreement from others reading this now, case wall thickness consistency might well trump other checks that can be made. Of course (of course) there are tools that make this job — measuring wall thickness at 4 points around a case neck — easier and faster. Related but not exactly the same thing is running the new cases through a concentricity fixture (a “spinner”) that will show how much runout a case neck has. To make that truly reliably viable, though, all the cases much first be sized to round out the case neck cyclinder. That might not be such a chore, though, because in fact all those cases are going to need sized before they can be used. Otherwise, and this takes only a quick look to know, new case mouths are usually bent up and not nearly ready to accept a bullet.
There’s another way. Weigh them! Weigh them all. After a few tries and a few notes, you’ll get an idea of what represents the higher, lower weight range. Moving them into piles, a pattern, I guess we could call it, shows up. As with any segregation, the tolerance you’re setting determines on how many piles, but I suggest and try to keep it to three. Separation increments that are realistic and influential for case weight segregation varies on the physical size of the case and, of course, the tickiness of the operator. Again, though, if you weigh 100 cases and you have your numbers and your piles, you’ll start to see how both your criteria and your test pieces are relating. If your piles have cases that are under 1.0 grain difference each, meaning less than 3.0 grains total weight variance, that’s good! Really good. There are other surfaces (case rim for instance) where a little more or less material here and there contribute to the weight.
Weighing is going to be a little faster check especially when there’s a good number of cases in the mix. A good electronic scale makes it way on easier.
Weight is not (not nearly) an indicator of case wall thickness consistency. Well, or if it is, that’s sho not what the scale is directly showing you. It’s also not a direct indication of case volume, or of anything else for that matter! It is only showing a weight on each case. However! Over almost a half century messing with all this, I can tell you that — for some reason — it does without a doubt matter! It may only be some sort of clue to the “overall” quality of manufacture, I honestly don’t know.
I suggest it as an alternative to more “direct” means to gauge case quality just because everyone has a scale and initial weight readings are fairly fast and decidedly easy to take.
Now. Read just a little on this on the interweb and you’ll see weight segregation is most often discounted heavily as a viable criteria. As with much of what else you’ll read on the interweb it tends to be posted by folks who are long on opinion and short on resume. Right. They know it all but don’t actually go out and win anything.
Don’t confuse segregation means with segregration criteria. Case weight is not the same as wall thickness. Sorting by weight says you found the cases that weighted more nearly the same. They will, I assure you, shoot better than employing no segregation means.
One last, speaking of folks with impressive resumes, I know a good number of shooters on the U.S. Palma Team. These folks are all big into weight segregation. Since “real” Palma is fired with drawn ammo, the proven best way to find out which rounds in a box are going to shoot the closest together is simply to weigh all the loaded rounds and separate them by weight. That’s proven to do better than any other means for measure. It honestly does work for cases too.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in Glen’s newest book America’s Gun: The Practical AR15. Available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
More “factory tricks” can be applied to handloads, if you feel a need. READ MORE
To get a sano crimp, the bullet has to have a crimping groove, or cannelure, for the case mouth to roll into, and the die itself has to be internally dimensioned to accommodate it.
Glen Zediker
A commonly used tactic in a factory round is a crimp to help hold the bullet in place before it’s launched, especially when there is a heavy bullet and heavy recoil. Inertia generated within the gun, in a big part, can make the bullet shift, usually outward (common in a magnum revolver). A crimp also helps guard against a bullet seating more deeply, as when there might some stubbing contact as the round is chambered.
For a true factory style roll crimp, the bullets must have a cannelure, or “crimping groove.” This is a ring cut into a portion of the bullet’s major diameter. The edge of the case mouth is turned or folded (“rolled”) into this groove to complete the crimp. The bullet seating die has to be tooled to provide this effect when it’s adjusted properly to engage the crimping groove. Not all seating dies can provide crimp.
If your die allows it, to get a crimp, adjust bullet seating depth to put the cannelure so it’s right on the end of the case mouth. Then adjust the die body downward to engage the crimping ledge so it will pinch the edge of the case mouth into the groove.
Here’s a good example of a good application of crimp. This 300 Blackout subsonic has a heavy bullet that otherwise can be prone to shift as a result of intertia induced forces at work during action cycling.
I don’t usually use a factory style roll crimp because I’ve never felt need for it, and also I convinced myself that it can’t be a good idea (ever) to squeeze in on a bullet, or not when best group size is the goal. Another reason is that I very rarely use a bullet that has a cannelure. However! I concede those times when it is a benefit. I crimp magnum handgun loads.
Also, if you crimp, it’s clear there are strict and unweilding limitations on bullet seating depth and also that all the cases have to be the same height for it to work properly, and that means at least a little additional tedium from efforts in case trimming.
Lee has a really good setup, in my experience and opinion, for those who want to closely duplicate factory treatment. It’s their “Factory Crimp” die.
An alternative to a roll crimp is a “taper crimp.” This is popular with practical-style pistol competitors and also with a couple of commercial .223 Rem. loaders I know. A taper crimp die does what it suggests or sounds like it does: it squeezes in some portion below the case mouth against the bullet using a gentle taper. Anyone who’s loaded straight-walled cases knows about “belling” the case mouth. Belling makes a little funnel-edge on the case mouth to allow easy entry for a bullet. That tiny trumpet-shaped area then needs to be ironed back flat so the round will chamber, and the seating die has a portion within it dimensioned and devoted to this chore. A taper crimp die works in the same, just more.
Here’s a taper crimp die. These give a progressive and relatively gentle squeeze down that adds a little more grip againt the case neck. It’s also an asset to feeding for a semi-auto.
And, as said, a taper crimp is a stand-alone die, which means it’s best used in a turret or progressive style press. Its use effectively increases the grip against the bullet. Some say it’s an asset to reliable feeding, and I can agree with that given straight-wall cases, but I don’t think it helps a bottleneck case in this regard. It will, however, keep the bullet better in place against outside forces seeking to change its location.
A healthy crimp is common also in hard kicking heavy bullet rounds like magnums. The idea here is to keep the other bullets in place in reaction to the firing forces trying to dislodge them.
Last, for now, is that there are also a good many who claim that crimping is an asset to improving round to round velocity consistency. Judge that, along of course with your chronograph, but I have yet to see it in rifle ammunition. Some pistol ammo, yes.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in from Glen’s newest book America’s Gun: The Practical AR15. Available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
A few factory “tricks” can be applied to handloads, if you feel a need. READ MORE
Handling precautions during round assembly and then good storage afterward extends the shelf life of reloads.
Glen Zediker
Last time we took a look at some of the differences between factory-loaded ammo and our own recipe handloads. That material wasn’t a total indictment on factory ammo as might have been expected coming from me and directed toward mine, and that’s because there are some times ready-made has its place.
One of the main-most good things that can be said about factory ammo is that it has a shelf life that, given decent storage conditions, will likely exceed that of handloads. Or not. “Not” depends on what steps or processes were applied to the handload.
Sealants
The main culprit in decreasing stored life of a loaded round results from corrosion. Some call it “sticktion,” and I’ve had it happen a few times. What it is, is the case neck and bullet corrode — stick — together. That will elevate pressure. I had a rash of blown primers from the batch I used.
There are a few ideas on how to reduce or eliminate stiction, and the first starts with eliminating the catalyst for the corrosion. Don’t touch the bullets with your bare fingers! Don’t touch the cases either. I know a few commercial loaders who produce precision ammunition and they’re all about surgical-style gloves.
I have run some tests using bullet sealant (applied as a liquid then UV-cured) and such a product will, indeed, virtually eliminate any worries over corrosion. Most factory, and virtually all mil-spec, ammo uses some formulation of sealant (bullets and primers). The reason I tried it, though, was because of the promise of greater accuracy. Glued bullets tend to produce from a little to a lot smaller velocity spreads. My jury is still out on the value of this additional step, and when there’s a verdict I’ll let you all know how it played out.
Here’s a simple and easy sealant that works well. One bottle will last about 1000 rounds. Check it out at Midsouth HERE.
There are a few different bullet and primer sealers available. For the most part, these are fairly easy to apply and none are what I’d call expensive.
Giving loaded rounds a good cleaning, and then storing them at the least in air-resistant boxes, keeps the shine on and the corrosion away for a good long while.
Some run their loaded rounds in a routine-type case cleaner, like a vibratory tumbler. That’s all good, but I suggest not using anything but “pure” media to ensure that no residues are left behind.
I use denatured alcohol and a bath towel: place the rounds on half the towel, pour on the alcohol, fold over the towel and roll the rounds around. Let them dry and box them up.
Handling precautions during round assembly and then good storage afterward extends the shelf life of reloads.
More about another factory trick — crimping — next time.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in from Glen’s books Top-Grade Ammo and Handloading For Competition. AvailableHERE at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
Factory ammo is a fact of firearms life. How does it relate to us, as handloaders, and, how do we relate to it? READ MORE
Trying a boxfull of a few different ideas might help settle on what ends up being handloaded. There’s a lot out there to try.
Glen Zediker
I’ve long been an ammo snob because of my focus on target sports, and on the creation of ammo for same (a focus both for myself and for my published materials). If you’re building ammo to stake a score on then it has to be the best, it has to be custom, and that is a substantial investment in a lot of time and tools. And testing. Testing testing testing.
I’m now shooting more factory-made rounds than ever, and one reason is because of I’m doing a lot more work with more varied firearms. For me, handloading is a serious step up, not a casual step in. I don’t load for several of the different guns I have because of that. My son, Charlie, has been doing a good deal of published reviews, for instance, and neither of us is about to set up a station just to test a firearm chambered in anything we don’t already load for.
I keep this sort of thing on hand, and I also use the “better” grade of mil-spec for use in my guns. Hornady Frontier works well.
I also have come to accept that it may be a more fair test of a gun to run ready-made through it, but only because that is how it’s usually done: get a gun, get a few boxes of ammo, go to the range, and see what you have. I have every confidence that, given enough of that time and testing, I can make any rifle out there shoot better with a handload — I’ve seen that over and over and over again. But, I say factory ammo is a fair test because overall and after enough different tests with different guns there will be a pattern develop reflecting ammo quality. There are, therefore, decided performance tendencies I’ve seen in factory ammo, and, as with many things that have, at a base level, cost as a variable — it’s predictable.
“Premium” factory ammo shoots better! Of course it does. That’s assembled with, mostly, a quality bullet. For rifles it’s the barrel, for ammo it’s the bullet that matters most. So, if you’re wanting to see how well your new gun can shoot, choose a box of factory ammo that’s got the better bullet. That also gives you the chance to get started assembling a component list when you spool up the press to make your own for it. If you doubt that, ask any old NRA High Power Rifle shooter about “Mex-Match.” And, since I’m handy, I’ll tell you! Pull the bullet from a mil-spec load and replace it with a commercial match-grade bullet of a suitable weight. Groups shrink 50-60%.
The Value Of Factory Ammo
Are there times when factory is prefereable to custom?
Yes. At least, maybe.
This is what sits in my magazines that sit in or near my guns kept at the ready. I don’t bust clods with it. I don’t handload NATO-spec.
I keep factory ammo in my “ready mags.” That might surprise some. Yes, of course I “trust” my handloads. Usually, though, I won’t be shooting a lot of whatever is loaded into my house gun, and that’s all about bullets. I’ll shoot a ton of handloaded rounds through my main carbine, but not with the bullet I want being there if needed.
On that topic: it is the bullet options that factory ammo provides that can give it an edge over a routine-use handload. For instance, some of the “specialty” defensive or hunting factory recipes use bullets that often aren’t even available otherwise (or not readily). Or, and as said, it’s a better value all-around to get a few boxes of what you have chosen to represent best fulfillment of needs, get a zero with some, and then keep the rest at the ready, than it is to load them yourself. That requires routine load recipe testing, which requires purchase of more bullets, maybe different propellants, and so on.
Plus, since most are treated to sealant or at the least little to no contact with humans, there’s less chance of “stiction,” which can and will happen. (That’s when the bullet “freezes” in the case neck, and it raises pressure.) I’ve seen it, and it’s from plain corrosion, which is fueled mostly from handling the components. I’ve had it turn up in rounds loaded for no more than a year (and they popped a few primers). Some use latex gloves, and I started up that after this experience.
Specifics First I apologize for this short list because there’s a lottamo out there. I only feel right, right now, about telling you what I have used that I really like.
Of the factory ammo I’ve shot, and this is across a range of cartridges, the Hornady line has overall been the most impressive. That’s for handguns and rifles. Hornady has a wide range of specialized loads (specialized bullets) that are well thought out, and, by my experience, well constructed. Stuff shoots well! For instance, their lower-cost “mil-spec” simply shoots better than others similar I’ve tried. Likewise, for hunting, defense, and targets, there will very likely be a load that’s been well-proven. Again, it’s usually the bullet that’s the difference. I shot a lot of good scores with Hornady bullets in my handloads, and some of their designs for impact effectiveness have proven themselves indeed effective.
I also like Nosler. It’s not cheap. Neither are the bullets or brass used in it! Nosler has been my go-to for .223 Rem. brass for a good while. Its quality is very good and it’s ready to load right out of the box, and it’s tough enough. I switched to Nolser match bullets also. I mostly got to shooting Nosler factory ammo when I got my 22 Nosler. Hornady has a wider selection for different needs, but my experience has been that I haven’t found anything that beats Nosler on-target. And I get to keep the cases!
I’m leaving a lot of makers out. Clearly, there is good and not good factory-loaded ammo. Those I know with a lot more rounds downrange from freshly-factory-sealed containers have good things to say about Federal Premium, and often favor Black Hills, and also agree with me about Hornady and Nolser.
Variety There are a lot (a lot a lot) of options in bullets especially for .300 Blackout, for instance. The Blackout is that much more variable because of super- and subsonic.
Those specializing in specialized ammo often have more than one take on a load concept. Here are two subsonic developments from Hornady: a little heavier and a little lighter.
The .223 Rem. range, along with other popular cartridges, includes the “target” use loadings. Some are pretty good. However! I honestly think there’s a tad amount, to a lot, of kidding the self to think it will be better than what you can load for yourself. If you want to really find out how well your gun shoots, getchaseff to the loading bench.
As suggested, it might be wise to try a few factory loads in a new gun before making the investment in choosing components for your handloaded ammo to come.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in from Glen’s newest book America’s Gun: The Practical AR15. Available at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
Reloading press designs vary, and some offer advantages, if they’re needed. Read more about which, what, and why HERE
RCBS Summit
Glen Zediker
This is the last (for now) look at reloading press designs and features, and it’s all about power — leverage and linkage.
The more leverage a press can generate the less input effort from us is required in performing an operation, especially a more challenging operation like reforming cartridge cases, but that’s got another side to it. A longer stroke, and a heavier mass to move, also means more exertion on each stroke, and more time spent case to case.
Since we don’t always know the ultimately most demanding operation we’ll call on a press to perform, my advice is to err on the “stronger” side, and also on the “longer” side. I prefer a press with a shorter handle stroke (and a shorter ram stroke) because it’s less tedious to operate — but that’s true only when the press ops are not taxing. Yes, I’ll explain more: when the duties are sizing small to medium sized commercial brass cases (like .223 Rem. up to .308 Win.), seating bullets, decapping, seating primers then excess press isn’t needed. But when it’s more taxing, like in the case reforming already mentioned, and also sizing once-fired military cases, or loading for a honker like .338 Lapua, a longer ram stroke and more leverage is most welcome.
Forster offers a shorter handle option for its CoAx because there are many who want to increase feel on some ops. The shorter handle reduces leverage.
I’ve been doing all this long enough to have collected more than one press, at more than one “size,” and I’ve used them all over a good many years. The one I use the most is on the smaller, shorter end of the press spectrum, and that is only because the most of the loading I do now is decidedly not taxing. But give me a Kroger sack full of Lake City 7.62 and my Forster CoAx or Harrell’s Sportsman is getting mounted up on the bench.
Speaking of effort, case lube is decidedly important in smoothing out taxing sizing ops. I prefer a petroleum-based lube, but that’s not meant to start an argument!
There are a few different takes on the best way to design linkage (the levering mechanism that powers the ram), including those that operate more or less upside down. I’ve not used them all but have, generally, found that handle length has the biggest influence on leverage.
A press that’s set up to “cam-over” really means it’s set up to flex. Any press with enough leverage can warp over on itself. This is a Harrells Sportsman: huge leverage.
Cam Over
Speaking of linkage… Some reloading presses are designed with eccentric linkage such that it’s possible to “cam” the ram. The concept involves circular motion and linear motion, meaning that when the ram traveling in a linear path reaches full extension, the linkage which is traveling in a circular path, can move through the 0-degree mark and go to a negative degree — like a crankshaft in an engine. To get a picture of this: As the handle is moved downward to elevate the ram, the ram reaches its maximum height just short of the very limit of its travel upward, and, at the last little bit, lowers. So when the handle is all the way through its arc, the press ram is sitting a little lower. This action, called “cam over,” has essentially increased “ummph” in the linkage, and it’s done that by making contact (plus) with the die.
I’m not a fan.
Now, any substantial press, whether it has eccentric linkage or not, can produce the effect of camming-over. A Forster Co-Ax, for instance, can just about crush a chrome car bumper and doesn’t have eccentric linkage. To set up that press, any press, to cam-over, turn the die a little (1/8 turn or so) downward beyond what provides full and flush contact with the shellholder when the ram is at its full height. Then, when the press handle is fully down, the additional pressure in the last bit of the handle stroke goes toward flexing the press. Simple as that, and that is what camming-over does: flex the press. And, again, that’s true whether it has eccentric linkage or not.
Don’t do it. Just don’t.
There’s no need to cam-over a press for a case-sizing operation. It creates unnecessary stress. Dies can get deformed and bent, carbide dies can break, and the press hisself can suffer, and even break. Some defend this practice by saying presses are designed to “take it,” but eventually there’s a penalty for taking any machine to its limits, continually.
The real deal is that it’s just not necessary! Using a cartridge case headspace gage to determine sizing die positioning to get the correct amount of case shoulder setback, it’s clear that sure should occur at a point short of full contact between the die bottom and the shellholder surfaces. But, and this is important, if it’s not then trying to push a case farther up into the die by crushing the shellholder against the die isn’t going to do much. Done is done. The flexing might, maybe (maybe), increase setback 0.001.
If your sizing die doesn’t adequately set back a case shoulder, then that die has to be modified by having material ground off its bottom.
Camming-over a press is a “feel-good” measure for some folks: there’s this satisfying “ka-thunk” at the limit of press handle stroke, and that lets a loader know that they gave it all it could get. I’ve also had some claim that the stress and flex brings “everything into perfect alignment.” No it doesn’t. Alignment in a press was determined by the maker, not pressure. If your press hain’t straight, bending it more won’t help.
Cam-over has its application in some bullet making operations, but those are not on-topic here.
Here’s eccentric linkage at work. On left is the maximum height attained by the ram; on right is the ram position at the full-limit stop on the press handle. It’s 0.020 inches on this press, a Harrells Turret.
More, And Some Is Good!
To find out if you have a “cammer” run the press ram fully up (press handle fully down) and thread a die in until it touches the shellholder. Try to move the handle back down. If it won’t budge, it’s got eccentric linkage. It won’t move because the ram is trying raise again. Back out the die until the handle moves and pulls the ram away. It’s at this point where “flush” contact with a die bottom will be. As long as the shellholder is not being contacted, presses with this sort of linkage have a smooth feel to them and do a little more positive job of sizing. In effect, the case gets sized twice (the ram elevates again just as the press handle is lowered). Linkage, either way, has zero effect on setting up a die because you measure what you get anyhow, and adjust the die accordingly, after you see what it is that you got.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in from Glen’s books Top-Grade Ammo and Handloading For Competition. AvailableHERE at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
There are a few tricks and treats, and traps, in reloading press designs and associated pieces-parts. Shellholder first. KEEP READING
I honestly have had my best luck with Lee brand. Lee is inexpensive but I’ve yet to have a bad one, or one that wouldn’t work on different press brands (and I’m not alone in this opinion; a famous Benchrest competitor gave me the “Lee tip”). SEE IT HERE
Glen Zediker
Last couple of editions started a “press primer,” and this one should finish it off, at least for now.
Shell Holder Options
A correctly dimensioned and well machined shell holder is absolutely necessary.
Small differences in individual shellholders, and certainly in different brands of shellholders, mean that a shellholder change makes it necessary to check case sizing and bullet seating results again. Adjustment will likely be required. If a shellholder is a little bit thicker or thinner such as will influence the cartridge case “height,” then that’s transferred to the end result as measured in, for instances, cartridge case headspace and bullet seating depth.
That is exploited by some who produce shellholders with varying heights. These come in a set and have incremental differences that allow you to move a case up or down by swapping the shellholder. If you load for different rifles using the same die, and if these rifles all have a different ideal cartridge case headspace, for instance, then there can be less compromise without having to use a different sizing die.
Redding offers shellholders with varying heights to allow for small effective changes in sizing. Handy, for instance, for someone who loads for more than one rifle and wants to use the same die. There are 5 holders, each with 0.002-in. height difference.SEE IT HERE
Not all shell holders are interchangeable! They’re supposed to be, generally, but I’ve purchased different brands for use in differently branded presses, and they won’t fit.
Shellholder Tricks
Speaking of fit, check over a new shellholder for burrs and make sure it fits fully and freely into its slot in the press ram. And, speaking of its slot in the press ram, I have long been a believer in getting rid of the “spring clip” virually all presses use to secure the shellholder in place. The spring clip sits the shellholder askew atop the ram.
This clip can be removed. I use an o-ring as can be found at a real hardware store to fit into the outside slot formerly occupied by the clip. The elastic o-ring keeps the shellholder from coming slap out, but also takes a little (to a lot) of getting used to because the shellholder is free to spin and shift. It no longer snaps satisfyingly and firmly into place.
I’ve shown this before but it (really) works well to improve alignment odds. Canning the shellholder retaining clip so the part can sit flush and move a little helps it all self-center. This is a 7/8 o.d. x 11/16 i.d. x 3/32 thick o-ring that suits most press rams.
This arrangement lets the shellholder fit flat-flush against the ram and, very important, allows some “wiggle room” to let the shellholder float so the cartridge case can seek its own center as it enters the die.
I am absolutely convinced that a floating shellholder is a big help toward attaining concentricity in a round.
All mating parts surfaces have to have a tolerance. Lower (closer gaps) is better, but it can’t get too low or the dang parts won’t fit together. The way I see it, the more room for movement the bigger trick it is to get everything in alignment, if we want to lock it all in-line. Shellholders are fairly loose all around: the shellholder has to fit into the press ram slot and then the case has to fit into the shellholder and these fits are fairly free. Attempts to lock a shellholder in place, frankly, are contrary to best alignment, with maybe one exception.
On the other end of this, and this qualifies as a press “trick,” Forster has its own take on shellholder design. The Co-Ax shellholder uses what amounts to clamping jaws that are engineered to take up the slack in each individual case and lock it in dead alignment with the press ram. I’ve used Forster long enough and made enough gage checks, and shot enough high-x cleans with the resulting rounds produced on this machine, to tell you that it it, indeed, works. Years ago I tried an aftermarket add-on version of this concept produced by Quietics, makers of the original “inertia” bullet puller. It’s still available. Like the Forster, the same setting will work with a variety of cartridge sizes and that was the main draw to this “universal” shellholder.
Forster uses a proprietary system that gets a case centered with the ram and keeps it securely centered during a die op. Their Co-Ax design is pretty much a clamping shellholder. SEE IT HERE
Keep the shellholder and its slot clean. As often said, running a separate decapping station keeps the majority of gritty gunk off the main press parts.
The preceding is a adapted from information contained in from Glen’s books Top-Grade Ammo and Handloading For Competition. AvailableHERE at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
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