Catch-22

On 12/28/2020 at 2:14 PM, Lillico said:

I went this way. 

It works fine.   

I use plain green soap as a temperature indicator.

All parts available on Ebay (UK)

 

I think this is brilliant!!

I had found all the bits per the video on EBay and kept it in my basket for the last couple of days. Interestingly the price of these induction heaters has drastically risen, about £100 more expensive overnight. Must be following this thread, a few peeps have bought one and now the sellers are upping the price, seeing there’s a sudden market need for them.

Ill wait for the price to go back down again and then I’ll buy one.

Thanks for sharing the video and idea!

18 hours ago, SJC said:

As titled, I’m looking for a Hornady (ideally) full length resizing die in new or used condition (if used it must be usable). I have a Redding S type but is not sizing all of the neck down from the .221 brass and this is preventing the cartridge from being chambered.

Kind regards

May sound like a stupid question, but is your Redding Type S a bushing F/L die? If so, do you have the right sized bushing insert in there to size the neck down properly?

Simples really.

Take your bolt out, remove the firing pin/striker and remove the ejector too. It’s fine to keep the extractor claw.

Screw your F/L die into your press until it contacts your shell holder. Now back the die out a couple of turns, so it won’t fully size all of the case back down to SAMMI spec as that’s too much.

Now insert your bolt (minus the firing pin/striker and ejector you removed) and the handle should just flop down without any resistance.

Take a piece of fired brass, lube it, place in press and size it. Remove brass, wipe lube off and place brass into your rifle’s chamber and gently close the bolt. If the bolt doesn’t fully close, or it closes with some force/resistance, the brass needs to be sized down further.

Extract brass, lube and place in press. Turn die DOWN (so sizing the brass more) just a tad (0.01 or 0.02). Size the brass again. Now try it again in your chamber.

Repeat just until your bolt will flop down like it did with no brass. This tell you that you’ve bumped your shoulder back just enough so the brass has minimal clearance but is guaranteed to chamber freely so you don’t get chambering issues. It’s also been sized just a minimal amount, no where near SAMMI spec. Use your calipers and Hornady headspace gauge to record the optimum headspace bump value.

Ive found this to be the most accurate way of measuring my chamber headspace and minimum case bump required.

There was an excellent and simple vid from Aron Wheeler (gunsmith) showing it all but I cannot find it on YouTube sadly.

Father Christmas came early this year.

One of the few AWM’s made in that special run of 2016, in .300wm. Making some test loads using 190gn and 200gn Wimbledon bullets from MME and some 208gn ELDM.

Currently wearing an excellent Area419 Sidewinder brake but may buy the AI tactical brake and a moddy. Cannot wait to get to a range.

The rifle pictured isn’t mine, nor do I have any affiliation with the seller, but I once had the same Manners GAT stock on a Tikka 595 of mine and it was one of the most comfy stocks I’ve shot. The thumb hole & grip is lovely.

Good luck with your sale!

10 hours ago, No i deer said:

A bushing die sizes the neck on the outside and any discrepancies on neck wall thickness gets pushed inwards.. if you use the custom ground neck tension mandrels after it sets the neck tension from the inside of the neck and any discrepancies get pushed out. I run the neck tension mandrel all the way in the neck which also helps if your brass has donuts forming.. 

I'd recommend them 100 percent.. I use K&M custom ground neck tension mandrels.

If your using a standard seater and not a bushing die you will have alot of neck tension and the custom ground neck tension mandrel will work nicely. If you using a bushing die go down a bushing size so the mandrel works the brass a bit to get more uniform neck tension.

It's a very simple process and the bullets seat real nice..

Got mine from Spud.

There made to order unless he stocks them now.. there is alternate makes.. 

THIS ^^

I too also use the Sinclair Expander Die & Mandrels. I remove the expander button from my full length dies because they overwork the brass and rip the neck out of shape. Think about the brass going up into the die; on the upward stroke of your press, the expander button is pushed through the neck, opening it. The die then shrinks (sizes) the neck down. Then on the downward stroke of the press the expander button is pulled through the neck, opening it up again.
With an expander mandrel and die you’re only pushing the mandrel through the neck once, producing a very minimum size (giving normally around 0.02” neck tension). 
Therefore the expander mandrel works the neck less and gives a more precise (and minimum) neck tension.

11 hours ago, L B Jefferies said:

My 223 9" twist likes the Berger 70gr VLD (g1 .371,  g7 .190). They seemed to be about the best BC that a 9" twist could handle when I was developing loads.

They have a reputation for being finicky regarding seating depth, but they shot well with no tweaking at all. I did use a seating stem suited to VLD bullets though.

I’ve always found the VLDs do exceptionally well when jumping them a huge amount...like Grand Canyon sized jump. I think lots of people get issues or call them finicky because they try and seat them near the lands. VLDs have a very small bearing surface, much shorter than most bullets, so seating long (to reach the lands) means there’s less bearing surface in the case neck...so poor alignment with the bore. Jump them and they shine. 

Bump

I would concur with the post above ☝️
 

I got one of those annealers from Lubo a few years ago and it’s great. It just works!

I have .308w and .338L discs and I anneal .223ai, 6.5x47, .303, 30-06, .300wm and .338Norma Mag without issue. I like to do a bulk batch and it’s very quick and efficient.

Not limited to checking a rifles bore, I see it’s also helpful for safe cracking! 💰🔓

Yeah, the Teslong is very good for the money.

Ive found it really helpful for keep an eye on carbon rings.

I visited Paul today and all I can say is he’s a true gent. Buy with confidence - great seller! Thanks again Paul  - have a lovely Christmas 🎄

Interesting.

I’m with Gwent Police and I’ve just checked my FAC. My under leaver is listed as “LEAVER ACTION”. I do remember writing ‘Under Leaver Rifle’ on my variation but i suspect when the FEO digitises the details, they select a pre-defined value from their list on the system.

I’ll keep an ear out for a call in case - thanks for the heads up!

2 hours ago, colin jalland said:

Just a quick one ,after  consistent  powder weight what would you consider to be the biggest think to work on to reduce ES ?

Thanks Colin

Two articles (3rd waiting in the wings) all about this subject on PRB.

You probably know this but ES is only one metric to consider and probably isn’t the most important one either.

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2020/11/29/statistics-for-shooters/

Non licensable gun parts can be posted no problem. It’s only things like chambered barrels, receivers, bolts and sound suppressors that cannot. So as you say, muzzle brakes and pistol grips are fine.

Spent ammunition is also fine. Though I’d personally suggest that if it’s a ‘dummy round’ (as in it has a bullet seated in the neck but no powder) then I’d use a case without a primer, spent or otherwise, because we all know how ridiculous or uneducated the authorities and non firearms people can be on these things.

And to that end, I personally wouldn’t go into detail what the consignment contains in the description. I’d just say something like ‘sporting goods’ if shipping non licensable gun parts. Or ‘brass metal bits’ for spent cases or ‘lead metal bits’ for bullets.

Ive always used MyHermes for these sorts of things and never had any issues.

@brown dog Tagging you in to help if you haven’t already.

Bump

2 hours ago, Kipper said:

100 will be the furthest ill be shooting but mostly 25m.

I contacted shellhouse prior but got no response so purchased a box off 240g from the local rfd. I have some 2400 sitting as I will be using it for my 303 also.

2400 is a good powder but is generally used to get max velocities in cartridges such as the .44mag. You might run into leading issues if pushing velocity/pressure without gas checks. I wouldn’t push the charges tbh.

Thats the core reason for going with a faster powder, a small charge to keep velocity/pressure low (a powder puff load...bit like a cowboy action load) which is perfect for 25m-75m as there’s no recoil and perfect for lead. 

Good luck. Burning through 200-300 rounds in a session is just too easy and too much fun. 

I don’t use gas checks in my .44mag underleaver. I use a 240gn cast bullet from Shellhouse Company and keep velocities down to a pootle speed with a mid-upper charge of Viht N340. I do have some Alox lube but haven’t used it as I’ve found the lube on the Shellhouse bullets to be just fine, especially when keeping speeds down.
Happy Days!

When I wrote to my MP (Labour) about the proposed 50cal ban, the response I got was that “despite all the arguments, even sensible ones, our party blankly don’t believe in 50cal weapons and so we won’t be taking your comments to the commons”. Waste of time!

1 hour ago, John MH said:

Did not think they would ship Muzzle Brakes.

Yeah, I think with the ITAR changes, muzzle brakes are no longer handled by ITAR but controlled by Department for Commerce and can be more freely/easily exported under EAR99.

Obviously no issue U.K. side as it’s a non licensable component.

Not sure if all US firms either know this or have adapted to the change, but Area419 is one that has. 

48 minutes ago, t.t said:

Thanks for the reply

Companies are stating that they will not post "hard items outside the US" 

Check out Area419 - they manufacture a host of different ARCA rail options;

https://www.area419.com/product-category/accessories/arca/

They also do post to the U.K. - just last week I bought my 3rd Sidewinder Muzzle Brake (which are just stunning)!

I’m resurrecting this thread.

Does anyone have any .300wm load advice, specifically those of you who have/had an AI AWM?

Im thinking I’ll still try Viht N165 and the 190gn SMK, 190gn and 200gn MME custom bullets from Peter and also the 208gn ELDM - because I’ve got them to hand. Though I conceded the 208gn may not be ideal given the somewhat silly 1-11” twist.

Thanks!

Beautiful rifle & kit - looks lovingly maintained. That will be a real treat for someone.

Have a bump! Good luck with your sale 👍

I used a thick neoprene type mouse mat (is about 3mm thick and has a fine but tough fabric on one side) that I cut to shape and super glued to the cheek riser on my Eliseo chassis.

Works a charm, hasn’t freyed or come loose at all, despite handling and poor weather.