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Keith_J

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    Keith Jurena

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  1. Pistol primer tests use a drop weight test. The weight is 1.94 ounces and the height of the drop that should set off 100% of the primers is 11 INCHES. Now that establishes the energy needed to set it off...using half the weight but double the drop height means the energy is the same. Also, the minimum height of drop is in the 2 inch range. All with a standard 0.100" diameter firing pin. Yes, I do believe this can happen.
  2. Super and Supercomp are both straight-walled, not tapered like 9mm. R, Geometry of the die is the issue. For a straight-walled case to enter a sizing die, the opening of the die MUST be larger than the mouth of the case. The taper to the sizing "ring" is what makes this bulge. It can be quite noticable on the brass because of taper in the case wall thickness. This thicker wall has less "spring-back" and so it is sized down greater. The interior taper of the carbide ring is such that excessive stressing of the web-case junction should not cause excessive working of the brass. If it "bugs" you, try backing off the sizing die a bit. You will find you can get it to chamber with less than full, die to shell holder/shell plate adjustment. Your brass life will also improve, something to consider in these days of rising metal costs.
  3. CCI and Winchester have a less sensitive compound than Federal or Remington. This is why Lee cautions use of their automatic primer feeder with other than CCI/Win brands. The ONLY issue with "hardness" is thickness of the primer cup and this isn't constant though the brands/types.
  4. I think the outstanding accuracy capable in ammo loaded on a 550 is serendipitious with regards to the "slop" in the toolhead-frame fit. The slop was only "designed" to allow ease of replacement. After all, the frame is cast aluminum with the slot machined. Toolheads are die cast Zamak, a zinc alloy. Yeah, pot metal. If you were to shim/bed the fit, only one toolhead would be "perfect". And you would not see any improvement in accuracy. People try to make reloading presses massive, holding bullets in precise alignment with the case, only to have greater runout than the benchrester who uses an arbor press. Newsflash, bullet runout isn't caused in seating, it happens in sizing because neck walls have a slight variation in thickness. Many benchrest shooters uniform the thickness with outside neck turning, usually for a perfect fit in a tight neck chamber. And in such chamber, no resizing is needed so they have runout minimized.
  5. Floating is always better. Precision Shooting Reloading Guide advocates using an o-ring between the lock ring and press/toolhead for this purpose. Of course this was "discovered" long after Richard Lee started using o-rings under the lock ring.. The "slop" in the toolhead is needed to allow for things like shellplate deflection.
  6. I doubt the reason is anything other than hoarders. You know the type, they guy who reloads ~500 rounds a year yet bought 50,000 because he had the money. I keep reminding fools that anything over 10,000 primers might pose a problem with your homeowner's policy. Ditto with more than 20 pounds of propellents.
  7. Good luck on the smelting permit. You will produce a LOT of sulfur in the form of sulfur dioxide. And it will be tainted with lead. In light of the Omaha Nebraska Superfund cleanup of lead smelter produced lead contamination, you better have a sealed factory. I would think about making sulfuric acid as the by-product as it has a good market value and requires only oxygen (from the air) and water. Plus a bit of energy.
  8. All bottlenecked brass is annealed after the neck is formed. Since the head is left hard drawn for purpose, the length of the neck anneal depends on the equipment, lot etc. Also, different lots have varying wall thicknesses etc. And then there are differences due to the number of reloads. The brass work-hardens with each reloading. All of these factors affect the resizing of the shoulder length. This can lead to length variations if trimming off the shoulder.
  9. Yes, Feds are a bit more sensitive. In fact, Lee recommends to never use them in their automatic feed devices. That is why I stopped using them when I made the switch to progressive. In a Lee, dumping the primers in a tray is one thing. But filling a priming tube is just asking for it. According to Richard Lee, Federal uses a slightly different priming mix (all are lead styphanate based 'cept lead free, naturally) that makes it more sensitive.
  10. Cool find. I found "stick on" reading lenses that work well with safety glasses, sun glasses etc. They can be trimmed for bifocal use. I bought the correct diopter for each of my eyes, making something close to a real prescription save my slight right astigmatism. I ALWAYS wear my safety glasses. I have been to the ER TWICE for foreign objects in my eye and oddly enough, BOTH times I had been wearing safety glasses where I should have been wearing goggles.
  11. It is bullet length, not weight, that dictates twist rate. And also construction to a lesser extent. Search "Greenhill Formula" for greater depth on this subject.
  12. Dillon dies have no need for stuck case removal tools. Read the instructions that came with the dies...ditto on Lee. If dies are scratching cases, first try a good copper solvent to clean the die. Pro-Shot Copper Solvent IV is safe for overnight soaking. Then try 0000 steel wool. It is soft iron, won't scratch hardened tool steel.
  13. Yep. And if you look at the carbide under 10x magnification, you will see bits of brass smear on it. You see carbide is actually a ceramic-metal matrix and the cobalt/nickel metal matrix will cold alloy with brass, causing smearing. The same thing happens in steel dies but to a greater extent. Cleaning the dies with good copper solvent will remove the brass "smear" and restore like new performance.
  14. Carbide dies should not be scratching the cases. I would be dirt is sticking to the die and this is what is scratching the cases. Brass needs to be VERY clean. Not polished but clean. Throwing dirty range pick-ups into the tumbler with dirty media will not prevent dirt from getting into the dies. I would recommend a good washing machine wash in a mesh bag. Then the cases should be clean enough for tumbling. Make sure the media seperator and buckets are kept covered unless using, fallout from other operations (case trimming etc) can contaminate media. No lube is necessary for pistol cases in carbide dies, that could be dragging dirt into the die. Looking at used carbide sizing rings, I often see smears of brass. This will cause problems. Remove with a good copper solvent and enjoy like-new performance. This also works with non-carbide dies.
  15. I use a laser pointer and my spotting scope. With a good laser pointer, you can see it on the target at 100 yards through the scope. You can REALLY see if it hits the chronograph screens. And if you spend the bucks for a green laser pointer, it is even better. Even so, I have shot one of my screens. I was tuning my air rifle (RWS 48, .177") and hit the second screen's base. (CED Mil). It missed all the guts and still functions fine.
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