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Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

triggerhound

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  1. The rod/brush method of extraction worked perfectly. Thanks for the advice.

    Here are a few pictures of the brass with signs of over pressure, etc.

    20130413_130934.jpg

    20130413_123048.jpg

    I've run all my loads through the crimp die so I'm hoping that will solve my issue. I'll give another report after I'm able to test those at the range.

  2. Well I have to first say that I really do appreciate the advice. I was almost afraid that I'd feel like an idiot after reading replies about all the mistakes I'd made. So thanks for taking my inquire seriously.

    The brass that I used wasn't once fired military as far as I know. I believe it was all Winchester.

    Dan, IMR 4895 and IMR 8208 XBR are extremely similar powders in burn rate, appearance, smell, etc. One of my friends thinks they are the same but marketed differently :mellow:

    I'm going to try the cleaning rod/brush method of extracting the case first. I'll let you all know how that turns out.

    I'm also going to put all my ladder loads through the press one more time and add a crimp to see if I can avoid this SNAFU next time at the range. It sure did bring my range day to an abrupt end.

  3. Thanks Adam. So with the M1A I can't do that because the receiver blocks me from doing that at the breach end... I supposed I could insert the cleaning rod from the muzzle end and attach the brush in the receiver area... then pull it into the chamber and try to push it back out... would that work? I'm assuming that the friction from the brass brush will grab it and pull it out?

  4. I took my M1A out to the range today to shoot some ladder loads I've worked up for competition shooting. I'm using IMR 808 XBR powder and 150 grain Hornady FMJBT bullets.

    I started out shooting some Winchester White 147 grain factory ammunition to warm up the barrel and put scope on paper. These shot perfectly fine and I was able to shoot about 20 rounds and easily get sub moa accuracy. The rifle shot great and felt great.

    I then moved to my reloads. I started with 5 rounds in my magazine. This first group of 5 were for 40.0 grains of IMR 8208 XBR powder.

    I'm not precisely sure the exact order of malfunctions but I believe this was the sequence of events:

    1. Fired first round. Hit on paper. No issues.

    2. Fired second round. Hit on paper about 1" from first hit. Double feed.

    I noticed that the rife was not in battery and fixed the double feed. While doing this I noticed that the bullet being fed from the magazine had been slightly compressed into the case mouth from the brute force of the Double Feed (I prepared these reloads a while ago and I'm not absolutely certain if I did a crimp on the case mouth). I'd say about 1/16" to 1/8" deeper. In hind sight I should have ejected this round, but I didn't. I know...

    3. Fired third round into Berm to 'discard' it. Yes, I know I should have ejected it. That being said I didn't...

    What I found was that when I shot this third round the case split/broke. The bottom portion of the case was ejected and the remainder of the case is now stuck snugly inside my M1A chamber.

    So I have a few questions:

    1. How do I get the stuck case out? Gunsmith? Or is there a way to do this myself?

    2. Has anyone else experienced this kind of over pressure from such a seemingly small change in COAL? The case was completely split radially and the primer showed signs of over pressure also (flat and squashed).

    3. I also noticed that on one of the cases from the first two rounds, the primer showed signs of being pushed out the back of the case, maybe half way out. Is this from under pressure or over pressure?

    In hindsight, I suppose it really wasn't that small of a change in COAL. I should have ejected the round and dismantled it at home. Any observations, experiences, advice would be very helpful. I have just never had this happen before in the 3 years that I've been reloading and shooting.

    This was the minimum powder load for this powder and bullet weight combination. I've not shot this rifle that much and this is the first time I'm reloading for the M1A. I've heard this rifle is a little finicky about ammo and gas pressure, but this is all very strange.

  5. @Dan: Thanks for the link! I guess I could just try iron sights to see if I like it. I definitely appreciate the information about the m14.ca mount. That mount looks very very interesting.

    If I'm not mistaken it looks lighter than the traditional SA mount and it also looks like it sits a lot lower. Are both of those assumptions accurate?

    @mdschappell: Thanks for the info! I'm definitely open to all options.

  6. I had the same initial reaction. I quickly dismissed the idea... until I tried one. With a little effort (and mustered enthusiasm) I was quickly able to surpass my best weak hand load time. Yes, definitely borrow one and give it the ol' college try. I think that's all it takes for many people. Good luck!

  7. I recently purchased a number of the Quad Loads from Carbon Arms. It did not take me long to significantly reduce my reload times from using the Load 2 or the Weak Hand reload method. I'd like to say a quick thank you to Mark at Carbon Arms. He was extremely helpful in answering my questions and his customer support has been outstanding.

  8. The unfortunate truth is that its very difficult to save money reloading shotgun because the cost of lead shot is so expensive. I have started buying recollected shot from my club to help reduce the cost for my practice rounds. I shoot factory loads during competition.

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