Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

reidry

Members
  • Posts

    8
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Real Name
    Ryan Reid

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

reidry's Achievements

Looks for Range

Looks for Range (1/11)

  1. I have a set of high polished Swenson's if someone needs a set. They have been fit to an STI so the Ambi retainer leg is shortened for the 2011 frame. Keep in mind they have been fit so you may have to tig up the engagement ledge as well. Ryan
  2. Another vote of agreement here. While I've reloaded for years, I've kept my powder selection to just a few versatile powders. My first Limited gun was a Para in .40. I used AA5 for years as it was inexpensive and the gunshop I frequented always had plenty on the shelf. The residue was nasty, it mixed with the breakfree on the slide rails and was very gritty. After a weekend match the stuff on the rails felt like a coarse grinding compound. I shot some .38 spl semi-wadcutter reloads being sold at a local gunrange when I had bowling pin fever. They were loaded with some flake powder, light loads. After 3 runs, 18 shots total that flake stuff was everywhere. Got a couple of flakes under the ejector star one night - never knew a revolver could jam. Vhit powders leave a residue on the muzzle and in the slide, but it wipes off easily and doesn't have that coarse feel like the Accurate powder. I've used a few H powders for rifle and they seemed fine. Ryan
  3. Redding makes beautiful rifle dies, I have a couple of sets for some more obscure rifle cartridges. They are top shelf! Their competition seating dies are said to be great as well but I don't have one yet. PS. Stick with Dillon presses. Ryan
  4. And now "the rest of the story" ... Took my STI apart (needed a good cleaning anyway) and checked the dimensions of the chamber. Here are all my measurements: Wilson case gage: .425 (might be .4255) Dillon case gage: .427 Schuman Barrel: .427 Of the bullets I have on hand here are their measurements: STAR: .400 Gold Dot: .400 West Coast: .401 Rainier: .402 The Rainer's will not gravity drop in the Wilson gage. The Dillon gage doesn't like them much better and dummies don't hand cycle as smoothly as the others. West Coast have a rounder cone area and a smaller flat point, these seem to case drop very well in both gages. Gold Dots are also rounder but not quite as steep or as long as the West Coast. The Gold Dots drop well in both gages. The STAR bullets have a large flat nose, a short cone and a long straight bearing surface. The Dillon gage likes these, my barrel likes these and the Wilson gage only likes 90% of them. For now I'm going to shoot up the STAR bullets I have on hand and use the Dillon gage. If I have any burps I will be careful to capture the offending cartridge and check it completely against both gages and the barrel. Anyone want some Rainer bullets? Thanks, Ryan
  5. Whose bullets are you using? Locally I can get West Coast plated bullets, Rainier plated bullets or Zero Jacketed. The Zeros have the open base. My investigation continues but I have a new very interesting data point. I picked up dillon stainless steel case gage at my local reloading shop yesterday. Every round rejected by my Wilson gage drops freely into and out of the Dillon gage. The area forward of the headspacing step measures the same between the two gages while the case head area is .002 larger in the Dillon gage. Tonight I'm going to pull my barrel and measure my chamber. I don't have access to dial bore gages or I'd profile all three at various depths. More to follow... Ryan
  6. First, thanks for the quick replys. I've thought about the Redding Comp Seater, that one has the micrometer adjustment right? Would be nice to be able to adjust seating depth without fiddling with the locking ring. What does the Comp Seater cost? The Case gage doesn't have a throat. It has the case area, the headspacing step then a .401 cylindrical area that extends forward to the end of the gage. Very simplified when compared to an actual barrel. The sides of the bullet are touching the sharp leading edge of the headspacing step. Contact begins at or below (further toward the primer) the bottom of the cone of the bullet nose where the bullet becomes cylindrical. I'm using a custom STI built by Millenium Custom, Schuman Ultimatch barrel (non AET). I can reduce the crimp, but all the folks around here seem to be running .419 to .420. However I don't think this is the root of my seating problem. If I'm getting misalignment in the press it's got to be in the head, the shell plate is very rigid on a 1050 and basically locks down against the frame of the machine when sizing and seating is happening. The faint ring I'm seeing is from the axial hole in the seating stem of the dillon die. It is concentric with the round i.e. centered on the nose of the bullet. My seating stem is contacting the bullet on the flat and probably only on the flat. I can releave the flat portion more so that the tapered portion contacts the cone portion of the Truncated Cone bullet but I wasn't sure that was the right method for engagement. I haven't tried any other bullets lately, but I've got some Rainers I'll try this evening. I'll also pick up some zero's from the local supplier since that will probably be my next batch. The seating stem did have rings on the conical portion. I've polished them a bit to smooth that surface. I'll give that a try too. Thanks, Ryan
  7. I've been reloading for 10 years now and it seems that my .40 loads always give me the most rejects out of all the calibers I currently load and have loaded in the past. The equipment - I'm running a Dillon 1050, 1st stage is case pickup, 2nd stage is a Dillon Carbide sizing die, 3rd stage is a shortened Dillon Carbide sizing die (I just ordered an EGW undersize to replace this one), 4th is prime, 5th is powder drop/bell, 6th is empty, 7th is Dillon Seating Die, 8th is Lee Factory Crimp Die. OAL is 1.197, crimp is .421, bullets are STAR jacketed open lead base. (I know STAR is out of business but I still have a few thousand ...) Between 8 and 11 of every hundred will not case drop. The biggest problem I'm fighting is a bullet concentricity issue. When I drop the case in the Wilson gage it will drop down until the bullet reaches the throat step. The side of the bullet then rubs the throat step hard. Some can be pushed in with light thumb pressure, others refuse to go at all. They all drop in the case gage backwards, so it's not a bulged brass issue. If I pull the barrel from my gun, the rounds will drop in the chamber without issue. I cleaned all my dies to ensure this wasn't a crud buildup problem (didn't think so because it's always been this way). Checked the seating operation and found that I was getting a half moon mark in the top of the bullet. I removed the seating widget from the die and found it had a little burr around the axial hole. I polished the inside of the seating stem and then checked the fit of the truncated cone bullet. Seemed that I wasn't getting much help from the tapered sides in aligning the bullet. I indicated the seating stem in my Bridgeport, used an endmill to move the seating face .040 deeper to allow the tapered walls to straighten the bullet more before contacting the flat forcing portion of the stem. This seems to have improved things slightly but not completely. I now have a faint ring or almost complete ring on the top of each bullet after seating. Is the Wilson case gage too rigid in the throat area? Should I be using a different gauge? Is there something else I should check in my setup? Thanks in advance. Ryan
  8. I shot AA5 for years in my Para P16 - it was dirty. When the soot mixes with the fresh oil on your slide rails you get a nice gritty polishing compound - not a good thing. Accurate powders work and are competitively priced, if you choose them you should expect to spend a little more time cleaning your pistol (every trip to the range would be a good idea). I also tried a few of the H powders, cleaner but not perfect. Shot bullseye in a .38 spl revolver for a while, a little smoky with lead bullets. I much prefer the Vhit powders, currently using up some N350 in my .40 and looking to move to N320 like the rest of the crowd. Ryan
×
×
  • Create New...