Intel6
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Posts posted by Intel6
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Yes! I started using WIN brass from the start when I got my 929 as I had a decent amount of it once fired. Using .035" clips I found that if I had problems with a full clip dropping in the cylinder there was usually a round that didn't spin in the clip. Not sure if it is an out of spec piece of brass or the extractor groove was damaged when it was fired (in an autoloader) the first time? I now have the habit if checking for spin when I load my clips and just make sure I discard the specific case after firing. That way I cull out the bad brass and the issue doesn't happen much anymore.
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I use Lancer mags and I have found that there are no issues with the metal feed lips tearing up the brass? And as a reloader I would specifically not use them if they did. In fact I specifically use Lancers in my .458 SOCOM because they work great and don't tear up the brass. Yes they have metal feed lips but they are finished off smooth (not just a stamped out part with a sharp raw edge) and do not even scratch the brass?
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Great match and especially great weather for both matches. With the little amount of match type shooting I have done in the past few years I was happy to make it to 9th in USPSA revolver(15 with the open guys). I tied for best stage finish being 4th on stage 1 & 4. Very happy with the finish on stage 1 which was the always challenging Schmidt Standards.
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For the most part yes I do. Quenching for improved bullet hardness depends on the bullet metal composition. You have to have the right metals in the mix to make quenching work they way it is supposed to. Many question the fact that the quenched bullets are being heated back up during coating and has an affect on the hardness. Many just quench after coating also to get better final hardness. I quench both times for bullet hardness but also for efficient handling purposes. That way I am never siting around waiting for bullets to cool before I can take the next step with them.
One other thing I always do is season my bullets. Others (with hardness testers) have done tests and found that bullets need to sit for a couple of weeks to get to their full potential hardness. I do try and get them coated and sized within 24-48 hours of casting but then let them sit a few weeks (at least) before loading. I just try and stay ahead of my bullet needs and cast before I need them to load.
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12 hours ago, AverageJoeShooting said:
Man I put the handle to the sprue plate on correctly and it made things about a thousand times easier. The more sprue ontop worked out also. Bullets came out nice and beautiful.
Thanks for the tips
You are certainly welcome. I am glad you got it working like it is supposed to and I am always happy to help out.
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You should use the .310" but many have used .309" and there are also .311" bullets out there but the .310" are for the 7.62x39. Many die sets come with two different neck expanders for loading 7.62x39 with .309" or .310/.311" bullets. Make sure you are using the right one in order to get the proper neck tension.
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2 hours ago, AverageJoeShooting said:
so are you saying the handle of the mould should be bolted to the right of the mould? how do people get the plate open then? when i pour the sprue plate gets so solidified and stuck theres no way id be able to open it without hitting the handle with something
i rebuilt that pot, thats why its all weird and jacked up, but i mean it works perfectly and i get no drip at all. if it really turns out to be a huge problem i can always just rebuild it again
what does your process look like switching between the two moulds? like 10 pours in one then switch to the other or?
noted about the puddle ontop of the mould
The handle that is attached to the sprue plate (right hand side) should be bolted to the underside of the plate and the rounded cam surface should contact the side of the mould. After the pour and the sprue is solidified you pull the handle to the right and it cams the sprue plate to cut the sprue loose. It works just like the Lee 6 cavity, compare the MP mould to the Lee to get it correct. I took a few pics of my MP mould with the sprue plate handle attached. The first is from above the mould and the second is with the sprue plate open from the undersiade.
OK, kinda wonky looking but if it works. You might be better off using the other one as you can adjust and use the mould guide and start pouring a bigger sprue.
Running more than one mould increases output and permits the lead to solidify correctly.
Procedure is straightforward, the moulds need to come up to temp first. I cast with one while the 2nd heats up. Fill 1st mould and set down to cool. Fill the 2nd mould and set down to cool. Now the 1st mould is ready to be emptied and refilled. You just keep alternating between moulds until you are finished. Since I run my lead hotter than some I have a small fan blowing on the moulds when they are at rest to help keep them from overheating.
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I agree, I like to make sure everything is filled out so I run hotter and mine are frosted. Your concerns about opening the mould too early are valid and may apply here. Since the camming sprue handle is not installed correctly I think he is opening before the lead is solidified because he wouldn't be able to get it open very easily since he is cutting 8 sprue openings. Also since he is not getting a sprue puddle it is easier for him to open the sprue plate as he is not cutting through much from what I can see in the video.
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As you say this is your video, I will commend you for your effort and good intent to provide info for others. I am not someone who likes to crap on other peoples work but I do have some constructive comments as a longtime caster. Your video is good as it shows the process and gives people who don't cast an idea how it goes (which was your intent).
Couple of things on equipment:
- The pot you are using is not assembled correctly. It appears the other pot in the video is correctly assembled and you should either use that one or use it as an example to correctly assemble the second one.
- The mould is also not assembled correctly and that could lead to it being damaged. The sprue cutter handle should be bolted to the underside of the sprue plate and is used to cam open the sprue plate and the camming force helps cut the solidified sprue. The mould (actually an 8 cavity made by MP Moulds in Slovenia. NOE Moulds in Utah only makes up to 5 cavity moulds) is a copy of the Lee mould and the sprue cutting lever is set up the same way. Look at the Lee 6 cavity you have and see how the sprue lever is mounted and how it cams against the side of the mould block to cut the sprue when pulled to the right on opening.
Now about casting:
- Preheating the mould is a good practice but once you get everything up to temp you need to adjust your temp for optimal casting. It appears you are running your lead extremely hot and you are not letting your sprue cool enough before dumping bullets. Frosted bullets are actually a indication of the alloy being too hot. Alloy that is too cold results in bullets with rounded edges and wrinkles. Frosted bullets are not wrong but because you are running your alloy hotter you need to make sure you are cooling the filled mould enough between pours. I like to run two moulds and alternate them so it gives the other mold time to cool while I am working with the other one.
- When filling the cavities in the mould you should make sure there is a decent puddle of lead on the top of the mould. When the lead is solidifying in the mould cavity it shrinks and actually draws more lead into the cavity from the sprue. Also, having a nice puddle of lead/sprue on the mould helps keep the heat of the mould consistent for more consistent casting.
Hope this was constructive help for you and made sense. If you have any questions about what I talked about above or any about casting/coating/sizing please ask. I am always happy to help out fellow casters/reloaders.
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I use Longshot for high end loads in 10mm using 180-200 gr. bullets. It is the right burning rate and since it is a ball powder it works well in my Dillon's. You will easily find published data out there for it.
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I got registered for both matches but couldn't squad on SAT/SUN for the S/S match? There are squads with zero people in them but it is all RED and you cant squad?
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19 hours ago, Chillywig said:
I have been wanting to start doing this too. I have seen some vids where they resize to 300 before trimming. Is there a best way? I had also been looking at this jig
https://www.zepreloading.com/store/p3/300_AAC_Blackout_case_cutting_jig_.html
I was going to say, the jigs with the ball detent to hold the case (like this one) are really great. I borrowed a buddy's to cut some cases down and the ball detent made it easy and fast, just like you see in the video. Most others you need to keep your finger on the case to hold it in position while it get cut and is a PITA. The ones without the detent are usually cheaper because they are just 3D printed.
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I use my Tico tool, just like I use to keep my barrels clean. Been using mine for 30+ years and while it is a bit grubby it still works good, quick and easy.
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TJ, like reloading, better equipment can help cut your time down so it is tough to approximate time spent making 1,000 bullets. The key to casting decent quantities of bullets by hand is having molds with more cavities and a decent way of sizing bullets. I run 5-6 cavity molds for most of them but do have an eight cavity mold for making heavy 160 gr. rn's for my revolver. I also run a push through sizer (Star) which helps with the economy of motion when sizing. The last thing you need is having enough clean, ready to cast lead.
The lead thing is probably the big showstopper these days for many people as it is getting tougher to source. If I was talking with someone thinking about casting I would tell them the first thing they need to do is make sure they have a good supply of lead to cast. If you don't have a decent supply or it takes a lot of work to get clean lead to use then that can really add time to your hours per thousand bullets metric. If you have to buy your lead from a commercial smelter then you are paying $ in place of your time. It is like coming up with how long it takes you to load 1,000 rds of 9mm. If you are picking the brass up off the ground at the range and then cleaning and sorting it before loading (opposed to buying ready to load from a vendor) how does that add to your loading time metric? Like reloading, many of the things that make casting cheaper involves your labor and you negate that by paying for stuff.
I got into casting in order to make specialty heavy hunting bullets for larger caliber handguns and rifles. Those types of jacketed bullets are expensive and even if you are buying cast they are coming from a custom caster and are still pricey. Then after I got all the equipment for that it was easy to get some high capacity molds for regular handgun calibers so I could make them if I needed. Now I found that with the time involved to make decent quantities of bullets for competition it makes more sense to buy commercial cast bullets and I have been doing that. I decided that I may not be able to get what I needed commercially so I decided to cast up some revolver bullets in case. So starting with clean lead I probably have 2-3 hours into 1,000 bullets ready to load and shoot.
Hope that you got something out of all this babbling, I am happy to keep answering questions if you need more info.
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I cast and coat my own bullets with HiTek, been doing it for years and in fact just coated up 1,000 rds of bullets yesterday. The coating is applied with acetone which distributes the coating then evaporates off before baking. To check to make sure the coating is cured the easiest way it to do the wipe test. Take a clean white patch, soak with acetone and rub it on the bullet. If the coating has not been cured the coating will be dissolved back off the bullet on the patch. Once cured by heat you will not get any appreciable coating on the patch.
Baking longer will not hurt the coating, typically it just makes it darker as you have found. If the coating is cured from the maker then there is something else going on?
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I use the lotion to get the initial coat on my hands (spray doesn't put enough on) and found that during a match I tend to lose some of the grip on my palms as I tape/handle gear/load mags etc. It is like the base is still there, just getting smoothed out or filled in with dirt/grime. Rather than putting on a whole new base over the dirt on my hands I use the spray as a touch up to refresh my grip. One pump on each palm does a great job in freshening up my grip.
Doing it this way makes the regular lotion last longer and the spray bottle lasts me a long time. Usually I go through a few bottles of lotion to one bottle of spray.
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Yes these were "half jacket" bullets made by Speer. I have shot lots of these back when they still made them and still have some sitting on the shelf. These are basically jacketed bullets and should be loaded as such. Think of it as a jacketed bullet where the jacket doesn't go up above the mouth of the case when loaded. Other than that it has the jacket on the bearing surface of the bullet where it is important. When I shot these they performed great and I have never heard of any issues with any jacket separation with these types of bullets? From what I saw they were discontinued by Speer when they started to "TMJ" or "Totally Metal Jacket" ( i.e. plated bullets) their bullets and decided to retire the half jacketed stuff.
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11 hours ago, macbolan said:
Intel6, do you know if the 929 uses the Small Extractor tool or the large one? Its an N Frame revolver.
Honestly I do not know. I have had the tool for 20+ years (there was only one choice when I got it) and it is slightly different looking but works the same way. I would rely on Brownell's tech service to make sure you get the right one.
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13 hours ago, Mcfoto said:
Part of my Make Ready is to give my extractor rod a twist. Most times it’s backed out a quarter turn on the previous stage.
I use this tool to safely tighten the rod on my revolvers without damaging it and have never had any of them loosen during use. When you need to loosen it for maintenance you have to tool and don't have to use vise grips.
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On 10/6/2020 at 5:11 PM, ysrracer said:
Can you post some load data, please?
160 gr. Bayou @1.170"
Win Case
Fed 100
3.1 grs of N320 gives me 804 fps ave. (129 PF) out of my S&W929
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I load 160 gr. bullets for my 929. I mostly use N320 but since I use a lot of WST in other loads I tried it also for the 929 and it worked well. Both of these powders are very clean in the 929 loads which is important for me.
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Just measured both my .40 & .45 ACP MAX pistols (sorry don't have a 9mm yet) and found they both seemed to be the same at 0.255" It was a PITA because there are those little relief cuts around the blade but I kept coming up with around the same measurements.
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On 7/13/2020 at 6:44 AM, Tom Freeman said:
It is pretty much just a 6 Grendel that has been around for years.
Aaaand the the 6 Grendel is much just a 6 PPC that has been around for may many years before that
I have been shooting it since the early 90's 
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ChuckS is right. I got my 650 in 1995 and it had that style of funnel. They had a plastic insert to fit inside for 9mm so it wouldn't do that. It worked but was a PITA to install and take out when going to another caliber. One Area 2 years ago I brought my 650 w/casefeeder with me and dropped it off at Dillon for a refurb. They replaced the whole case feeder (mine didn't have the metal plate on the side) and I noticed they did away with flat sided funnel and went with a round one which works fine without the insert.
Odd shaped fired primers?
in 9mm/38 Caliber
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Yep, very obviously fired in a Beretta. The Border Patrol used to shoot Berettas and all the .40 brass looked like this.