A brass question.

[Beekeeper]

I made my first chamber cast today.It was a disaster.
It took me 3 different times to get a half a$$ed cast.
My question is this.
The cast showed that the neck area of the chamber is about 30 thousanths longer than the 8x57 brass I have and I have checked the brass and it meets all standards I have found.
Do I need to take some 30-06 brass and form it to meet the chamber or will standard brass be better.

Seems like every time I try to gain a little more knowledge I open a can of worms.


Jim

[Ricochet]

No, that's normal and fine.

[lurch]

I'd think you want a bit of wiggle room there. If your brass neck is right at the end of the chamber, you better keep a real close eye on it for stretching. You don't want to jam it up there where there is no room for it to expand and release the boolit/bullet cleanly. That could result in an instant "kit" gun...

[mike in co]

all is sorta normal.......
what you can do now is trim your brass for your chamber, and not the spec listed in books. say 15 thou less than what it measured......

mike in co

[montana_charlie]

If the end of the chamber isn't collecting lead, you probably don't need to worry about it.
Let your cases lengthen naturally (if they will) and keep them trimmed to a reasonable length.
CM

[SierraWhiskeyMC]

You really wouldn't want the neck right at the end of the chamber throat.

If all you are ever going to shoot is low-velocity loads with lead boolits and just perform neck sizing, you could close up the gap a bit, as those cartridge cases won't stretch very much at all.

But keep those cartridge cases separate from any you might use with J-word bullets and high-velocity rounds, as they WILL stretch, and long-neck rounds there may cause some very unpleasant problems.

[Beekeeper]

Thanks for the answer. I feel better about it now.
It was quite a learning experience ( doing the cast).
Will have to do a lot of practice I'm afraid.

Jim

[largom]

I have a chamber length gage made by "Stoney Point" that measures the length of the neck of a chamber. You would be surprised at how long some chamber necks really are. I have seen chambers that were 1/8 in. over standard length. This just means that you do not have to trim your brass very often for that gun.

Larry

[mike in co]

I have a chamber length gage made by "Stoney Point" that measures the length of the neck of a chamber. You would be surprised at how long some chamber necks really are. I have seen chambers that were 1/8 in. over standard length. This just means that you do not have to trim your brass very often for that gun.

Larry


huh ????

stoney point makes tools for setting bullet length, and to measure case length at the shoulder (headspace datum point), but i have never seen nor heard of a chamber neck length tool from stoney point.

on the other hand sinclair does make a tool used in a neck shortened case that is used to measure how long your throat is.

mike in co

[largom]

Mike, The chamber length tools I have are about 20 yrs. old. It use's the Stoney Point OAL gage with a shortened [1/8 in.] case. A caliber specific insert is used in the shortened case to measure the chamber length.

Larry

[montana_charlie]

It was quite a learning experience ( doing the cast).
Will have to do a lot of practice I'm afraid.Do you think practice will do it...or are you open to tips?

CM

[Beekeeper]

montana charlie,
I am always open to help or tips on anything associated with reloading.
How else do you learn.
Books only help so much the rest is tips from other people and trial and error.

Will always be open to tips or criticisam(sp)


Jim

[StarMetal]

I have a chamber length gage made by "Stoney Point" that measures the length of the neck of a chamber. You would be surprised at how long some chamber necks really are. I have seen chambers that were 1/8 in. over standard length. This just means that you do not have to trim your brass very often for that gun.

Larry

No it doesn't mean that. You should always give your brass a trim for the simple fact that it doesn't grow evenly around the mouth and more importantly for a good consistent crimp if you use a crimp. A good example of ruined cases is the 30-30. If that mouth isn't even all the way around or the cases are of varying lengths you'll have a miserable time crimping them.

No neck chamber ledge may also mean it's been shot out.

Joe

[mike in co]

Mike, The chamber length tools I have are about 20 yrs. old. It use's the Stoney Point OAL gage with a shortened [1/8 in.] case. A caliber specific insert is used in the shortened case to measure the chamber length.

Larry


so why is the oal tool used ?? why not just case base to insert length ??

like i said never saw one, tho i have used sinclair's

mike in co

[JIMinPHX]

In a chamber where the cartridge headspaces on the shoulder & not the mouth of the case, what you have can be considered normal & even desirable. If you had something like a .45acp or a 9mm, where the cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case, then that would be a different story.

Just seat your boolits out far enough so that they just touch the beginnings of the rifling & you should have good results.

Brass that extends beyond the end of the throat area is a problem. Brass that comes up a little short of that spot is not a problem.

[montana_charlie]

Will always be open to tips or criticisam(sp)
Did you heat your barrel before pouring the Cerrosafe?
CM

[Beekeeper]

montana charlie,
No , should I have warmed it.
The instructions wern't very good and I sort of winged it.


Jim

[montana_charlie]

montana charlie,
No , should I have warmed it.
The instructions wern't very good and I sort of winged it.
Think of it this way...
When you pour lead into a bullet mould, you want to see the metal stay liquid for a few seconds. That happens when the mould has been preheated properly.

Same holds true for Cerrosafe...except the melting temperature is closer to that of boiling water.

So, if your barreled action is too hot to hold comfortably, (kinda like you had just fired twenty fast shots) it is just right for pouring Cerrosafe.

I use a propane torch to heat mine, but keep it moving around to spread the heat evenly in the chamber and throat area.
And, it doesn't hurt the blue, or anything.

Some recommend a hand-held hair dryer, but I find that slow and cumbersome.

CM