"Notches" in Aluminum Gas Checks

[milrifle]

I had been using Hornady gas checks for my 30-06, but both of the suppliers I normally use seem to be out of stock, so I decided to try some aluminum ones off of E-bay. When I got them, I noticed that a significant percentage of them seem to have a 'notch' on one side. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm thinking it may be where the guy making them failed to advance the material far enough before punching the next one and it had a 'bite' taken out of it from the previous one. I've not shot any yet, so I don't know how they will do, but I am concerned the 'light spot' will give the bullet a balance problem. Maybe not, as it is a very small percentage of the overall bullet weight, but still..... So, has anyone seen this? Will it cause me a problem?

[doctorggg]

I've contacted Charlie about the same thing with my 30 cal FreeChex. He said a small notch shouldn't matter. I have not shot any to confirm this.

[gvanzeggelaar]

A few of the GC's I make have a notch in them also. If they are made properly they will not have a notch. I just shoot the ones with notches and they work fine.

[1Shirt]

So far I have had no problem shooting the ones with notches. Think the issue is a lack of QC on the part of the check maker.
1Shirt!

[JeffinNZ]

The notches are a result of the specific design feature that Charlie builds into his die. It is a result of the punch shearing through the edge of the material leaving an opening that serves to release the material from the workings of the punch. If the punch creates a perfect hole in the material the strip of alum stalls on the tool and jams. The notches don't impact on accuracy in my experience.

[Tazman1602]

Funny you should mention the lack of gas checks in stock. If not for my buddy, Hardcast416Taylor I would not have any for my .338 Winmag..................don't know why the shortage of checks, there can't be that many of us "Metally Deranged" people left in the world.............

"Metally Deranged" = My wifes pet name for all of us who just HAVE to cast their own bullets.......................

I did write Hornady about this and the response I got was we're sorry but we don't even have a production date to give you as of now....................

Art

[arjacobson]

Notches are caused when the checks are punched too close together. Throw them away.

[slim1836]

Notches are caused when the checks are punched too close together. Throw them away.

Throw them my way if .30 cal.

[fcvan]

When stamping plain based checks I noticed that notches make for poorly formed checks. I went through a learning curve and now I don't have many faulty checks. My 30 cal CheckMaker is not plain based and I punch them out of Amerimax aluminum flashing. These checks come out very pretty and with few if ever throw always. Sorry Slim. If you want some 'questionable' checks I could send you some for you to analyze for quality control