Cardboard gas check???

[Scrounger]

How does this sound? After you've dropped the powder, take one of those cans you spray Styrofoam insulation with and fill the case, then seat the bullet. Seriously, it just might be doable with straight wall cases...

[LIMPINGJ]

To stick a card wad to the base use your caselube pad. Just touch the base to the pad then the wad will stick th the base. The stuff from the office supply that you wipe your finger in the turn pages might also work.

[Bass Ackward]

Bass, You say that the milk carton wad is hard on rifling, and I am willing to accept that based on your analysis. That said, what is the wear factor with the plastic wads from coffee can lids, and also is there a plastic residue with these. Lastly, will these plastic wads work on blts designed for GC's, or just on regular plain base blts. Will try anything once, twice if it works out!
1Shirt!

1Shirt,

Every single thing that you put down a bore has some abrasive quality under pressure. But I use poly shot buffer and have no plastic build-up or wear. The film that remains seems to act as lube for the next round.

I suspect that anything soft would need a full bullet base for support, but plastic will expand greatly under pressure much like a shot gun wad. Never tried it on a GC design minus the check though.


Blyssmelter $ JohnW,

Type of cardboard is everything. Same as paper for paper patching. 40 years ago I shot the rifling virtually out of a barrel cause I didn't know enough to use the right paper. Wasn't a very economical endevor.

But .......... in this world of high raw material costs and multiple vendors for "just in time" inventory use, who knows what kind of cardboard is delivered to that that cerial factory. And what it is made out of today, tomorrow, next week? Recycled, or not?

Would I risk it? No, but it's still a free country.

[felix]

No, Art, no liquid chemicals allowed. The solvent contained therein WILL react with the powder, in time anyway. It might even affect the burn rate when not fully evaporated as it would be when capped with boolit. Just too dangerous. ... felix

[Blammer]

45 2.1 your funny!

How do you write it with the ¢?

[leftiye]

I like the version where you melt the wax on the top of a manila folder leaf and punch out wads after freezing. Use castor wax, maybe carnauba. Set the whole thang paper side down in yer cases to keep the wax outta yer powder. Not too clear yet on how to fasten it to the back end of a boolit in a bottlenecked case (might not work at all if below the shoulder anyway - even if fastened on). I've only used this kind of thing in muzzleloaders so far. Should be fine in all straight cases though. Variation is to cut correct sized wads fron 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick felt shotgun wads (feltan bluestreaks) and saturate them with melted wax.

[Tom W.]

"What if you dipped a GC bullet into a pot of melted hot glue (or any other liquid material that will set up), let it set, then run it through a sizer?"



Then you would get a wad of bullet lube that would take the place of the gas check. I tried it with the cast .357 bullets I just cast. I rolled them in JPW, sized them in a Lee sizer, and re lubed them with LLA. Where the gas check would have gone, there was a nice blob (sized, of course) of lube.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Then you would get a wad of bullet lube that would take the place of the gas check.

Hey great! The next question is, "will that wad perform similar to a GC?" And if the bullet lube does not perform as an adequate GC, could another material be used instead? I'm thinking of some kind of glue or something.

[DLCTEX]

It seems to me that a bore diameter check of cardboard or wax, etc. if placed on a gas check boolit would be folded over the gas check and cover less than bore diameter. In the case of wax, it may be extruded to flow over to the walls of the bore by pressure, but I can't see the cardboard check working on any thing but a flat base. DALE

[Junior1942]

Buffalo Arms sells press-operated cardboard wad punches in many diameters. They're higher'n a cat's back, but they work very well indeed. I use one to make 44 mag overpowder and overshot wads for my 44 mag bumble bee loads.

If somebody wants a few to test, send me a SASE.

[softpoint]

I might experiment with plastic. I know there are concerns about the plastic sticking to the inside of the bore, but not only are shotgun wads plastic, so are the muzzleloader sabots, and they are responsible for gripping the rifling. I know shotguns and muzzleloaders operate at lower pressures than some of our cast bullet loads. However, there is the Remington accelerator ammo that does operate at high pressure, high velocity, and has to spin the projectile. It has a plastic sabot as well, although Idon't know if it is a commonly available plastic.
Maybe a disc about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick (depending on the space over the powder) I have a lot of things plastic laying about from coffee can lids to old tackleboxes and might even steal a plastic food container out of the kitchen!
What do others here think? I for one would like to get away from gaschecks without giving up performance, they ARE getting costly, and it appears availability may get spotty, as Midsouth has .35 cal checks backordered right now.:

[mooman76]

Plastic sabots used to void the warrentee on ML's until they realized after time that they didn't do any harm!

[softpoint]

I just saw some plastic discs with felt glued on one side that are made to reduce friction, made to put under heavy objects to slide them around on the floor. I think I'll cut some discs out of one of them and see what happens

[1Shirt]

Just a wild thought, or maybe a wild hair, but has anybody tried those little round cork stick ons that are made to keep stuff from scaring furniture.? They come in a number of sizes and have an adheisive back.
1Shirt!

[redbear705]

How about some good old fashioned waxed paper for straight walled cartridges?

Ball it up and seat on top of powder!

Thin-plentiful-CHEAP!

JR

now if it will only work

[mroliver77]

For plinking boolits I lubesize in the Lyman with a stiff lube and let the lube fill the gascheck shank up with lube. I looks like a wax gas check. I havent done any comparison tests but will when it warms some. They do SEEM to shoot better than the TL or handlubed ones.
J

[Blammer]

when GC's get scarce I'll be shooting plain base, or find someone to make em out of spent 22 cases.

[randyrat]

Beware the SofChek (Trade name of the red wax sheets)! They will melt in summer heat and kill your loads deader than a hammer.

Thanks for the warning

[codarnall]

With the load I'm using, I don't think I really need a metal gas check. I tried shooting without a check on and got lots of leading. No leading with a check.
I was thinking of a flat gas check punched out of milk carton cardboard. I would stick it on with hot glue, dip lube like I do with metal checks, and size when I need to in the Lee sizer.
With the price of checks going the way it's going, if it would work, it seems like a cheap alternative.
Has anyone tried something like this?????

I hate it when I see shot up computer mother boards. The circuit boards would make seemingly good checks because they are layered with wires and are very strong. They must withstand the high temps of wave soldering techniques. The resin withstands very high temperatures and is a great buffer between the burning powder and the lead. Great use for them too.

[rbstern]

What about aluminum foil, used in a way similar to paper patching?