Homemade gas check (Freechex) update.

[JeffinNZ]

What is the open season on 'nights' down your way and how many on the daily bag........

[Euan]

Giday Jeff,
Some nights can shoot over a hundred or 2 of rabbits and hares. depends on the population etc.
Cheers Euan.

[windrider919]

I have always gotten small quantities of brass shim stock from the automotive stores [sheets usually measuring 5' x 8']. Also, machine shop supply companies stock it in many thicknesses, usually in 10 foot rolls. It comes in widths of 2", 4", 8", 10" and 12". Thickness: .001, .002, .003, .004, .005, .010, .015, .020, .025, ..050, .075, .100, .125. European suppliers will roll theirs in mm. You can also get it in stainless but I doubt that would make very good GC.

Here are some links for shim stock. Note the brass will usually be 'Half-hard' alloy with about 40% zinc

www.aloma.com OEM SOURCE

www.precisionbrand.com OEM SOURCE

www.mcmaster.com One of the worlds largest ind suppliers

www.sdp-si.com supplier

www.shopaid.com supplier

www.grainger.com Big US ind supplier

ETC...........


I can not understand why for months I kept seeing the question asked on where to get shim stock. Remember when in the movie Star Wars it was said "Use the Force, Luke" What that really means is "USE THE INTERNET SEARCH FORCE, Bubba'. Just Google, or Yahoo or MSN 'shim stock" and GO!

[JeffinNZ]

Thanks for the info but you must remember I live in New Zealand and things are VERY different down here. It wouldn't be worth me having it posted in from the US so I make do with what is around.

[windrider919]

I understand and thoroughly sympathize. Having been to Christchurch as a Tech Rep for GE i feel your pain. However, people get the government they deserve. I had such wonderful experiences with the brain dead bureaucrats that I declined to ever return. I was especially impressed with the customs people who failed to understand that the more they tried to make my life difficult the more their lives would suffer. As I told them: "You are paying me $480.00 a day Travel & Living, a rental car and my pay for 12 hours a day even days I don't work and am on standby. The parts you are holding are not mine, they are not GEs, they are yours. Prepaid for and all I am here for is to install them. I can stay here al long as you like because every expense, 100% is just billed back to you and your government and citizens. So your game of 'Silly Buggers' is just amusing and you have failed to punish me for your obvious prejudices against Americans, well illustrated by you snide remarks. You have told me that my boxes will not be available for 5 more days and it will just be sitting in a warehouse. I have been working and on the go for over 6 weeks without a day off, see you in 5 days." And I left. Greatest scenery in the world. Best hunting ever on South Island. Worst hotels in my life with small, dark and drab rooms and the food was like something in an old fokes home. I still enjoyed my paid vacation on the NZ citizens expense. Even the yahoos in Italy, Guatemala and Nicaragua got the message but those crats down under never did.

So I am absolutely sure that your access to the world is limited and you really have to scrape by and make do. That sort of thing is a powerful driving force for innovation. Love your posts and the experimenting you are doing benifets all of us. Best of luck!

[Piet]

Hi Jeff,
Maybe you have already tried it, but what about using Zinc. I remember an article in Handloader's digest bout a Zinc washer swaged to a bullet.

Piet

[JeffinNZ]

Team.

More testing today. The following is a group shot at 100m/110y with my No4 MkII using the CBE 316 240 bullet and a 2 ply Cu 10 thou/Al 4.3 thou Freechex.



Damn last shot jitters!!!!!!!!!!

The next group I am fully prepared for you all to "poo poo, yeah right, don't believe it, were you drunk" comment on but I sit here and tell you this is 100% true. 100m/110y, CBE 313 215 bullet and the same check. I had run a couple of dry patches down the rifle after the last range visit to see if all was well in the bore. Took two shots to bring the old girl right again and then the final three.............well, see for yourself.




Can't say it will ever happen again but I swear that this is 100% true.

[Bigjohn]

Jeff; Some people tend to poo-poo things without thinking. That test would have been good to have tried without the cleaning; sometimes takes a shot or two, to re-foul the barrel to previous level and return the good grouping.

Once I have the sights adjusted for where I want the group to be on the target; I don't check the progress of the group until after the last shot.
I had a range experience many years back when launching some RCBS .308-165-SIL through an OMARK 44B over the bench rest. After the fourth shot a bystander who was watch through my spotting scope called for me to have a look. I told him I would when I had finished shooting the group.
The group ended up as a single hole in the target @ 50metres, 3/4" high by 1/2" wide.

Unfortunately; many of my early records were lost some years back as the result of a brain fade but what I can remember is; RCBS 308-165-SIL boolit cast hard (range salvage) sized .309", seated in front of a load of REDDOT, weight ?? of charge and ignited by a Berdan Primer RWS 5.5mm.
This was shot over sandbags (which was all I had at the time) off the bench we called Ol' Shaky because it leaned which ever way the wind blew at the time.

I must add that I have been trying to reproduce this group ever since.

John.

[1Shirt]

I bought the 30 and 44 Free check tools, and have been playing with mostly the 30 checks and the Ranch Dog blt. So far testing has been limited to 30-30, and 308, and results while not very conclusive shows little difference in accuracy with loads tested to date. The 44's seem to have a slightly shorter side than commercial, but might be my imagination, and will be giving them a workout in 44 mag and 444 in the near future. Am using tooling copper from craft stores initially, but will be trying coke cans in the near future. Interesting reports, and the more research put into this issue the better with rising prices, not to mention something that goes just one step further in making home made ammo just that rather than something that is just assembled.
1Shirt!