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Thread: Plunk test - pass or fail?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    May 2007
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    Plunk test - pass or fail?

    OK. So I was trying to determine the proper overall length of a boolit for my 9mm. I removed the barrel and did a plunk test with a factory load and it made a distinct metallic plunk. With the powder coated cast boolit the cartridge went plunk but had a more dull thud sound. The case head was flush with the back of the barrel so it looked OK.

    Is that a pass because the cartridge free-falls into the chamber and ends where it needs to?

    Or is it a fail because it made a dull thud sound?

    It also seems to pass the function test - it cycles through the magazine, chamber, and ejects well enough.

    This is at 1.130"

    I start to get a metallic plunk when the OAL is down around 1.115"

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I would say "pass". It would be a fail if it did not enter the chamber.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    As long as the cartridge chambers to the right depth it's passed the test .

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    i use a sized case that is the proper length as a gage.insert the sized case in the barrel note where the head of the case is.then try your loaded round and see if it is in the same position and go from there.i do not count one a thud or tink..for what is it worth.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master

    gwpercle's Avatar
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    A coated lead boolit is not going to make the metallic sound a factory J-word round will.
    Go by location in chamber....ignore the sound .
    Gary
    Certified Cajun
    Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  6. #6
    Banned
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    It wouldn't make a sound if it hadn't reached where it needed to be

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Yodogsandman's Avatar
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    Time to go shoot some cast bullets!
    A deplorable that votes!

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodogsandman View Post
    Time to go shoot some cast bullets!
    Well alrighty then! Yeeeehah!

  9. #9
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    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

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    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

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  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master

    mdi's Avatar
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    Pass. But I would measure the bullet diameter, perhaps the bullet is just a few thousandths big and even though it goes deep enough, it might be touching the throat. But your ammo does pass the plunk test and I don't rely on sound just if the cartridge easily enters to the bbl hood...

    Anytime there is a question of fit, measure. Measure your handload along the body. Measure the case at the neck, , body and at the head, and even at the rim. Measure the bullet after seating. Measure the OAL. Find out if the cartridge is too large and where it is too large. With this knowledge you can determine when the problem happens and fix it...
    Last edited by mdi; 06-22-2018 at 12:11 PM.
    My Anchor is holding fast!

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check