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Thread: Plain base gas checks qualiity

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Plain base gas checks qualiity

    Folks,
    I have bought aluminum plain base 35 cal checks twice now.....
    NONE of the ones look even decent to try using... they look like ripped bottle caps wrinkled around the bowl and so rough you cannot seat them on a miha 9mm Penta point 125gr boolits base they tear and shred
    Anyone else run into this?
    I have contacted the vendor and sent pics as they look nothing like the picture they show done the 60 degree polish and bevel also
    Any thoughts welcome

    Gutpile
    Last edited by gutpile; 07-01-2019 at 09:32 PM. Reason: Typo

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    I’ve heard seating them base up/ nose down if your using a lee size system works good. I’ve also heard that annealing the checks also helps them from maybe shreading.

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy dimaprok's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gutpile View Post
    Folks,
    I have bought aluminum plain base 35 cal checks twice now.....
    NONE of the ones look even decent to try using... they look like ripped bottle caps wrinkled around the bowl and so rough you cannot seat them on a miha 9mm Penta point 125gr boolits base they tear and shred
    Anyone else run into this?
    I have contacted the vendor and sent pics as they look nothing like the picture they show done the 60 degree polish and bevel also
    Any thoughts welcome

    Gutpile
    Saw your post first day in my feed and when I tried to open it on my phone it would give me error. Found it now on my computer. When I first heard of pop can gas checks I though it was gimmick for the same reason, how they looked. Well it wasn't until I made several I realized the secret was not to make sides too long and the clearance has to be close, I made my die is specifically for it with forming pin in .360 - .362 range where as a regular forming pin is .344 or so, with tighter pin and low clearance they form much nicer GC without jagged edges.

    The seating is tricky. Simply running through Lee/NOE die nose up will result in torn / disfigured gas check. The lead hardness plays a big role, the deformation happens even with traditional GCs if the material if the sheet is thin and lead is hard. If you run it base up, it works but it forms a "bubble" bottom which is probably fine but I don't like it. The best way to seat it is with lubrisizer. No torn gas checks and nice flat bottom. Also I found out that if you seat it on top of powder coated bullet it has a lot less grip power but if you put it on bare lead it grips it hard but than powder coating might not stick due to contamination and stuff. You want to install your gas checks either right after powder coating or after casting while the lead hasn't hardened unless your alloy doesn't have any antimony or arsenic to harden with time. Like a pure / tin mix.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    Same problem, I've got a thousand PB 9mm checks sitting here that I cant use. They almost always get ripped when seating.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
    Gunslinger1911's Avatar
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    Looking like bottle caps is normal for PB checks.

    I've run into tearing at times, I think it's a matter of the check material too thick for the job or too hard.

    I make 4 calibers of PB checks from pop cans, never a tear. 35, 40, 45, 50

    Bought some from Sages for a .44 (no check maker that caliber yet), they tear even when pre-sizing the boolit. I think they had a batch of too thick / hard.

    BTW, talked to Sages, they offered to make it good, wasn't worth messing with it for the few I bought - great folks !
    Cogno, Ergo, Boom

    If you're gonna be stupid, don't pull up short. Saddle up and ride it all the way in.

  6. #6
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    marlin39a's Avatar
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    I've been using PB Checks from a member here, in 40, 10mm, and 9mm. Running through a Lyman 450, with carnauba red. No problems, and great performance.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

    Beagle333's Avatar
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    I buy my PB checks from a member as well. They are made of soft drink cans and they work well when seated backwards through a Lee push-thru die or NOE push-thru die. Then after they are seated, they go through my lubesizers with no issues.
    KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
    Ed_Shot's Avatar
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    I make .35 cal. PB gas checks from soda cans. Yes they have a wrinkled edge out of the forming die but they are perfect when seated. I use a Lyman 450 for sizing/seating. PB checks need to be seated base-first. I have had no issues.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    sorry, but, i'm confused. what is meant by seating pb gas checks base first?

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master

    Beagle333's Avatar
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    Put the check on the boolit and push it backwards through a push-thru sizer die. It works best with boolits that have a flat nose, but if your boolit is close to size already, it doesn't really deform the round nosed ones either.
    KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master


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    I've been using Pat Marlin's PB checks since he started. My first was a 35PB set. Checks made from pop cans. The edges are rough but this seems to crimp into the side of the bullet and anchor the checks in place. Base first sizing is a must. I use a Lyman 450 and have no problems. I have .30, .35 and .44 sets and no problems with any of them./beagle
    diplomacy is being able to say, "nice doggie" until you find a big rock.....

  12. #12
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    I still have a set of dies and punches made by Charlie Darnell that form gas checks out of pop cans, can't remember for sure but think I was set up for 30-32-and 35 cal I know because I shot a bunch on PB 357 loads. I need to find that set up, probably 15 years ago pre freecheck and freecheck 2, there was a guy from NZ testing same time, can't remember his name?? Purple underware something
    Charter Member #148

  13. #13
    Boolit Master Maven's Avatar
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    Scooter, That would be Jeff Brown aka Jeff in NZ who sometimes wore purple wool tights when hunting.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Do a site search "Jeff Brown Hunt Club". Prepare to laugh your keister off,,,,,

    Jeff's last visit to the States saw him become a confirmed Overalls convert.
    More "This is what happened when I,,,,," and less "What would happen if I,,,,"

    Last of the original Group Buy Honcho's.

    "Dueling should have never been made illegal in this country. It settled lots of issues between folks."- Char-Gar

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Yes that would be the guy, Jeff in NZ, thanks.
    Charter Member #148

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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