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Thread: head stamp

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    head stamp

    I have a 6.5 JAP. rifle that came with ammo that is head stamped-NORMA-220-SWIFT.my question, is this ammo safe to shoot in the gun? it is what was shot in the JAP. be fore I got it.

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    Wayne Smith's Avatar
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    If the brass resizes in the 6.5 Jap die and fits the chamber of your rifle use it. I would check for incipient case separation inside the case first though. When reforming brass head stamp doesn't mean much. All my 8mm-06 brass says 30-06 on the head stamp. All my 25 Krag AI brass says 30-40 Krag on the head stamp.
    Wayne the Shrink

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    Mk42gunner's Avatar
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    I don't like shooting other people's reloads, you never know for sure that they knew what they were doing. The safe way to do this would be to break down the ammo that you have and then load it yourself.

    As for the .220 brass used as a parent case, it should work if it has been converted properly. If in doubt, Grafs still lists the proper brass for around $30/50.

    Robert

  5. #5
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    All I can go by is what you said, "It is what was shot in the JAP before I got it." So, if it worked then, it should work now, if you're sure of that fact. If you have empties, they should be fire formed to the chamber. But, new proper brass is always preferable.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Der Gerbirgsjager, yes to your question. I have fired the 220 SWIFT remotely with no ill affects, reloaded them my self. thanks for the help all you guys have added to my query. one quick question, why do all 6.5 JAPS. have a small bulge near the base of the brass after firing? it seams to go away after re forming in the die then reappears when fired?.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    It's because the case wall expands to fit the chamber, but the solid case head does not expand appreciably. What you are seeing is very common and is not a sign of an abnormality.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by toot View Post
    .... why do all 6.5 JAPS. have a small bulge near the base of the brass after firing? it seams to go away after re forming in the die then reappears when fired?.
    That fired pressure bulge is common to all ammo, not just the Jap. And the looser/larger the chamber is and the smaller/tighter the FL sizer is, the more observable the bulge will be.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    Actually, the size die has nothing to do with extent of the bulge. Even if cases are neck sized the bulge will be the same. The size of the bulge is determined by the difference in the diameter of the chamber and the diameter of the solid cartridge case head.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tatume View Post
    Actually, the size die has nothing to do with extent of the bulge. Even if cases are neck sized the bulge will be the same. The size of the bulge is determined by the difference in the diameter of the chamber and the diameter of the solid cartridge case head.
    The issue here isn't how/why the bulge occurs, it's the fact that a minimum diameter tolerance FL die can and will reduce that solid case head bulge to its original (unfired) size.

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1hole View Post
    The issue here isn't how/why the bulge occurs, it's the fact that a minimum diameter tolerance FL die can and will reduce that solid case head bulge to its original (unfired) size.
    It makes no difference if the case is sized a lot, a little, or not at all. That has nothing to do with the bulge. Unsized cases, neck sized only, still exhibit the bulge. The bulge is the difference between the diameter of the chamber and the diameter of the solid case head.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tatume View Post
    ... The bulge is the difference between the diameter of the chamber and the diameter of the solid case head.
    So, the actual fit between the case's heads (actually, the rapidly thinning part of the head's transition from the solid web to the body wall) and every FL sizer ever made doesn't matter so, in your world, no visible pressure bulge will ever change?? I disagree.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    The solid case head is not sized in the FL die. The case wall will always expand to fill the chamber. The case head will not. The difference is the bulge.

  14. #14
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    Wayne Smith's Avatar
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    And one solution is to wrap the case head with a couple of layers of Scotch tape first. This centers the cartridge in the chamber and the expansion is equal all around. From then on neck size and your case will fit the chamber.
    Wayne the Shrink

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  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tatume View Post
    The solid case head is not sized in the FL die. The case wall will always expand to fill the chamber. The case head will not. The difference is the bulge.
    Yes, that's the reason the case bulge occurs. No one has suggested sizing the solid head and, even if that could happen, it would make the bulge more pronounced the next time it's fired.

    All that's needed is to size the swollen wall back to original size, not make the head smaller. The wall bulge is well forward of the head, the only reason it's there after reloading is because most sizers just didn't contact it. But, individual die and chamber tolerances occasionally do stack in ways that the pressure bulge will indeed be sized back to where it started; that's not common but it's not nearly as impossible as you suggest and sizing the solid case head plays no part in it.

    I have to wonder, have you ever used a "Small Base/Small Head" sizer? Reducing, or eliminating, that pressure bulge is their reason for being but even they do not "size" the solid case web.

    That's enough about case bulges, this issue is way off topic.
    Last edited by 1hole; 06-04-2020 at 07:59 PM.

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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