Seating/Loading Gas Check Without Crimping?

[emrah]

I am ready to load a bunch of .313-.314 boolits for my Mosin Nagants. They are from the Lyman 314299 (200gr.) mold. They take a .30-cal gas check.

I do not have a lube/size for this boolit (like say from Lyman). I also do not have a Lee push-through sizer. My questions are these:

1. The gas checks will "snap" in place by hand, but they obviously are not crimped. They flare out at the opening (Hornady). They also mic. about .321"+.

2. Is this safe to fire, with the GC mouth measuring so much wider than boolit band diameter?

3. Are GC's safe to fire WITHOUT crimping? Will it come off in the barrel?

4. Is it safe to seat a GC boolit below the case neck? I'm guessing it's ok if it's crimped, but what about if it's not?

I've read up on about 10 pages in the GC threads here and there are a lot of opinions. I could always use a few more.

Emrah

[btroj]

You can five it a try. Load a dummy round and see if the non-crimped check creates a bulge in the case neck that causes the round to not be able to chamber. I also would NEVER do this with a bullet that doesn't allow the check to be contained fully in the case neck- why take a chance that the check comes off in a loaded round and ends up doing who knows what when fired.
I bet the check will be well crimped after firing, the barrel with do that. I doubt it will come off as it will have lots of pressure behind it in the barrel!

[Moonie]

Superglue...

[sundog]

If the GC is not at least down to the same diameter as the drive bands, it can expand the case neck on seating and reduce neck tension. That could create a problem in itself. Best bet is to get a sizer to at least size to the diameter of drive bands, or smaller.

[emrah]

Confirmed this. Tried loading a dummy round without crimping the GC and loading it. Bulged the neck pretty good at the GC level, but it would not grip the boolit. I put a crimp on it and it would not chamber without forcing it. Pushed the boolit into the case.

I'm having trouble tracking down a .314 sizer locally (I know I can order one). Gonna try putting it in a Lee Factory Crimp Die like I saw on YouTube. I tried it with the .30-30 LFCD that I have. It did a good job but only crimped it down to .315-.316. I believe the YouTube guy used a .270 Win. LFCD to get the right crimp. I don't have one, but it may be worth purchasing?

Emrah

[emrah]

Ok. I bought a .270 LFCD today and voila! Seated and crimped GC's. They went on pretty straight and crimped great.

I loaded them up for my M44 with 17.0, 18.0, 19.0 and 20.0 of 2400. Probably going to the range tomorrow to test 'em out. I'll report back.

Emrah

[onondaga]

This would do it:
http://leeprecision.com/xcart/NEW-LUBE-and-SIZE-KIT-.314.html

Other sources are even cheaper. I suggest this as a minimum for the right tools for the job. Sizing to .314 with this will seat and crimp the checks and the tumble lube in the kit will work. The lube usually comes thick and you can add Mineral spirits to it any time to make it just shakable in the bottle. The lube is fine for pre- lube before size/checking and as a final lube.

Gary

[Ben]

emrah

Have you seen this :

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=119056

[emrah]

Nice tutorial, and I think I might try and make something like that sized for .315 or so, but I don't see how it crimps the GC? My boolits use a .30-cal GC shank, but I want them sized to .315. How would I accomplish this?

Emrah

[mold maker]

If the OD of the GC is over .315 you'll need a LEE size die of the finished size required. If that isnt enough crimp, try a dot of super glue in the check.

[XWrench3]

other than buying a sizer, about the only other thing you can do is open up a smaller sizer to your dimension. i have done this several times with lee sizers when i could not get the size i wanted otc. a hint, using a jacketed or plated bullet will speed the process dramaticly.

[Pirate69]

I am putting a 30 cal GatorCheck on a 0.313" boolit and seating it in a 0.315-0.316" ID neck. There is just enough tension to hold the boolit. Can't put a lot of pressure on it or it will move. There is no sizing, just snapped-on and loaded. Below are some boolits I dug out of my sand trap. The GC are tight on the boolits and measure 0.312"; what my barrel slugs.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww187/Pirate69-photo/Argentine%20Mauser/046.jpg