.30 Cal "Glazers"

[Rangefinder]

Had a little "experiment" go really well. I was recently loading for my neighbor's 5.7x28 in return for a bunch of roofing he's supplied me with (among other things). After a lot of very careful work on the project, we decided to scrap it before finishing with a $1200 hand grenade. So I have all this 5.7 brass laying around....

Running with Brian's 300 Win Mag trials, I decided to see what kind of fun I could have turning these stupid little cases into FL gas checks. So, I cut the shoulder off to a respectable length. Then I pushed in some #7 shot, dropped in an airsoft pellet, and squeezed 'em carefully into a 220 Swift FL sizing die with the decapper removed to form a basic Truncated Cone. Lastly, I ran 'em through a .311 sizer (finished at .312 after spring-back), and finished with a weight of 95.0 to 95.4gr on the small test batch. Originally I was intending to run them in my AK, but thought I'd push the trial run through something a little heavier--so I loaded one for my Mosin over 51gr. H335 (Data for a 110gr jacketed), and squeezed one off with a little hesitation. Not only did it fire well, and accurate, but the results on the dry-pack were simply amazing. Not target photos yet because I was too excited about it to bother with the camera. Photos of wet-pack tests coming very soon--just wanted to get this up right away. NOW I can go do the more scientific documenting stuff. :D

You'll note the nose is a little crooked--next batch will be run through the case trimmer to square them up better before forming--I was more interested at how well they would form up last night so I skipped a few things. Next run should be a LOT more pretty now that I know it has potential and don't mind spending the time on it.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF1337.jpg

[GRUMPA]

OH Boy!!!! I do like seeing what you creative guys come up with.

[429421Cowboy]

Wow. That is something i would have never come up with on my own but i love it! Now i would be looking for an unlucky coyote to try them out on!

[Rangefinder]

HOLY CARP, BATMAN! What an insane bullet!

So I squeezed out a few more this afternoon with careful trim length, etc... Then I wet-pack tested one... So, with a couple plastic jugs crammed with wet paper and then topped off with more water, I sent one of these crazy little buggers into 'em.

Here's what it started out looking like...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF1338.jpg

Here's what I managed to recover from the middle of the second jug.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF1341.jpg

And then there's the first jug--or what's left of it. I heard "plop-plop-plop" for a good second or two after the hit from falling globs of soggy paper still falling. I have no idea where the lid to the coffee jug landed--could be in the next county, I never saw it after impact.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF1339.jpg

Now, the job is to dial in the load to tighten up the accuracy. It's gonna be limited I have a feeling, just by the nature of not having a solid core. But this bullet is gonna be truly frightening against any unsuspecting yote.

[firefly1957]

Thanks for sharing.

[Hamish]

Wonder what a hog would look like? MN, 30-30, 300BLK, yes?

[Rangefinder]

Update: After it performed well enough in the Mosin with a stiff load, I felt comfortable loading a few for the AK. With that nice rounded airsoft pellet tip, they feed very well--takes a stiff crimp to keep solid neck tension and prevent set-back though. Looks like I'll be building a basic canalure tool next. With 15gr. 2400 these little buggers fed and fired through the AK with average 2000fps of explosive authority, and it also dropped my brass in a nice little pile about 8' away rather than send it into the next county. Oh, this is turning into a fun little project! Guess I'll have to cut a core mold now so I can make some solids and partitions.

[Rangefinder]

I think I've solved my canalure issue...

So I was thinking tonight at work, putting together in my head all manner of complex mechanical things that would over-complicate any and all projects... And then it hit me---K-I-S-S... Keep It Simple Stupid. I use a pipe cutter to initially cut the shoulder off the 5.7 brass before I trim and seat whatever core I'm using. The first twist with the pipe/tubing cutter pushes a groove all the way around the soon-to-be jacket before I tighten it again and continue cutting. Problem solved! Intentionally dull the cutter wheel of a tubing cutter so it will "dent" but not cut, even notch it if you will, thread a stop-nut onto the tightening handle so it only squeezes so far, and... BINGO!! A poor man's canalure tool!

No photos to share yet because I haven't made it out to the shop yet since getting off work... BUT, they're coming as soon as possible.

Just sharing the thought!

Jim

[Rangefinder]

With a little tinkering I have a canalure tool now. ;)

I took the rotary blade out, spun it with a belt sander till it had a nice flat edge. Then took the tubing cutter to the drill press. A quick hole, tap, screw, and a couple nylon bushings with lock washers sanded to make the depth I wanted, and BINGO. Works like a charm.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF1387.jpg

How does it look after finished? Like this:
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF1386.jpg

[Crawdaddy]

Great write up. Glad you posted it. I too am playing with the 5.7 brass and making some rounds for my 300 Blackout. I like the idea of the 7 shot. It should work great on Yotes at the lease.

I do feel kinda stupid. I made my own die to make a case just like yours with a perfectly good 220 swift die setting on my bench.

I shot a few this weekend and they were pretty accurate. I just poured lead in the case. Now that I know they will shoot well, I will build a core mold for solid cores.

How did you get the bullet out of the die without damaging the tip?


BTW, if you want to get rid of some of that brass you have laying around, i would be interested.

[429421Cowboy]

Pure, American, unadulterated, AWESOME! It's threads like these that make me think swaging is the next step in reloading, thanks for sharing the process with us!

[Rangefinder]

I do feel kinda stupid. I made my own die to make a case just like yours with a perfectly good 220 swift die setting on my bench.

I shot a few this weekend and they were pretty accurate. I just poured lead in the case. Now that I know they will shoot well, I will build a core mold for solid cores.

How did you get the bullet out of the die without damaging the tip?


BTW, if you want to get rid of some of that brass you have laying around, i would be interested.

My 220 Swift die is a Lee--put together a little differently than the RCBS dies I have for most everything else.Gutted out, I can look right down into it to see when I'm reaching the end of the shoulder before I start squishing nose up into the neck form. That makes it entirely too easy to get uniform points and just touching it makes it fall out after forming--no tapping, no hammer, no reverse leveraging on the press... I just mated my blocks this afternoon for a core mold, too. Going to make a couple full length cavities for solid core, and a couple shallow ones because my next experiment with it will be with a bonded base, 6mm gas check, and soft nose---AKA, a partition. Should be interesting. ;)

[bootsnthejeep]

Oh man, I know a range where a bunch of that stuff gets left behind. Now I wish I hadn't talked a friend of mine out of buying one...