Lyman Gas Checks

[DonH]

I have within the last year begun casting for .30-06 (03A3). Most accuracy loads listed include Hornady gas checks. The problem is, I have been given a quantity of Lyman/Ideal checks. To forego using what I have and replace them with Hornady's would require some planning (aka: broke, fixed income, etc).

My question is this: with accuracy and Hornady GCs seemingly being inseparable, is there any hope for a guy stuck with a few thousand Lyman GCs?

[45-70 Chevroner]

The only problem you might incounter with the Lyman/Ideal checks some of them were not crimp on. I have used 5 or 6 thousand Ideal checks that were not crimp on and they shot just fine. I am sure that they came off in flight as I never recovered any. The test will be your experience with them.

[ku4hx]

The only hope you have is to shoot 'em and enjoy 'em. I've been using both over three decades and never had a problem with either.

My only advice other than shoot 'em is to try and not to seat the boolit such that the check is below the neck. Seating the boolit so neck tension holds it in place is recommended by Lyman and seems like a good idea to me.

[paul h]

It's only a problem if it affects your accuracy. The only way to find an accurate load for your rifle is to develop it, listed accuracy loads are only a suggestion or starting point.

I've been given and have used 30 and 35 cal lymann/ideal gas checks and have not had any problems with them. One thing to consider is that while lyman checks might not have the "burr" that hornadies do to crimp into the bullet, the process of the rifling grooves being engraved into the cast bullet and gas check provides additional grip between the gas check and bullet.

I think the only problem you'll find with the lyman checks is as some point you'll use them all up and then have to buy some. Sounds like a good problem to have.

[Larry Gibson]

I have had excellent results with older, non crimp on Lyman/Ideal GCs in the '06. I suggest you simply try them. I use(d) them mostly on 311284, 311291 and 311299 and always kept the GC seated within the case neck, never below it. With the GC a tight fit on the GC shank and keeping the velocity in the best accuracy range of 1700 - 1950 fps I could not tell any difference in accuracy with the Lyman's compared to the Hornady crimp ons out to 200 yards. Beyond that however there were always a couple flyers in a 10 shot string with the Lyman's that were probably from the GC coming off.

I still have several boxes of various calibers of the older Lyman/Ideal GC and do not hesitate to use them If they fit the shank tightly, I keep them at normal cast bullet velocity for the cartridge and the GCs are not seated below the necks. I do and recommend the same with the GCs I make using aluminum or brass. You might note on the GC forum the success most everyone who makes their own has with the non crimp on GC. No reason you can't use them successfully in the '06. I suggest you use the GCs you have and eventually transition to the crimp on GC.

Larry Gibson

[snuffy]

I go back far enough in casting to have used a bunch of the Lyman brass GC's. They worked okay, but once in a while there would be a flyer in a group. The theory goes that they fall of at random times, affecting the flight of the boolit. I even had one target where the GC must have let loose just BEFORE hitting the target. There it was stuck sideways in the paper.

[Hang Fire]

IIRC, for the past several years Lyman has not made GC, they buy Hornady and relabel them..

[DonH]

Thanks for your comments gents. I'm not at all a newbie to casting and have shot lots of cast boolits thru rifles; just not many with gas checks. As suggested I will happily use the freebies. .30 cal molds I have to experiment with are 3211291. 311290. 311467 and a NEI 311299 look-a-like. My plan is to keep the boolit base above the base of the neck if it means sizing the nose.
Again, thanks.

[Cherokee]

Thanks for your comments gents. I'm not at all a newbie to casting and have shot lots of cast boolits thru rifles; just not many with gas checks. As suggested I will happily use the freebies. .30 cal molds I have to experiment with are 3211291. 311290. 311467 and a NEI 311299 look-a-like. My plan is to keep the boolit base above the base of the neck if it means sizing the nose.
Again, thanks.

Sounds like a good plan. I never had a problem with Lyman GC's from 1972 til today.

[geargnasher]

Just make sure they're not going to fall inside the case and go shoot them. No point worrying about something that isn't a problem yet, is there?

Gear

[Bret4207]

IIRC, for the past several years Lyman has not made GC, they buy Hornady and relabel them..

What I was going to say. If they are in the old, old grey pasteboard boxes they are the non-crimp type. I think the ones in the grey and black glossy boxes were also non-crimp. The orange boxed ones, to the best of my knowledge, are all crimp on. Maybe someone else has a definite time line on that.

I'm shooting Lyman GC's with price tags in the $1.10- $1.25 per thousand range. Times change!

[GP100man]

I have a box that`s orange with metal binding & there crimp ons, but no problems here as they`re 35 caliber in straight walled 357 cases.

[dakotashooter2]

I go back far enough in casting to have used a bunch of the Lyman brass GC's. They worked okay, but once in a while there would be a flyer in a group. The theory goes that they fall of at random times, affecting the flight of the boolit. I even had one target where the GC must have let loose just BEFORE hitting the target. There it was stuck sideways in the paper.


I have wondered if that isn't due to the occassional undersized gas check shank. If our bullets are slightly oversized and we are sizing them down, the occasional bullet cast at actual size might result in an undersized shank.

[HORNET]

If I recall correctly from the 1909 patent on gas checks, the original design intent was for them to fall off after the boolit exited the muzzle. Molds like the 311413 had a heavily tapered gas check shank to encourage this behavior. A very wide range of dimensions and configurations can be encountered that will keep you guessing, especially in the less common calibers. Makes things interesting.

[jlchucker]

I have a partial box of Lyman 30 cal gaschecks that are brass colored and don't seem to crimp on. I got them for next to nothing at a yard sale about a dozen years ago. I've noticed that some seem to fall off in flight. I've mostly been using them for plinkers out of one of my 30-30's. Somewhere I read that all commercial gaschecks (Hornaday and Lyman) are made by Hornaday. That wouldn't surprise me. After having worked in a couple of factories that made commercial items years ago I learned that some of the only difference between some common store-brand products, or even the products of rival manufacturers, are made by the same factories and stamped with a different name. Hand tools and alkaline batteries for example. If it's true that Hornaday is making them all, the only difference may be the box that they come in.