DLCTEX
04-16-2013, 08:38 PM
I bought some brass online for a friend to reload his M1 Carbine. It appears that almost all of the brass has been trimmed too short. I had loaded some of it (100)when we first got it and had to make some adjustments to make it work. This past week I started to load some more and ran into problems right off. I had read that this brass was bad about stretching and checked the cases. Most measure 1.270 to 1.273. Book is 1.290 max, trim to 1.286. About 35 are 1.275-6. I chose to try loading the short ones first. I cast the Lee 309-125 and they drop .311-2, so I sized .311 and lubed with Ben's Red, hoping to headspace on the bullet in the rifling.
I always log all loads and pertinent info, but never say always, I must not have on this one. I was sure the powder was H-110, but none of my reference books or those online gave any info on it. I began searching on Cast Boolits and after digging deep I found my own post that said 12 gr. H-110 worked well with that boolit. I loaded some and tried them with no rounds fired. I found the smallest hint of the firing pin striking the primer, so assumed they were going too deep. Further checking showed they wouldn't enter the chamber far enough, so that the bolt was not locking far enough to permit the pin to work. I'm glad it didn't fire out of battery.
I then seated the boolits deeper, leaving about 1/2 the front band showing and crimped firmly. Success! With an OAL of 1.555 the round headspaces on the front band and works a treat. Seems to shoot well, but I don't know how accurate this replica (Universal, I think) can be expected to be. The barrel is clean and shiny after about 100 rounds and we are having fun plinking with it.
Thanks to whomever posted that load originally, I think it's a winner. I forgot to say, 24 of the brass were pickups from a nearby range that I had assumed were once fired. They measured 1.275, is this normal?
I always log all loads and pertinent info, but never say always, I must not have on this one. I was sure the powder was H-110, but none of my reference books or those online gave any info on it. I began searching on Cast Boolits and after digging deep I found my own post that said 12 gr. H-110 worked well with that boolit. I loaded some and tried them with no rounds fired. I found the smallest hint of the firing pin striking the primer, so assumed they were going too deep. Further checking showed they wouldn't enter the chamber far enough, so that the bolt was not locking far enough to permit the pin to work. I'm glad it didn't fire out of battery.
I then seated the boolits deeper, leaving about 1/2 the front band showing and crimped firmly. Success! With an OAL of 1.555 the round headspaces on the front band and works a treat. Seems to shoot well, but I don't know how accurate this replica (Universal, I think) can be expected to be. The barrel is clean and shiny after about 100 rounds and we are having fun plinking with it.
Thanks to whomever posted that load originally, I think it's a winner. I forgot to say, 24 of the brass were pickups from a nearby range that I had assumed were once fired. They measured 1.275, is this normal?