Aluminum Checks Range Test

[35 shooter]

Just bought a Free-Chex II from charlie and understand that .010" is the thickest material to use with this. There was some .0075" and .011 aluminum test material and also a piece of .011 copper in the kit. I had bought some .014 aluminum because i had heard a lot of people were having success with that thickness especially in .30 caliber but also in .35 cal. and didn't know at the time that it wasn't rated for use in the Free-Chex. Before i recieved the online instructions for the kit i ran some of all the material thru the dies and they all made pretty good looking checks although the .014 was a little hard to hammer through and was high sided on one side but kind of evened out when i sized and lubed the boolits. Also i tried folded over (doubled) coke can for a .008" check.

Went to the range this afternoon to shoot them all over the same load of 4759 for 1800 fps(a known accuracy load with hornady checks) and to make a long story short the only thing that shot like that load normally does was the .014" I had just swabbed the bbl. after shooting everything else before shooting the .014 so i got a clean bbl. flyer that opened the group to 1.5" but the next 3 went into about an inch. I pretty much got 3 and 4" groups with everything else. This load normally groups like .8'' to 1.1" @ 100 yards with factory checks so i was glad to see the .014" do the same. The boolits were
200 grain NOE's sized to .360 as usual straight ww heat treated.

I may send the die back to see if he can open it up some so it won't be so hard on it running the .014" through it? Or leave it like it is? It seems like a lot of folks have had good success with .008" in .35 cal. but all i had was the doubled coke material for that thickness.

I guess the question is have many others out there had to go to .014" for the .35"s. This was all fired in a .35 whelen...35shooter

[JeffinNZ]

What caliber are you shooting?

What is the GC shank diameter?

What material is the 0.014?

[tjones]

The enormous forces required to press too thick of material through the FreeChex die will just be shifted to the sizing die should you open up the check making die. Opening the die and you risk bending and distorting the bullet on sizing. It seems it's still a material issue. Surely then .014 is thinning etc. Copper, brass etc are still options, are they not? -tj

[35 shooter]

What caliber are you shooting?

What is the GC shank diameter?

What material is the 0.014?

JeffinNZ the rifle is a 35 whelen, the shank size is .341" and the material was all aluminum except for the .011 copper. Something from .095 to .010 should work but i didn't have any. But then it seems the .011 copper and aluminum should have worked better than it did. The .014 was ameri-max aluminum and seemed pretty soft as it went thru the die easier than the.011.

The .014 is oversized for the shank, but extruded well in the die and made a nice deep cup side and definitly shot the best. All the different sizes ran easily thru my rcbs lubri-sizer. Also everything wound up about .3602 to .3605(the .014 was the .3605) when snapped on the boolit base before sizing.

[35 shooter]

The enormous forces required to press too thick of material through the FreeChex die will just be shifted to the sizing die should you open up the check making die. Opening the die and you risk bending and distorting the bullet on sizing. It seems it's still a material issue. Surely then .014 is thinning etc. Copper, brass etc are still options, are they not? -tj

tjones do you mean copper or brass in the thinner thickneses or in .014"? The .014 i'm using is ameri=max aluminum and actually ran thru easier than the .011 aluminum. I guess it's softer. And yes, it definitly extruded a bit(thinned). I admit i only shot one group each with what i had but had a nice calm sunny day to do it on so i had confidence in the results. I'm gonna try and come up with some .0095" and some .010" to try also as according to shank size that should be perfect? Since the .011" didn't work i don't have much confidence in that though. Shank size is .341"

I admit these are just preliminary tests and probably have a lot of experimenting to do. I definitly would like to keep cost down if possible and use the aluminum if i can. May try to find some .008 lith plate as we have a local printer.

[tjones]

I have seen .011 aluminum tear and the .014 be fine but thin out.. A real mystery. I was thinking of .011 lith or copper. The Contender won't deliver the sub minute you're used too. The proof is in the pudding and it seems your on the right track. -tj

[35 shooter]

I have seen .011 aluminum tear and the .014 be fine but thin out.. A real mystery. I was thinking of .011 lith or copper. The Contender won't deliver the sub minute you're used too. The proof is in the pudding and it seems your on the right track. -tj

Funny you should say that about the.011" cause that's exactly what happenned with the first piece of it that i ran through. The .011 copper did shoot next best so i'll try it again and i'll try to get the lith too. Oh and it was aluminum that tore not the copper.

I'm shooting the TC Encore , so it's a bit heavier framed and heavier bbl. too i'm sure than the contender. I was surprised how well it does shoot with jacketed and now cast but if you shoot a load it doesn't like, it looks like a shotgun pattern instead of a group. With loads it likes it's actually one of the most accurate and consistent rifles i've ever owned. That's why i named it "old contrary" it's picky about the loads it shoots. Wish i had a g2 contender to go with it though. Sounds like yours shoots just fine to me.:)

[Forrest r]

You might need a breakin period for your check maker, mine took about 100 checks & it came alive producing beautiful high quality checks.

I did us wax on the aluminum coil stock that I was turning into checks. I'd roll out 10' of it & put car wax on it & let the wax sit until it dried. Then cut it into strips & hammered away turning out 1000+ of high quality checks in a couple hours.

You might start another thread or do a search asking/looking for accuracy & speeds when using aluminum gc's. I know jeffinNZ did a good write-up on the subject along with a couple others (I believe Larry Gibson did 1 also?). For some reason the 1800fps threshold is sticking in my mind. I load my cast boolits for rifles in the 1400fps to 1700fps range so I never noticed any difference.

Just something to think about.

[35 shooter]

Forrestr I believe your right about the break in on the dies. It's already making a better check and the wax thing works pretty good too, especially with thicker material. I read back thru about 40 pages on the gas check forum and noted all the comments about speed vs. aluminum and copper and saw the different results.
I'm definitely going to be experimenting with more speed , etc. Of course hunting season will slow some of that down. I love the idea of making my own checks but the accuracy comes first. Already found the one combination @ 1800 fps that seemed to work, gotta try it again. It does seem a lot of folks kind of ran out of accuracy after 1800 to 2200 fps. with aluminum which is fast enough but we'll see how it goes.

I have known loads that go up to 2600 fps so i'll be trying homemade checks with them too as i have time. One thing i thought of while doing all that reading was to maybe try diffrent thickness on material at different speeds. Maybe a friction thing?
Anyway, we'll see how it goes. BTW i pay close attention to anything Larry Gibson says and have him to be spot on with his comments.

[JeffinNZ]

JeffinNZ the rifle is a 35 whelen, the shank size is .341" and the material was all aluminum except for the .011 copper. Something from .095 to .010 should work but i didn't have any. But then it seems the .011 copper and aluminum should have worked better than it did. The .014 was ameri-max aluminum and seemed pretty soft as it went thru the die easier than the.011.

The .014 is oversized for the shank, but extruded well in the die and made a nice deep cup side and definitly shot the best. All the different sizes ran easily thru my rcbs lubri-sizer. Also everything wound up about .3602 to .3605(the .014 was the .3605) when snapped on the boolit base before sizing.

OK. .360-.341 = .019 so you need to use 10 thou material or maybe 11 thou. If Charlie has specced the die for no more than 11 thou you are looking for trouble forcing 14 thou threw it as you will get a fair amount of extruding and a taller check than your bargained on.

I recently found when shooting very soft alloy in my .30-30 that the alum checks just didn't cut it. I changed to commercial checks and the groups shrank drastically. The Amerimax alum is VERY soft also.

[35 shooter]

JeffinNZ something in .0095 or .010 is already on the list to try as that should be the right fit for the shank. Just don't have any yet. Already tried .011 in copper and aluminum and neither worked but i'm gonna try .011 again. As i've said the .014 extruded but still fit under base band just fine and for some reason shot the best so far. Still gotta a lot of testing to do for it to come together i'm sure. Normally i'd be all over this as i love to experiment but hunting season's on. Anyway, i'll squeeze some time in somewhere. Maybe i can find a small piece of .010 to try somewhere. When i get time to shoot again i'll report on it good or bad....Thanks....35shooter

[Junior1942]

. . . . BTW i pay close attention to anything Larry Gibson says and have him to be spot on with his comments.That makes two of us.

[35 shooter]

A member sent some .008 and .011 lith plate to try...thanks so much....so now to try that along with the.014" aluminum again. Hope i get some shooting time in sometime this week. Also learned how to trim the skirts on the checks to an even height if they need it from another member. I don't guess there's anything you can't learn to do on this site. Both sizes of lith made good looking checks....now to shoot em!

[35 shooter]

Finally got a chance to to run another test on home made checks again. Again i only shot 1 group of 5 shots with each different size material and load just looking for potential. All groups were with 200 gr. NOE fngc boolits sized .360 and heatreated @460* for 1 hour, then water dropped. The .014" checks were shot as they came from the die with no attempt to even out the high side they make on one side of the cup due to extrusion of the thicker material. I have since made a die to file them even in(Thanks to wilco for posting his design) but these were already loaded with the high side intact.


(1) 26 gr. 4759 .014" al. 1st 3 in .738" then 2 more above that for 2.595" vertical total (high sided check effect?)

(2.) 33 gr. 4759 .014" al. 1st 4 in 1.017" 5th shot went straight up @ 4" again i think it may be the effect of the uneven check.

(3.) 26 gr. 4759 .008" lith 1st 3 in .738" again then 2@ .7" high for a 1.408 vertical group

(4) 26 gr. 4759 .012" lith 5 in .857" group (This definitely has potential.)
All groups were fired @ 100 yds.

Now to do it again with the .014 checks filed even and also the .012 lith again. Guess it might pay to try the .008 again too as i may have leaned on the rifle a bit on those 2 shots that went a bit high. Total width of the group with .008 lith was only 1/2" so it has potential too actually. The lith plate checks are definitely trying to shoot as tight as hornady checks in this rifle. Naturally that would be the case since i already have a 100 ft. roll of the .014". Can't wait to try it again.

[Sagebrush7]

35 shooter
After all your testing you will find the .012 litho will work better for .360 sized boolits. Your shank is around .341 + .012 x 2 = .365 . Plenty of material to size down to .360. Litho does not spring back like aluminum such produced by Amerimax. Checks made with .008 Litho work on boolits sized up to about .358-.359. The math .341 + .008 x 2 = .357. After installing checks on unsized shanks they grow to .004 or more larger in size. That allows you to use the .008 on smaller boolits.

[35 shooter]

Sagebrush7 this latest test backs up exactly what you said. I'm impressed with the lith plate. The group with .012 lith was shot last and i was pretty ill with what everything did up to that point except for the .008" lith and wasn't expecting it to do that well. Sure makes nice looking checks too.
Now to try a few more groups with it and check it out at higher velocity.

[detox]

I hope your alluminum checks are not falling off during flight. Wouldn't a more rigid brass or copper check grip bullet better?

[Sagebrush7]

The litho checks of proper thickness are impossible to even work off. They have a rough looking raw edge after forming with the check maker. Maybe that holds them on. I have some 45 Hornady checks that shoot well but can be removed with the finger nail after some work. That being said I have not found many Hornady checks in my backstop the last twenty years. If you examine them close, especially the Ruger 454 the riffling engraves the the bullet and seals the checks on. The pressure from the hot gases keeps the gas check seated. My non gas check 45/70 bullets with top loads of IMR 3031 fills the case and I simply turn the check over seat the bullet against the check with no air space and it falls about 30' away. That keeps the barrel clean.



I hope your alluminum checks are not falling off during flight. Wouldn't a more rigid brass or copper check grip bullet better?

[35 shooter]

I hope your alluminum checks are not falling off during flight. Wouldn't a more rigid brass or copper check grip bullet better?

detox i was wondering that very thing about the.014 al. As far as the lith i don't believe so. They go on very snug and are very tight after sizing. Like what sagebrush7 describes. I have some .014 al. that has been filed even to get that high sided effect taken care of.We'll see how they do next time along with the lith. I actually tried some .011 copper in my first tests with checks and they didn't shoot very well but were very tight fittng.

I'm brand new to this check making thing but i'm already seeing that the check can make as much difference as the lube even when it's the right size just by changing material or hardness. In fairness to the .014", the group i shot with it weeks ago was not near as high sided as the ones i shot this time. So it could have been simply an imbalance thing going on. We'll see cause they tried to shoot the first time. Still don't think they'll shoot as tight as the .011 lith tho.

[Larry Gibson]

35 Shooter

You've found through your testing what many of us who make our own GCs have found; with some bullets the thinner (.011 and <) are not as accurate. I've hypothesized on this and basically attribute the inaccuracy to 2 things; 1st the smaller GC is not effectively sealing the bore at the base of the bullet perhaps causing obturation to one side of the center of bore of the base/shank. The 2nd is the GCs coming of unevenly in flight which the way they come off might exasperate the accuracy. I have recovered a couple GCs of thinner Al that were cracked and split at the rifling marks. What effect that had on the bullets balance when it came is anyone's guess. Also the velocity level of the bullet and barrel twist seem to influence this.

I have yet to find a .014 Al GC that has come off. Down here the 100 yard range is gravel/dirt so they are easy to spot. However, even with the .014 Al GC I've found accuracy does not hold well above 2000 - 2200 fps depending on barrel twist. Others report it does so it may just be the roll of .014 Al that I have. One other thing that effects Aluminum GC use is not only the GC shank diameter but also if the shank is tapered. Some bullet designs just do better than others with Al GCs and a lot depends on how much we size the bullet. The larger we size for a given caliber the less "crimp" or tight fit onto the GC shank.

I prefer .014 - .016 brass shim stock from McMaster's but it is, of course, more expensive. I get equal accuracy with those brass GC as with Hornady's as they "coke bottle" really well and seem to crimp on. However I do have a roll of the .014 AL I'm using for some .30s, 8mms and .35s. I only use the Al GC on bullets with shanks that the GCs "crimp" onto and are not easily pried off. if the GC is easily popped off with a finger nail odds are it won't produce the best accuracy with that bullet. The .014 Al GCs seem to fit most of the newer mould GC shanks well enough but with older moulds they usually don't.

Just some of the intricacies one gets into when we start making things our selves. Nice thing is we don't have to have a "one size fits all" but can tailor make the GC to fit the bullet and our own needs. You're on the right track, just a little more testing and you be there.

Larry Gibson

[35 shooter]

Larry Gibson thanks for the input. I will try the .014 al. again along with the lith and shoot multiple groups with everything this time. I definitely believe the .014" is going to shoot well. I will have the extrusion problem solved on the next groups with it. I got to thinking about it again and i don't think the checks were coming off. I do think they were high sided enough that maybe a couple actually may have been pushed enough forward on firing that they may have bumped the base band? Time and a few more groups will tell. I guess i just always looked at commercial checks as a given in the loading process, just a seal for blow by so you could shoot a boolit faster accurately. Now i'm looking at them just like any other part of taylor loading ammo. It, like other componets can be taylored to the load and gun.

BTW i highly respect your theories and calculations on the rpm thing. I just call it the WALL! I keep running in to it! I may be able to better it a bit with the right combination one day but that doesn't mean it's not there waiting for me just a bit further on. [smilie=b:[smilie=b:

[detox]

Does bullet have a tapered GC shank like the RCBS has. If so...shouldn't GC be flared so that it does not shave lead.

When casting your bullets are bases frosted caused from mould/sprue plate being too hot. This is a shure sign that shank will be smaller diameter...maybe causing check to fly off

It is more difficult for a gas check to grip a harder alloy bullet than it is a softer alloy bullet (IMO especially with thin aluminum GC). Try softer alloy with GC installed or try harder alloy without gas check installed.

Are you seating your gas checks square to bullet base. I use a concave stem in my sizer to seat checks square to bullets base

Lots of variables, but this makes it fun.

My most accurate 30/30 bullet is the plain base RCBS 150gr Cowboy bullet cast with Linotype and lubed with SPG lube

[35 shooter]

detox the checks sort of have a snap on fit just like the hornady checks. I cast with a light frost but the shank measures the same so far as unfrosted. In fact boolits from this NOE mould only vary 1/2 thou. to 1 thou. out of round with straight ww if i do my part with the casting sequence. It's darn precision cut which may have something to do with the shank hanging in there like that? I seat checks with a flat bar on the sizer. Even tho they snap on, i haven't seen any signs of shaving lead. After sizing their on tight with no signs of it then either. The mould pours .3605 to .3615 depending on pot temp. These boolits are all heat treated and water dropped so they are hard. I may do some more measuring on the shanks in more volume just to make sure. You really have to work at it hard to get the .014 al. checks to come off after seating. The .012 lith is even harder.

[detox]

I cannot pull my GC off using fingernail...hard or soft alloy. I use Hornaday and Lyman checks.

[35 shooter]

detox i was wrong. it was another al check i could get off. I tried some of the .012 lith again last night and they don't come off with a fingernail. At least i couldn't do it.

[flintsghost]

I tried some aluminum gas checks that were supposed to be .410 and turned out to be .420. They were made by someone down south. Not very satisfactory overall.

[35 shooter]

flintsghost that is exactly why i like being able to make and test my own checks. This way i hope to make a customized check thru experimenting with different materials to give best results in my particular rifle and load. Just getting started with it, wheather or work or hunting has held it up some, but i have more loaded and ready to test. Just need a good day to do it on.

[Sagebrush7]

Sages Outdoors here if you are referring to us we are down South. There are seven known sizees of .41 caliber gas checks. Gator Checks make three different sizes. We make all seven and offer 100% satisfaction or money back. James




I tried some aluminum gas checks that were supposed to be .410 and turned out to be .420. They were made by someone down south. Not very satisfactory overall.

[35 shooter]

The down south part went right by me. If that was indeed what they were refering to, with a 100% guarantee or money back, how could you go wrong? I can personally say Sagebrush7 has been exceptionally helpful in my quest to find a homeade check to work in my rifle. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with Sages Outdoors and would expect any problem to be fixed with a simple phone call or pm.....Jim even refused for me to pay shipping on free samples he sent for me to try. Hope he didn't mind me telling that, but since this possibility came up, just wanted to let people know they're good folks to deal with in my opinion!
35shooter

[ACrowe25]

Sages outdoors were my first purchases Al checks.... MUCH MUCH MUCH higher quality than the ones I purchased from here. A bit more pricy when I purchased from Ebay (bought like 250 44 checks) but oh well. A much higher quality than those purchased here at a discount price.

[Airman Basic]

Sages outdoors were my first purchases Al checks.... MUCH MUCH MUCH higher quality than the ones I purchased from here. A bit more pricy when I purchased from Ebay (bought like 250 44 checks) but oh well. A much higher quality than those purchased here at a discount price.
Agree Sage sells good stuff, but where is the "here" you're referencing?

[35 shooter]

Finally got a chance to shoot a few more groups this week. Most groups were about 1800 fps with a couple @ 2200 and 2400 fps thrown in.
The first goups were only 3 shot groups as i was low on the brass i had ready to load and wanted to cover as much ground as i could with it.

3 shot groups with .014 al. checks NOE 200 gr. boolit ht. ww. @ .360 dia. 26 gr 4759 1800 fps
(1) 1.560"
(2) 1.017"
(3) 1.305" These 3 groups were also fired with the original high sided .014" al. checks that were already loaded from previous tests.

I fired one 5 shot group with 26 gr. 4759 with .014 al. filed even sided
(1) .551"

Then one 5 shot group with the same load and .012" lith checks
(1) 1.57"

5 shot groups opened up with 33 grains of 4759 for about 2200 fps to 1 3/4" with .014" al. and 2.5" with lith checks. Commercial hornady checks shoot 1" and less with the same load.

5 shot groups with 48 grains of h4895 went into 1 7/8" with .014" al. and about 3" with .012" lith checks. Hornady checks shoot that same load @ 2400 fps into just under and just over an inch.

Larry Gibson pretty much predicted the al checks seem to open up groups past 2000 fps. and that's exactly what has happened so far. In all fairness at this point tho, all of these loads were developed using hornady checks. A bit of tweaking the loads may result in better groups with the al. checks at speeds over 2000 fps. Even if it doesn't 95% of my shooting is @ 2000 and less fps. and shooting homeade checks will save a lot of money in the long range.:wink: I'm not ready to give up on al. or lith checks for speed yet though and haven't tried brass for that matter. From now on all testing with .014" al. will be with the sides filed even. It shoots well enough without that but a .551" 5 shot group doesn't lie very often. It definitely made a difference.

BTW forgot to say...all groups were fired @ 100 yards.

[35 shooter]

Made some final tests with.014 al. and .012 lith checks today @ 1800 and 2200 fps.

26 gr. 4759 with filler, .014 al check, 200 gr noe boolit 2- 5 shot groups went .670" and1.065"

33 gr. 4759 (no filler) .014 al check and 200gr. boolit 5 shots in 1.562" @ 2200 fps.

33 gr. 4759(no filler) .012 lith check and same boolit put 5 shots in 1.024" @ 2200 fps.

26 gr. 4759 with filler .012" lith check and same boolit put 5 shots in 1.646"
By taking the filler out of the 33 gr. load i finally got the aluminum checks to shoot at over 1800 fps. Really haven't shot enough groups to say what they truly average but i'm happy with these results so far. This has been enough testing to say that both the al. and lith checks have potential in my rifle as far as i'm concerned....forgot to say again all groups were fired @ 100 yards

Thanks free-chex and Sagebrush7!:grin:

[Ben]

35 shooter

Did I miss something in post 32 and 33 ?

What caliber rifle are you shooting ? ( Looks like I'm at fault....I went back to 1-5 and seems you're shooting a 35 Whelen ).

Any photos taken of those fine groups ?

[35 shooter]

Did I miss something in post 32 and 33.

What caliber rifle are you shooting ?

It's a 35 whelen TC Encore. This whole test has been with that one rifle but i should have updated that fact....sorry.

[35 shooter]

Ben
I know, i know no pic's, it didn't happen lol! Believe it or not i turned 60 last year and just started using the internet the year before that. I looked at the instructions on how to load pictures but still a bit confused about it. I will eventually get one of the kids to show me how when they come to visit tho. They're the computer experts.

BTW these groups were shot with r5r's simple lube but i'm gonna run Ben's Red thru the paces this spring and summer. When i made my first batch of Ben's Red last summer i was already testing this lube so i just finger lubed some with your Red, ran em thru the sizer and shot some of the best groups ever fired out of this rifle. So when the sizer runs out of lube this time i'm gonna fill it with Ben's Red and give it more testing.
You guys amaze me with how you come up with these lubes and they work so well too!:grin:

[Ben]

Believe me, if I can amaze you, you can be amazed by just about anyone.

I'm no research chemist, I just did about 3 days reading on the internet, took the best of the best from about 20 different lube recipes, added a couple of my own components and BINGO, we now have Ben's Red.

Thanks,
Ben

[Sagebrush7]

35 Shooter ,You should look again at Ben's targets he shot with aluminum checks! They are better than J-Boolits!

[35 shooter]

Sagebrush7 Your right, i've looked at many of Ben's groups with an open mouth and dropped jaw. What i should have done was sent this rifle to him and let him do the testing.lol Then i might know how good it can really shoot!:grin:

I'm definitely convinced al. brass and lith checks can shoot as well and even better than commercial copper checks. Again i appreciate your help in this little test. It's been an eye opener for me. I also still believe they can be made to take as much speed as copper with more load development but i'm pleased with it like it is for now.

[PatMarlin]

Ben's a cast boolit marksmen... :Fire:


Here's some of his handy work...

[35 shooter]

I just had to try one more time for more speed with aluminum checks. I had been reading about annealing them and had to try. I heated them to 400* for 1 hour and let them air cool. About 3 weeks ago i developed a load with imr 4350 of 54 gr. behind my 200 gr. noe boolits for the 35 whelen( estimated 2400 plus fps from other folks chrono results). I got a couple of cloverleaf groups @ 100 yards right off with that load except for the 5th shot in both groups went about 1 inch high as the bbl heated both times. Annealing seemed to work so i tried it again today.

(1) 5 shots in 1.169"

(2) 3 shots on a hot bbl. just to see and sure enough it moved group impact up 1" higher for a 1.015" group. i didn't dare shoot again cause the bbl. was smoking hot by then. I don't usually shoot with it that hot but i wanted to see what it would do.

(3) I waited 15 minutes then shot 3 shots into .913" right back at the original sight in.

Annealing the checks worked for me, so i just wanted to come back and post on it in case others are experimenting with al. checks maybe this trick will work for them too and cut down on their experimenting time. Sure wish i had done it to start with.

BTW...Thanks to 357 maximum for all his older posts on 4350 powders in the 35 whelen. Looks like its my new favorite. Now to get some h 4350 and give it a go one day.

[hickfu]

35 shooter,
I enjoyed reading this thread watching your progress with your new GC's, I just got my check maker and 8 rolls of .017 from tchepone (coil and foil) so I will be going through the same process as you... I wondered about annealing the Al GC's and since you got better results doing that I will definitely give it a try!

Doc

[35 shooter]

Thanks doc...hope it saves you some time. Maybe you'll get lucky and your stock may not have as much spring back as mine did. I'm brand new to homemade checks so i sure don't know all the ins and outs of it so i hope you post your results.
I eventually browsed through all the old pages on the check forum and picked up on a lot of information there. Seems like some had to anneal and others got good results without it. I'm just glad i finally tried making my own because i always just took gas checks for granted. Now i see check thickness, material, hardness, how much spring back, etc. can definitely affect the overall load big time just like all the other componets of a good load.

Good luck with it and have fun....35shooter!