not happy with these aluminum checks

[jason f]

ordered 1000 375 caliber aluminum checks from sage outdoors. my gas check shank is 353 and i am sizing at 378 and the checks can be picked off with fingernail very easy. any suggestions on this? thanks jason

[jason f]

just measured about 10 gas checks. aluminum is .014 thick. is this the right thickness with only .0003 of grip after sizing.

[ph4570]

I believe that would be 0.003. Should be good if spring back is low.

[jason f]

One to many zeros :)

[tjones]

Yep .003 and that should be plenty. Welcome to the world of gc's! Why put them on... and then take them off? Just shoot em. tj

[Wally]

I use Aluminum GCs for many calibers...if possible see if the GCs are thrown when fired. How I do it is that I look on the ground, between the muzzle of the firearm and the target, after a shooting session. I then determine what caliber they are from. I very seldom ever find any... It is true that on many bullet GC shanks that are not quite as tight as a copper GC...but that has not been a problem for me.

[35 shooter]

My homeade al. checks can be pried off. There's no crimp groove on them like on commercial copper checks. However they go on tight enough to stay on for the ride to the target and shoot as well or better than commercial. I'd shoot a few and see how they do. Sage outdoors knows gas checks, he helped guide me through the process and i wasn't even buying checks from him.

[jason f]

gonna order some copper checks and see if that makes a difference.

[Wally]

After I bought a $40 Freecehex II in 44 calibe,r I loaded up a huge batch of 429215s...and shot them in my .44 Spls and .44 Magnums. The cost was negligible compared to Hornady GCs and IMHO they are more accurate than are PB cast bullets; however for most of my type of shooting the accuracy difference is not by a great deal. I surmise that the "perfect" flat surface of a GC'd bullet base makes the difference. They also do keep the bore of your barrel cleaner.

[Dan Cash]

Anneal those checks and you wont be finger flicking them off.

[JeffinNZ]

Have you shot them yet? I would consider that the test. Don't fret about being able to pull them off.

[jason f]

what temp and how long. my wife is gonna love me using her oven for this.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

two things:

If these are for a bottleneck rifle case like 375H&H, are you seating the boolits so the GC is below the shoulder ? If so, I would want them solidly crimped on the boolit.

If these are for a straight walled case, I'd forget trying to pick them off...just take a dozen or so boolits that have been sized and GC installed. Then test them for "rough handling" ie; put them in a small box and shake ...and drop the box, open the box, see if the GC's are still on the boolit...If so, No problem !
My 2¢
Jon

[jason f]

i am using them in a 375 winchester handi rifle.

[dancingbear41]

I bought some .30 calibre gas checks that were 0.011" thick. I was impressed with them enough to buy a Freechex III but found I had an H&G .30 Carbine mould with a very undersized gas check shank. I purchased aluminium that was 0.015" thick and it work fine with the H&G mould but also all of my checks are now very snug on the shanks of my other .30 cal moulds. If you are buying your gas checks from someone who is making them they may be able to provide thicker checks if requested.

Simon.

[jason f]

i am gonna try annealing them first. i just registered on blammers site and gonna try some gator checks also.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

opps,,,I fixed a poorly worded question, in my previous post.


are you seating the boolits so the GC is below the shoulder ?

[wistlepig1]

Anneal those checks and you wont be finger flicking them off.

I agree, try it. I did and had good luck with annealing them. Fire up your BBQ, put a few on a piece of steel, heat til they change color, turn off BBQ and let cool slowly. There ready to use.

[jason f]

i annealed a few and tried them. it would take pliers to get them off now. thanks guys for all the help.

[badbob454]

hmm i didnt know about annealing alum. checks ..... something learned , a good day .

[Dan Cash]

what temp and how long. my wife is gonna love me using her oven for this.

There is little or no odor. I have a lilttle tin tray that I spread them out on and play a propane torch over them until they slightly turn color. 4 or 500 degrees I suppose. The color or rather reflectivity change is subtle but quite noticeable.

[Boolseye]

I have a lilttle tin tray that I spread them out on and play a propane torch over them until they slightly turn color.
Thank you. Was wondering if my bernzomatic could serve double duty with Cu and Al checks.

[uscra112]

If you guys would just spend the extra 2-3 bucks for Hornady checks, you would not be having these conversations. Is the time not wasted messing with poorly made checks worth three bucks to you?

[Sagebrush7]

We have spent hours testing our aluminum checks on Lyman,Lee, Saeco, Ideal and RCBS molds that are used by many shooters to cover odd size bullet shanks. Seven months ago you could not get a copper check! That will happen again soon. By the way I have Hornady checks on the shelf that want stay on any bullet! They remind me of the old Lyman checks. James




If you guys would just spend the extra 2-3 bucks for Hornady checks, you would not be having these conversations. Is the time not wasted messing with poorly made checks worth three bucks to you?

[JeffinNZ]

If you guys would just spend the extra 2-3 bucks for Hornady checks, you would not be having these conversations. Is the time not wasted messing with poorly made checks worth three bucks to you?

Not helpful! Plenty of us get fine results with AL checks.

Shoot them and let the rifle speak. I beleive you have a non issue.

[Dan Cash]

Not helpful! Plenty of us get fine results with AL checks.

Shoot them and let the rifle speak. I beleive you have a non issue.

I think it is a superriority complex. Sometimes it is not the price or the effort but the challenge to be self sufficient.

[Faret]

Could you anneal them in a toaster oven?

[Dan Cash]

Could you anneal them in a toaster oven?

Could try it. I don't know if they would get hot enough.

[uscra112]

We have spent hours testing our aluminum checks on Lyman,Lee, Saeco, Ideal and RCBS molds that are used by many shooters to cover odd size bullet shanks. Seven months ago you could not get a copper check! That will happen again soon. By the way I have Hornady checks on the shelf that want stay on any bullet! They remind me of the old Lyman checks. James

Send me some. I'd like to see how they fail.

[Boolseye]

We have a provocateur in our midst.

[Springfield]

I have guys tell me the same thing about casting my own bullets, "Stop wasting your time and just buy bullets". We all know what the answer to that is.

[Sagebrush7]

I can tell you! OFF!



Send me some. I'd like to see how they fail.

[jason f]

Could you anneal them in a toaster oven?

i did a few with a torch to make sure it was gonna work. it did. so i took the rest of the box and spread them on a cookie sheet and put the in my annealing oven in garage and heated ir to 500 and let them in there for an hour. i just opened the door and let them air cool. they work perfect now :)

[Faret]

i did a few with a torch to make sure it was gonna work. it did. so i took the rest of the box and spread them on a cookie sheet and put the in my annealing oven in garage and heated ir to 500 and let them in there for an hour. i just opened the door and let them air cool. they work perfect now :)

Good to know if I run into problems with mine I will have to try it. Thanks

[hickfu]

I HATE Hornady checks..... They never stay on! I switched to Gators and they are the absolute BEST! Now I am working with Aluminum gas checks for the fun of making them.. I would shoot all plain based boolits before I used Hornady's again.

I have guys that I gave boolits to had the Hornady's come off and kill their Chrono's, Never again!

Doc

[35 shooter]

My homeade al. checks after annealing shoot as well and better than commercial for me. By commercial, i mean Hornady's. The hornady's shoot well too, but after some testing different thickness and materials, the homeade came out on top.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy checks made by folks that deal in them and use the same material and thickness that i do for my rifle. It is a lot of work for me, as my free-chex works via the hammer method, but the results are worth it for me. I tap em out while watching TV.
After making, experimenting, and shooting different homeade checks, i now look at the check as just as important a componet to the overall accuracy of a load as every other componet of the load. Not just a one size fits all type of thing. It turns out the rifle i'm shooting now likes a thicker check than might be considered right for the shank. The next rifle may like a more correct size check.....it pays to experiment. I did have to anneal my al. checks to get accuracy past 1800 fps. in MY RIFLE, but the next rifle may or may not require that.
Nothing wrong with hornady checks, they shoot just fine in my rifle, but with all the folks that make and sell checks here, it seems to me there's a lot experimenting to be done to maybe find something that works better. If it doesn't, there's always hornadys if you can find them.

[338RemUltraMag]

Send me some. I'd like to see how they fail.

I will play, what size do you want and what size is your GC shank for that size?

Post your opinion here, but I only ask to please test them fairly. BTW with my prices you save way more than $3 a thousand

[357maximum]

Send me some. I'd like to see how they fail.


If you guys would just spend the extra 2-3 bucks for Hornady checks, you would not be having these conversations. Is the time not wasted messing with poorly made checks worth three bucks to you?


I will play, what size do you want and what size is your GC shank for that size?

Post your opinion here, but I only ask to please test them fairly. BTW with my prices you save way more than $3 a thousand


Josh

From my vantage point it sounds like he already has his mind made up and it will not be changed. Why waste your time and energy trying to convert those that do not want to change anything ? I would let him keep spending the high $$ on his beloved checks and move on....some people simply do not want to be cured. :evil:

[jakec]

maybe i just dont know what im missing but ive never used a copper check and these al ones sure do good for me.

[Swede44mag]

If you guys would just spend the extra 2-3 bucks for Hornady checks, you would not be having these conversations. Is the time not wasted messing with poorly made checks worth three bucks to you?

I used to have a Marlin 44mag I shot a lot of Hornady checks down range and most of them came off the boolits so I can't see why copper is so much better.

[ph4570]

A sweet thing about making your own is being able to accommodate varied shank size and final boolit size by selecting appropriate material thickness (within limits of tooling). Without the consideration of shank and final sizing one may be dissatisfied by purchasing GCs made from improper stock thickness. Perhaps that was uscra112's experience. If he wants to give it a go the willing vendors should ensure they know his full requirements in those regards.

[Changeling]

If you guys would just spend the extra 2-3 bucks for Hornady checks, you would not be having these conversations. Is the time not wasted messing with poorly made checks worth three bucks to you?

Exactly, I've never even put on a gas check yet. However some of my friends have and said the same thing you did uscra112.

I needed some 45 Colt checks and basically asked the same question as the OP, but never received an answer! So I just ordered Hornady and have already received them. Problem solved.

[FLHTC]

gonna order some copper checks and see if that makes a difference.

I wasted my money on aluminum checks one time and never again. The manufacturers would make them from aluminum if that was a more favorable option but to my knowledge, copper and brass is the only two metals used by Hornady and Lyman. I'm not sure Sierra offers them any longer but when they did, they were copper.

[ph4570]

As with boolits fit is king. For many it seems best to stay in their comfort zone with GCs from the big H or L -- until the next shortage anyhow. As for myself I will never buy another GC, material from Yonky yes..

[JeffinNZ]

I suspect many people have said the same about lead alloy bullets also. Alum checks can shoot just fine.

50m group:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/JeffinNZ/Shooting%20stuff/pygmy24gr74850m-1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JeffinNZ/media/Shooting%20stuff/pygmy24gr74850m-1.jpg.html)

100m group:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/JeffinNZ/Shooting%20stuff/SC3522157011082216090.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JeffinNZ/media/Shooting%20stuff/SC3522157011082216090.jpg.html)