Bass Ackward
07-13-2014, 10:56 AM
Remember the guidance to develop your loads in the summer top be good year round and then wonder where that comes from? Everybody now knows and understands that dreaded revolver "thunk" when your slug stops dead before it exits the forcing cone and how to address it with fire lapping and when to stop. We all know how to slug clean to get our measurements. And we breathe a sigh of relief when any new or fire lapped gun passes the test.
Well I'm here to tell ya that if your loads drift in the summer, POI changes, or the 5th or 6th shot tend to be or are fliers or you get slight leading, it may not be fatigue or your lube or bullet hardness, miss aligned cylinders, the load or any of the other things we discuss here. When metal heats, it expands .... and sometimes walks. If it walked and produced a constriction in the first place, chances are it continues in that same direction as it heats. The bad news? Can happen to guns that didn't show a constriction when new / cold. My advise is that if you have problems in the summer and you have any doubt at all, before throwing current load strategy out the window, learn to slug hot .... and even dirty can provide beneficial information at times. I keep my cold slug now just for this purpose.
Coarse it won't tell you much if your leaded. So plan accordingly when you test.
Well I'm here to tell ya that if your loads drift in the summer, POI changes, or the 5th or 6th shot tend to be or are fliers or you get slight leading, it may not be fatigue or your lube or bullet hardness, miss aligned cylinders, the load or any of the other things we discuss here. When metal heats, it expands .... and sometimes walks. If it walked and produced a constriction in the first place, chances are it continues in that same direction as it heats. The bad news? Can happen to guns that didn't show a constriction when new / cold. My advise is that if you have problems in the summer and you have any doubt at all, before throwing current load strategy out the window, learn to slug hot .... and even dirty can provide beneficial information at times. I keep my cold slug now just for this purpose.
Coarse it won't tell you much if your leaded. So plan accordingly when you test.