Question on varying case volume

[wmitty]

Not sure where to post this…. Is it possible to vary the case volume of a group of rifle cartridges by placing a molten alloy of lead/ tin/ antimony in the cases and then drilling thru the alloy with different diameter drills to leave a series of cylindrical voids within the cases to allow various volumes of powder to be placed and allow the projectile to be seated on the powder column? I’m currently using the .30-06 with several different brands of brass.The cases weighing from roughly 180 grains to 200 grains for loading duplex charges (4227/WC 860) and the resulting velocity is around 2500 F/S which is too fast for the boolit alloy and barrel twist rate (1/10”). I intend to reduce the powder / case volume in increments until I reach a reduction in velocity where accuracy is obtained. By stopping the height of the alloy at the bottom of the shoulder I will try to prevent the alloy from moving within the case. I intend to place the case in water to prevent the softening of the case head from the heat of the molten alloy. I will place a straight finishing nail thru the primer flash hole to create a guide hole for the drill bits to allow alignment with the primer flash hole. It is necessary to seat the boolit against the top of the powder column in order to prevent the “kicker” 4227 granules from being mixed into the 60 grain charge of WC 860…

[Kestrel4k]

Might anneal / soften the case head at the same time.

[stubshaft]

Short answer is yes. As long as you keep your alloy below 700 degrees you should have no problem with softening the case head. After you have poured/drilled your alloy, measure the case capacity, and use load data that is similar to the new capacity (ie. 30/06 now equates to 308 Win.).

[Freischütz]

You might look at Jim Carmichael's work - inserting a smaller cartridge case into a larger one, and thus reducing the result's capacity.

[fredj338]

Waaaaay too much work. All you need is an over powder wad of Dacron.

[wmitty]

Freischutz; I vaguely remember someone expanding the neck of a cartridge ( not sure who or which cartridge he chose to expand) and inserting a piece of .223 brass with both the neck and rim ground off. His intent was to reduce powder capacity also. Maybe this would be the easiest route to take, but the volume reduction would not be variable.

[charlie b]

I'd try a chamber adapter first. 7.62x39 maybe? Or .30 carbine? .30 Mauser (7.62x25)?

http://mcaceak.com/adapters.html

[BLAHUT]

Too much work; Just put a piece of cotton ball or dacron over powder charge.....

[Harter66]

For what it's worth I pondered long and hard on how to reduce an 06' case to 30-30 volume. While never actually followed through I decided that Cerocast or 50/50 solder would be the the best filler short of actually turning a 338-06' case from brass rod and using a brad point drill at .325 then turn the neck and finish in a FL 06' die .

The flaw is in the case to chamber wall grip when firing and keeping the case filler stuck to the case .

[charlie b]

I've been wondering why this is needed. There are a lot of decent .30-06 loads for cast I have used in my Garand that don't need elaborate measures or even dacron filler. Then I noticed the makeup of the duplex load. Using up surplus powder. So, this is the least expensive route.

That being the case, then the dacron filler is the way to go.

[Shopdog]

Dacron is pretty durn easy.... don't pack it,and work up the load.

[MT Gianni]

Thread the interior of the primer pocket from the cartridge neck. Make some brass adapters and screw them into the cartridge case. Fill the case to the top of the brass tube with powdered lead, top with a sealant and shoot them. Reread "Hell I was There" when Elmer talks about case and cartridge development. re firing the powder from the wrong end.