Thanks, your comment is just the motivation I need to get out this week with them. I'm scheduled to go back to work next week...and the Auction in 2 weeks from now. If I don't get out this week, it'll probably be a month before I get to the range.
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Loaded up my first batch of 223. 55gr FMJ over a charge of Varget.
Dug out my big box of FMJ 38's. Primed 50ea) 357 MAG cases. Ready to stuff with some powder, seat, and off to the range tomorrow!
Lubed 350 41 mag slugs and 450 75 grain .311 plinkers
Did all the initial work on some 35 Whelen cases such as sizing, neck flairing, cleaning primer pockets and then a 45 minute ride in the ground walnut media with some polish added to make them shine. While the cases were being vibrated, I sized, lubed and put the GCs on the big 3589 boolit. I then tumble lubed them in some Ben's liquid lube and placed them on wax paper to dry. Took the cases out of the media and put CCI 200 LR primers in them. So now I have the prep work done on both the brass and boolits. In a day or so I will load these up with a 44 grain charge of H4350. These shoot good for me and the plan is to be sitting in New Brunswick in the first part of May on a black bear hunt with these boolits. All in all I had a good evening in the reloading room.
Swaged the primer pockets in the last 300 223's and primed the last 400 of the 1000 cases I bought. Ready to load now.
I finally got off my rear and did a casting session. I made some wadcutters yesterday. Today, more of them, and some 210 gr. Boolits for the .41 Mag.
Attachment 134771 Attachment 134773
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Regards,
Jeff
Rocketing towards 200 posts!!
Got time to make some 230 grain Seaco bullets a couple of weeks ago, sized them and set them aside. Yesterday I decided to load a few and try working up a load for them with 2400. I started at 16 grains, was looking for a plinking load... I went out and test fired that load this morning and shot a 4 shot 1 hole'r and went back in and loaded 200!
Attachment 134788
I loaded another 200rds of 357...as I continue to try to fill all of my brass in all calibers...just seem to keep acquiring more brass.
I was sent some samples of the 454190 that were sized .4555" and I needed to make a custom expander to use for these. The inset lower right in the photo shows the stock Lee .45 Colt expander, which measures .4515" and the new one I made (to the right of the Lee) measures .454" which is just about perfect neck tension for a .4555" ~ .456" boolit.
Had to flare and polish the bottom of the Lee .45 Colt seating die, because with the case expanded enough to accept the large boolit, it didn't want to go into the seating die!
After that I loaded up 20 rds over 8.5gr Herco and roll crimped them. If you ever wanted to know what the biggest diameter boolit you can seat in a standard .45 Colt seating die, this is it! You can see on the lead in front of the crimp that the crimping collar was almost shaving the boolit all the way around!
Thanks Silver Jack Hammer, I think these will do just fine!
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...psrpg1dx3t.jpg
Uberti "Old West" model, this one has cylinder throats that are .4565" they faithfully copied the 1873 Colt Peacemaker right down to the last detail, and for the best results, boolits should be sized to a light drag fit in the throats..
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...psxo4wirjx.jpg
My first attempt at mp HP's. I'm new to casting and just been lurking around trying to learn from you guys. Attachment 134805Attachment 134806
Yesterday I started on my cabinet to store my Dillon 550 tool heads with dies. Got the basic box made with pull out shelves for the tool heads. Hopefully today I will cut a back from scraps (have to piece it together, no piece big enough), cut the doors and begin drilling the holes for the dowels to hold the tool heads.
First I went to the Gun Show looking for a Ruger Black Hawk in 45 Colt with a 45 acp cylinder found an used but it was more money than new and more than I had with me.
I did find some once fired 300 WSM nickel plated cartridges. I resized several nickel plated 300 WSM casings I picked up at the gun show and trimmed them to length with my Sinclair case trimmer.
It started to get hard to trim to length after about the first 10 casings after 30+ I had to push hard.
When finished I looked at the cutting edge under my magnifying light the edge was dull from cutting the nickel plating.
Lesson learned don’t trim nickel without a carbide cutter.
I also looked at my 45 colt cast boolits about time to cast some more.
I do know where there is a used blue 7.5" black hawk 45 Colt I may have to take home if he is willing to come down a few bucks.
Spent an hour this morning cussing out three different Dillon powder measures. They all throw 700X from 2.8 to 3.7 randomly (trying for 3.3 in light 9mms) and I am ready to throw them and the powder out the window. I know, I know, throw it all your way!
No more flaky powder (pun intended) for me. Back to Bullseye and lotsa smoke I guess.
Just get rid of the flake powder and go back to ball powder. Nothing wrong with the powder measures.
Do your Dillon powder measures corrode? I have a reloading room in my garage it is a minimum 50 degrees all winter but I have a bad time with aluminum corrosion on the powder measures to bad they don't make them out of stainless steel.
I since have added reloading Kennedy reloading table/cabinet in my bed room. I load more in there the temperature is a lot more constant.
Swede, sounds like you have a humidity problem.
Loaded up a test batch of a new alloy for the colt last night, even had help from the mrs..
she was my powder charge girl.
Gtta say, she checks the powder charges every 3rd round. ( i only do every 5th) and she's pretty
fussy. If these shoot well, she's got the job, i take all the help i can get
Today I replaced the leaky hot water heater in my reloading room.