I honestly don't know where it ranks, as to hardness, but I have been using PMC with excellent results, in my 22-250 AI. Eight to ten cycles on the brass, maybe a couple split necks, twenty or so, enlarged primer pockets that were my fault, and no shoulder splits, in four different Ackley's. Never have trimmed to length, never needed.
I fireformed for that gun with a junk barrel chambered with the same reamer as my barrel. Standard load, out of the book, with surplus components.
After chamfering the primer pocket, I cut a length of drill rod of the proper diameter, put a nice centered point on it and parted it off so that there was enough to grasp, sticking out the mouth of the case.
Then, I measured the length, case head to the end of the dowel, and used that as a baseline, and set the calipers accordingly.
Then, I measured every case, and placed them on a prepared board, marked in thousandths. The purpose is to gauge each web, as compared to the baseline, and put it on the board where it belongs, longer than the first case, or shorter, thereby indicating a thicker web and a smaller internal volume.
Once I had measured my 200 cases, I divided them into three groups, -50, 100, and +50. I marked the headstamp with a scratch, in a specific location indicating to which group it belonged, thus: !PMC, P!MC or PMC! Believe it or not, this mark is easily visible after so many firings and tumblings and I don't bother to keep them separated in loading, cleaning, or anywhere else, except they are segregated in ammo boxes when assembled, but my load is the same: 44.0 grains of H414 over a 65 grain Starke and a Fed. 210Match primer. This is my only load; primarily a coyote load @ 3925fps.
Anyway, it might sound like a lot of trouble, but it's my particular MOJO, and after it's done once, it's over with, until you retire the brass.
Comments?
Good hunting. LB
edit: forgot to mention that I have considered resizing Lapua 243 brass, but it seems like a lot of unnecessary work. Anybody bothered with it?
[ 09-19-2004: Message edited by: LB ]