Recent content by Beneviolence

My statement regarding the work hardening reducing neck tension was intended to say that if you have the same starting neck diameter for an annealed/fresh brass versus a work hardened (multiple fire/size) and neck size them with the same size bushing, the work hardened brass will spring back...

At the risk of being blunt, that's not how it works. Annealing is a three step process that requires the cold worked material at sufficient temperature for a certain amount of time; it does not require a specific cooling rate. Word hardening the material influences neck tension because when you...

And what metallurgical rationale do you have for that? Are you trying to impart residual stresses? Produce quenched in vacancies? The only rationale I could see that makes sense would be to make sure the body of the case doesn't get annealed. Maybe I have a loose chamber neck, but my once...

I use the 140 RDF's and they're quite similar in length so I doubt the variety in is due to bullet OAL. If you're loading compressed and the powder is pushing back and you have uneven neck tension, you could be having the powder press the bullet out after seating. I had that with some longer...

Agreed. I got 24lbs of RL-16 and couldn't be happier. Better velocity, stability and ES/SD than I believe I'd get from H4350 but I'd get a 1lb of it if I get the opportunity just to try it out. Good to see that it's out there though, for those that did go through the steps. I just got into...

I think buying high $ calipers is a bit excessive for this. You can get $20-$40 calipers (steel construction) at any generic place and they'll have enough rigidity, accuracy, and precision to get you where you need to. Digital are nice, just make sure you wipe the mouths then zero them every...

The 4451 looks interesting for the 6.5CM, hopefully it has the temperature stability. I went with Alliant's RL-16 based upon reports of at least as good temperature stability and 100-150ft/s more velocity than H4350. We need more powder options for 6.5CM, that's for sure.

Seems to me like the differences between the sampled ES would be approaching the measurement error unless you've got a $$$ setup. How much of that can be attributed to fouling buildup (or other sources) vs. powder lot variation?

Not to threadjack...but I'll risk it anyway.... Do you guys have recommendations for neck sizing dies for 338 Lapua Mag? I love the Lee collet die for 308/6.5 and am considering spending the $$$ to get one custom/direct from them but any other recommendations? I'm worried that the ones with...

Hope I'm not stepping out of line, but for these 'hyper-velocity' rounds, can one just re cut the chamber a bit deeper every bit or does the whole barrel go?

Everybody and their dog is switching to 6.5CM and it's what everybody uses (for good reason it seems). I've heard that alternatives are RL-17, H4831SC, IMR 4451 but have yet to try them.

If it's galling you'll see clear indications on the rear of the lugs; material transfer (one direction or another) will be present. I don't think it's galling based upon what you've described, but I've been wrong before. You should slow down and check your brass after FL sizing but before...

This is hopefully a really stupid question but.... Your bolt, once you've fired it, is likely cocking upon lifting the bolt. This will cause some resistance in comparison to if you've just chambered a snap cap then extracted it without dropping the firing pin. This is not the issue you're...

I'd guess gas is either redirecting into that area, likely linked to your near-separation, or you've got a dieseling effect (oil/grease in chamber igniting under pressure). Otherwise, I've seen similar effects from rough chambering in an AR-10; do you see the effect in an unfired but chambered...

Oh, I didn't even know that some of them go finer than 1/10th of a grain. I probably have enough variation in other aspects of my reloading that I wouldn't notice that, but it is good to be aware of; thanks.