Fire Forming

[Greg Duerr]

I read an article on www.6mmbr.com discussing the .243AI and they said that the fire form by using 10gr of Unique under cream of what and polly fill over the Cream of what .......................I was told that you had to seat the bullet into the Rifling to get a good fire formed case .........................So does this really work, has anyone tried it..

What really works and what does not.??

Greg

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I've tried both pistol powder/ cream of wheat and just shooting with a mild load and a jammed bullet with the 7stw when making stw brass from 375 h@h brass. Both work once you adjust your load properly. I've gone to a mild load and a jammed bullet myself as the pistol powder and cereal route has always left my barrel so filthy that the cleaning itself would probably be more barrel wear than not running bullets will save.

BTW, do not seat a bullet on top of the cereal and pistol powder as you will blow up your rifle.

 

[270Weatherby]

It works but don't try it. Go with starting loads.

 

[Greg Duerr]

So you dont recomend the cream of wheat tecknique...................??

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

So you dont recomend the cream of wheat tecknique...................??

It is not really worth the hassle most of the time. The only time I'd think of using it is with an extreme overbore that'll go under 1,000 rounds barrel life if you baby it. Then I'd soak the barrel with a plug in one end and mild solvent overnight to break up the crud and clean the next day.
With the mild load route you'll get some shooting practice with your rifle too. Some fireforming loads are terribly accurate. I have used a start charge of h4831 with a 120 sierra in the 7stw to blow out 375 brass and in my rifle it would cloverleaf at 100; my dad's rifle hated that load though.
It is realy your choice but I really don't like to use pistol powder and cereal in a rifle. my $.02

 

[Warbird782]

I used the cream of wheat with elmer's glue trick for my 243AI and mild 243 loads. Both will work BUT if you go with the cream of wheat route be aware. Do not shoot the loads in the house. The elmer's glue will penetrate the wall and you will deal with burning cereal smell for a while. It is also a lot louder than you would think. Second, you will have to clean your chamber between shots. Some of the cereal will end up in the chamber and when you try to fireform another round it will leave dents on your brass. Personally I thought that it was more of a pain to use the cereal.

 

[Greg Duerr]

So far it sounds like a royal pain.............................next time I wont get and Ackley unless they make preformed cases like Nosler does with the .280AI


Thanks

 

[Sully2]

So far it sounds like a royal pain.............................next time I wont get and Ackley unless they make preformed cases like Nosler does with the .280AI


Thanks

Its messier than all hell. I just pick a load about 3/4 up the loading scale ( not a weak and definitely not a MAX load) and load a round as normal. You pull those casings out of the chamber and they are molded perfectly.

 

[X-man]

I use the cream of wheat method to fire form my 470 Mbogo...It works and I hate the mess it creates.

My buddy has a place in the country so we decided to shoot off the FF loads (20 grains WW231/full case of COW/topped with toilet paper wadding) in his garage. The sound was deafening, the snow storm blinding, the stink nasty, and the dent in his garage door unmistakable!
I made the mistake of pointing it at his metal garage door and from the outside it looked like the roadrunner hit it!

After discussions about how much a new garage door was going to cost me we took the remaining COW loads outside

 

[westcliffe01]

My fireforming load is 41gr of Hodgdon H100V under a 95gr Berger VLD in my 243 AI. The velocity with that load is very close to the 95gr SST factory loads from Hornady and it shoots 1/2moa. I regard these fireforming loads as being hunting ready.

Once fireformed, I am starting load development with 105's. My 243 AI is my primary coyote gun so it does not get fired all that often in the field. Must of the field firing is verifying bullet drop in field conditions and keeping up a certain amount of practice to stay proficient. Most of my trigger time is with my 223 which is cheap to fire and should last a very long time, compared to the 243AI. I also shoot my 308 quite a bit, but components have been hard to come by in recent times. It has more recoil than the 6mm so shooting the 243 is a dream after a round of shooting the 308.

I have 40 of the first 50 cartridges fireformed now, so its time to start work on the 105gr loads. Then I will have 95gr bullets loaded in virgin cases and 105gr bullets loaded in once fired cases and by the time I work through the 200 shells I bought, I figure I will be quite a bit older...

I still need to figure out a body die to bump the shoulder back. Most of the die makers are not accepting orders for custom dies due to the current market crisis. I don't need it for the forseeable future, but it will eventually be needed.