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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
Replicating factory ammo performance
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<blockquote data-quote="crkckr" data-source="post: 2020293" data-attributes="member: 78056"><p>Trying to guess what your cases will or won't do under a whole lot of different conditions is a bit of folly but what the heck, that's never stopped anyone (especially me!) from throwing in their 2 cents worth anyway!</p><p></p><p>To be honest, .243 is one round I've had the most trouble with over the years, probably because I don't spend much time shooting light loads on pretty much anything I reload for. I usually try to squeeze the best performance out of any cartridge I shoot. Trying to do that while maintaining accuracy can be a slippery slope indeed! Generally, I get two loadings out of a .243 case, then it gets relegated to the practice case bin. I check for case head seperation every time I size them, even if neck sizing. Buying high quality cases, such as Lapua, will definitely help in the case life department!</p><p></p><p>Your loads don't seem to be too near the max so I would guess (and keep in mind it's just that - a guess!) that you should be able to get between 3 and 5 reloadings per case just neck sizing before you start to have chambering issues. Or it could be just 1 or 2. Or a lot more, it's really hard to say since it can depend on the brand of brass, your rifles chamber size, how hot your loads are, even the style of bullet you shoot, flat base or boattail! Can you hear the echo from the rabbit hole?</p><p></p><p>For me, case head seperation has always been an issue with the .243 so I've gotten pretty good at checking the cases with the old bent wire method (take a 3 or 4" piece of relatively stiff wire - I use .040" safety wire - and put a small 90 degree bend in the end. Smooth the end out with a bit of 400 grit sandpaper and slip it inside the case, feeling for a low spot towards the bottom of the case). That low spot is usually case head seperation, which can also be seen as a bright ring on the outside of the case, although it's also usually right about where the full length sizer leaves it's mark as well! That can confuse things, although not when you are are neck sizing. As I have a borescope, I can confirm it pretty easily but way back when, I just cut a few cases in half with a hacksaw (length wise) to confirm what I thought I was feeling. In every other rifle caliber I have I can control this by setting the sizing die so the case shoulder isn't bumped back too much but in the case of the 2 different .243's I've owned, I would have to set the die hard against the shell holder just to get the dang thing back in the rifle! Grrrr! I have the exact same problem loading for a buddies 22-250 but so far no case head seperation issues, so again, it's hard to say!</p><p></p><p>Anyway, once the cases are FL resized you should be able to get pretty close to the same number of reloads as with new or once fired brass, maybe one less (perhaps more if you anneal the cases but that's really digging into the reloading rabbit hole!). When FL resizing, I set the dies so that no more of the case is sized than is needed to get the cases to chamber easily again. </p><p></p><p>There are lots of little tricks that can be used to extend the case life but there's that dang rabbit hole again. It might be easier to just buy new cases (if you can find them!) after reloading them until they're hard to chamber, depending on how much you shoot (being really cheap, I use everything until it can't be used relatively safely any more!). Ok, let's say "economical" instead of cheap? Even if I do make Jack Benny look like a compulsive spender (oh dear, did I just date myself? Yikes!).</p><p></p><p>Good luck and step carefully around that rabbit hole... it can be really deep!</p><p>Cheers,</p><p>crkckr</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="crkckr, post: 2020293, member: 78056"] Trying to guess what your cases will or won't do under a whole lot of different conditions is a bit of folly but what the heck, that's never stopped anyone (especially me!) from throwing in their 2 cents worth anyway! To be honest, .243 is one round I've had the most trouble with over the years, probably because I don't spend much time shooting light loads on pretty much anything I reload for. I usually try to squeeze the best performance out of any cartridge I shoot. Trying to do that while maintaining accuracy can be a slippery slope indeed! Generally, I get two loadings out of a .243 case, then it gets relegated to the practice case bin. I check for case head seperation every time I size them, even if neck sizing. Buying high quality cases, such as Lapua, will definitely help in the case life department! Your loads don't seem to be too near the max so I would guess (and keep in mind it's just that - a guess!) that you should be able to get between 3 and 5 reloadings per case just neck sizing before you start to have chambering issues. Or it could be just 1 or 2. Or a lot more, it's really hard to say since it can depend on the brand of brass, your rifles chamber size, how hot your loads are, even the style of bullet you shoot, flat base or boattail! Can you hear the echo from the rabbit hole? For me, case head seperation has always been an issue with the .243 so I've gotten pretty good at checking the cases with the old bent wire method (take a 3 or 4" piece of relatively stiff wire - I use .040" safety wire - and put a small 90 degree bend in the end. Smooth the end out with a bit of 400 grit sandpaper and slip it inside the case, feeling for a low spot towards the bottom of the case). That low spot is usually case head seperation, which can also be seen as a bright ring on the outside of the case, although it's also usually right about where the full length sizer leaves it's mark as well! That can confuse things, although not when you are are neck sizing. As I have a borescope, I can confirm it pretty easily but way back when, I just cut a few cases in half with a hacksaw (length wise) to confirm what I thought I was feeling. In every other rifle caliber I have I can control this by setting the sizing die so the case shoulder isn't bumped back too much but in the case of the 2 different .243's I've owned, I would have to set the die hard against the shell holder just to get the dang thing back in the rifle! Grrrr! I have the exact same problem loading for a buddies 22-250 but so far no case head seperation issues, so again, it's hard to say! Anyway, once the cases are FL resized you should be able to get pretty close to the same number of reloads as with new or once fired brass, maybe one less (perhaps more if you anneal the cases but that's really digging into the reloading rabbit hole!). When FL resizing, I set the dies so that no more of the case is sized than is needed to get the cases to chamber easily again. There are lots of little tricks that can be used to extend the case life but there's that dang rabbit hole again. It might be easier to just buy new cases (if you can find them!) after reloading them until they're hard to chamber, depending on how much you shoot (being really cheap, I use everything until it can't be used relatively safely any more!). Ok, let's say "economical" instead of cheap? Even if I do make Jack Benny look like a compulsive spender (oh dear, did I just date myself? Yikes!). Good luck and step carefully around that rabbit hole... it can be really deep! Cheers, crkckr [/QUOTE]
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