by ARconnect » Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:54 pm
So, I loaded up 10 test rounds Sunday night over the factory brass, primers and powder. Hope to get to the range this weekend.
My observations:
Factory powder is very fine granular. I weighed the charges for each round I pulled and they ranged from 40.5 to 40.75 grains, with all but 3 of them being between 40.6 and 40.65 grains. I put the factory charges back in each case they came from and didn't try to normalize them, but probably should have with a .25 grn. weight spread.
There has been a lot written on here about crimps, and I understand the issues. I was hoping to have less of an issue (or none at all) given that my brass hasn't been fired - just the bullets pulled. However, getting a good crimp - even one that would hold the bullet from slipping back into the case - has been a challenge. I didn't try to resize the brass since it has never been fired. I simply seated the bullets and then used the taper crimp (new Hornady dies on an old Rock Chucker).
I used two different bullets (5 of each): Barnes XPB 200 grn. and General Bullet C.O.P. 225 grn. (the Generals are the ones for the 454C, not the 460 S&W). Before I seated the bullets I mic'd them at their heel and mid points. The Barnes were 1 to just under 2 thousandths larger at the heel than at the midpoint, but the Generals were fairly consistent from ogive to heel. Even though the Barnes are indicated on the box to be .451 dia. I only had about 6 that were that small, with most hovering between .452 and .4525 at the midpoint (between the two drive grooves). The Generals weren't bad either with most hovering around .452 (their stated diameter).
I seated the bullets to the drive groove (upper drive groove for the Barnes) and taper crimped them to .474 inch at the case mouth. I tried to get the edge of the case mouth roughly centered in the drive groove before crimping. Some feel fairly firm, but some still can be fairly easily pushed in or pulled out slightly. However, I cannot push them in further than the upper edge of the drive groove and cannot pull them out far enough to reveal the lower edge of the drive groove - not with bare hands, anyway. So, the COL is able to vary slightly. Just closing the caliper on them will move the bullets as indicated on the looser ones. COL for those loaded with Barnes is 2.195 and the Generals measure 2.07 - just .01 inch longer than my Hornady manual (9th Edition) lists for their 240 grn. XTP Mag.
I'll see how these shoot - if I get pressure signs or sooting. I'll load them one at a time and probably use the forward assist to be sure the bolt is locked rather than letting the action fly. I guess I'll have to do the FCD mod if I get soot. Thought I had one (unmodified), but guess I don't - or can't find it if I do.
ARconnect
From the Land of the Bullet Button, 10 Rnd Max Cap Mags, and Lead-Free Fodder. But this place would be Paradise without the Politicians.