Crashbox

Is that the tetrazene stuff that's being used in some store-bought ammo?

These are virgin brass. I've looked at other photos of primer flattening/flowing and in actuality the ones I have look very mild in comparison- nonetheless, I'm gonna keep a real close eye on them.

Here's three photos of the issue-at-hand, the first photo is prob'ly the best. The one on the right is the fired case (of course). The flash makes the dimple in the first photo appear to have "mounded" around the firing pin but that's not the case...

Yes, this was the first time for using it. It was certainly consistent this time though...

Yes, I checked the charges about every ten to fifteen rounds and they all flattened out. I also calibrated my scale prior to using it. The OAL is 1.590 which is what it should be for a 125-grainer and they're crimping right smack in the middle of the cannelure. My next step will be (of course) to back off the loads to see if it helps. The data I have recommends magnum primers which is what I have but it may be that the Federal's are just too hot for this combo. If I can get some non-magnum's I'll try those and see.

The baffle was in before but it crept anyway. The more I think about it, the more it seems to have been my rhythm...

At the edge where the primer and case head meet there's usually a radiused chamfer around the circumference of the primer; I've noticed the primer metal seems to be flowing such that this radiused chamfer is almost completely gone. As I mentioned, no other symptoms of over-pressure... It is not too easy for me to get photos but I might be able to...

...anybody else use them? I've had some primer flattening issues with my .357 Magnum loads but the cases eject as smooth as butter- no "mounding" around the firing pin dent or other possible signs of excessive pressure, either. I wonder if their metal is soft...? Just curious.

Yes, mine came with a baffle and a nifty add-in instruction sheet. I probably would've put it in upside down! I loaded 100 more at 6.8 grains today (gotta love the micrometer insert!)- no creep this time. Maybe I was more consistent in my tempo-

Only about four or five flakes- no static buildup that I could tell. I did lightly wipe down the outside with fabric softener solution. It is puzzling, though. Glad I have a good digital scale handy.

Yeah, I had a couple of items that I needed to rectify. The pawls on the lower part of the ram needed to be adjusted as it was out-of-time and also the primer slider thing required minor tweaking. It's possible that I have an out-of-spec shell plate but I ain't sure. After I tweaked the press everything was pretty much smooth sailing. One puzzling item did occur- I noticed the powder charges being thrown crept up about 0.2 grain from when I started (I have the micrometer insert which is handy), although I did not adjust it to do so. It may have been inconsistent tempo with the ram- I probably sped up a bit as I went along...

Well, I FINALLY got the nerve to try it. I found the primers slide rather smoothly down the tube and not as quickly as I figured they would (I suspect maybe some pneumatic cushioning due to the tube diameter and venting only at the top...?????). Talk about fun! I loaded up about 50 rounds of .357 Magnum using 7.1 to 7.3 grains of TiteGroup behind 125-grain JHP bullets, lit with Federal Small Pistol Magnum match-grade primers ('twas all they had). I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I headed to the range and fired 'em off. They actually worked- all of them! Reasonably accurate, too. No wonder people reload- it is enjoyable to say the least. And I'm also one of those crazy people who find cleaning my gun after a stint at the range to be therapeutic...

Currently have Winchester Supreme Elite 180gn for my SIG .40, Speer Gold Dot 125gn and 158gn for my .357 Magnum wheelgun.

Good question. I just bought a can this morning based on the positive comments I've heard... When/if I use it in the near future I'll let y'all know.

Hmmm... I must be mistaken... I've always referred to both revolvers and auto-loaders as "pistols". I wonder if the definition of "pistol" has perhaps morphed over the past generation to refer mainly to auto-loading pistols exclusively- Well- since I also now have an auto-loader- I would say my SIG SP2022 in .40 S&W- it is quite accurate and not unpleasant at all to shoot.

My Ruger GP100, 4" stainless steel model. It goes BANG every time.

Will acetone adversely affect the powder drop chute if it's plastic?

I'll have to consider that, woodsoup. Thanks a big bunch for the tip!

Would we need to change "Marksman" to "Marksperson" to be PC these days? I just could NOT resist. I think these are great.

I used good ol' mineral spirits (highly refined) on my LNL AP and it seemed to work well. Of course, it doesn't act as a lube... I bought some stuff called TDL or "The Dry Lube" at Home Depot but I haven't tried it yet on my LNL AP- it was pretty inexpensive.

Well, here's mine so far (DEFINITELY beta)- And I have yet to load round one! (bullets for the .357 Magnum are nearly impossible to find but I do have a few hundred thus far)... Still a work in progress. The old, dead refrigerator should make a great storage facility for powder, cases, and other stuff, but the primers go elsewhere.

Well, I finally got around to mixing some up- both with MEK and without- but I altered it somewhat because of what I have in stock. I added some toluene and LC20, whether it helps or not I don't know but it sure didn't hurt. I use the MEK version on my GP100 revolver and the non-MEK stuff on my SIG SP2022 .40 S&W (NO WAY am I gonna use the high-octane version around a polymer frame unless I want to make the grip more conforming!!!!). This stuff does indeed work well for carbon fouling and the cost to mix it up is unbeatable! Anyway, thought I'd share my experience with it. No gun forum is complete without mentioning Ed's Red IMO

I think it would be a neat mini-contest to see who could improve on them such as "Cartridge, Case, Truckload, Warehouse, Armory" as a (probably VERY bad) example.

I opted for a SIG SP2022, .40 S&W and the optional Crimson Trace grips FWIW...

Hmmm... this has me wondering, too. Now that I have my CPL (got it Saturday) I was considering the possibility of a S&W M&P compact version for CC but now... hmmm... reliability is an absolute when it comes to SD.