[Wyeth]

hi all-
i'm trying to reload 38 super for ipsc major-
7.0 gr. IMR SR-7625 at 1.250" with a Montana Gold 124 gr. jhp.

i measure my loads fresh from the press and factory crimp die, and they are all +/- .004
of 1.250

i hand chamber the rounds through the pistol, and remeasure- 1.230!

is this a totally unacceptable variation, is it o.k. or am i doing something wrong? i have the factory crimp die cranked down pretty far- my rounds are starting to look like some funky bottle neck .357 SIG deal, but they are still sliding.

any help would be great!
D. Wyeth
thanks.

[This message has been edited by Wyeth (edited 10-02-2001).]

 

[Tom Freeman]

Sounds like not enough crimp to me. Take a loaded round and try to push the bullet in the case using your bench and thumb. If it goes in, not enough crimp.

Bring it to the Aurora match Sunday and I can look at it.

Tom
AF Shooting Team

 

[Walking Point]

Your sizing die could be oversized or you could be using .355 bullets. I understand that .355 bullets are now standard for this caliber, but it doesn't hold true for my 7 Colts (All are pre-series 70 models using Ed Brown match barrels). I use .356 jacketed bullets or .357/.358 cast bullets and regularly have OALs exceeding what you're trying to do.

Over crimping will do mor eharm than good since case tension is what holds a bullet in place. Heavy crimps in many cases simply smash (technical term) the bullet. The case will spring back a bit, but the bullet will stay malformed. It just makes a bad situation worse.

Some sort of feeding issue with the gun/bullet combination could also have something to do with it.

I don't know if over expanding the cases could be an issue, but you can kill all neck tension this way if you get crazy or have an oversized expander.

That's about all I can think of.

 

[Houston1944]

I put very little crimp on my 38 Super and bullet set-back is not a problem. I would be suspicious of the sizing die. If you know someone that also loads 38S then I would have them resize a few and see if you have the same problem. I have been using Montana Gold's 115 and 124 9mm bullets for the past year with no problem.

 

[PK]

I'd call EGW and talk to them about a sizing die. Sounds like your having case tension problems.

 

[Tom Freeman]

Missed you this weekend. You might want to come to Boulder IPSC this weekend. I wont be there though. Gots to go away for a while.

Bring your ammo and ask some questions. Boulder has the most open shooters in the area.

Tom
AF Shooting Team

 

[Rich in VA]

1.250 is good, I usually do a .378 crimp. 7.0 grs of 7625 sounds sorta light to make major, what kind of barrel configuration do you have, and what do these rounds chrono?

Rich

 

[Wyeth]

i loaded about 25 rounds in each of 6.5, through 7.3 for cronoing. i havent fired any due to the bullet seating issue. the last thing i wanted to do was fire 7.3 gr. of 7625 in a shell that was 1.150 long.

i think i'm going to get one of egw's under size sizing dies and play around with that. also, my smith said that some of it could be due to the steepness of the barrel ramp.

i'm running a sti bull barrel with a 9 port limcat turbo comp.

Wyeth

 

[Bompa]

Bullet setback...
Had that happen when I started to load the super..Damn near drove me crazy..Turns out to be the sizeing die..Lee did a swap for an undersized sizing die and things got much better..Also check that case mouth expanding
die isn't going too deep..Taper crimp to remove bell and just a bit more and all should be well..

 

[Tom Freeman]

Ever find out what your problem is/was?

Tom
AF Shooting Team