Pennsylvania Game News - June 2020 - 55

down the bullet-seater to the desired
depth.
For a tighter crimp, screw the die
down an eighth of a turn at a time. You'll
feel an increase in resistance as the case
mouth crimps around the bullet.
Bottleneck cartridges need no more
than a slight crimp, if any at all.
Straight-wall cases, however, might
require a heavier crimp to prevent the
bullet from walking out of the case from
recoil, jamming the gun's action. This
is more prone to happen with revolvers.
With bottleneck cartridges, the first
die resizes the case, punches out the
old primer and reforms the case mouth
- not really expanding it. The second
die seats and crimps the bullet at the
proper depth.

Start Small

The chamber of any firearm is cut
within exacting measurement tolerances. Even though two firearms are
chambered for the same cartridge, there
can be slight chamber-dimension differences that won't allow a spent cartridge
case from one firearm to chamber properly in the other firearm.
Those little differences make a big
difference in the pressure that each
chamber experiences.
Reloading manuals offer specific
information for the firearm used in the
testing. The listed minimum and maximum loads for bullets and powders are
for a particular cartridge for that specific
firearm.
Other firearms chambered for the
same cartridge will experience different
pressures and velocities. So, it's important not to begin with maximum loads.
Start with lighter loads and work your
way up. Watch for signs of excessive
pressure: sticky bolt ejection, pierced
JUNE 2020

primers, etc.
When I was a gunsmith, I had some
individuals who started with maximum
loads bring in their problems. Usually, it
was a jammed rifle that I had to pound
on the bolt to open, a bulged barrel that
needed to be replaced, or a destroyed
action that could not be repaired.
When you go beyond shooting and
reloading cartridge cases more than
twice, the case can lengthen beyond the
maximum allowable length. After each
firing and case resizing, take the caliper
and measure its length. If it exceeds the
published maximum length, cut it back
with a trimming tool. An oversized
case will jam the case mouth into the
rifling, not allowing the bullet to freely
leave the case and causing excessive
pressures.
It's also important to clean brass that
has been fired more than twice - some
shooters do it every time. The carbon
buildup from successive firings can
hide cracks and splits, making the gun's
action less smooth.
Also, when picking up brass off the
range, dirt often gets on and into cases.
If this isn't cleaned, it could be introduced into your dies and pressed into
your brass, which can scar your dies
and firearm's chamber.
Using a tumbler or a sonic cleaner
will remove any remaining dirt; troublesome-looking brass should be discarded. Clean cases are easier to work
through the dies and will make chamber-feeding smoother, especially for
semiauto firearms.
As you gain more experience reloading, you'll find other tools to help make
the job easier and more efficient. But it's
important to pay attention to details, to
heed warnings. They are what ensure
fulfillment - even fun - in reloading.
55

Pennsylvania Game News - June 2020

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