Case neck cleaning

[fgw_in_fla]

In order to fulfill my OCD with reloading & Savage shooting, I tend to "over clean" the inside of brass case necks. After all prep work is thoroughly completed, I top it off by taking a piece of 0000 steel wool & proceed to shine 'em up. Mirror finish. In & out. I figured a nice shiny surface to press that bullet into would be ideal & allow it to slip on out and make its way to its intended target.

Then, I read this over at AccurateShooter.Com.... EDIT - SCROLL DOWN. This link no work. Try the second link down a few posts ;) (I'll get eventually...)

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3782925.0 (ftp://http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3782925.0)

In case the link doesn't come up, the thread is all about why it's not a good idea to shine up the inside of the case neck. It also discusses why & how the bullet sticks to the case neck causing pressure spikes, inconsistancies & poor accuracy.
Suddenly I realised why I can assemble some super duper hi accuracy .270 ammo & send them downrange 200yds, and I see about 50% of them doing what I expect & the remaining 50% all over the target.... Kinda like buckshot.

SO... I run (not walk) to my reloading room, open a box of .270 / 130gr Noslers with 55.6gr of H4831-sc, set up a dead length seating die & proceed to reset some bullets an additional .005".
Lo & behold, what do I hear? A very distinct POP sound as I reseat all of them. Almost every round I made that had been sitting in a box for 3 or 4 weeks - the bullet was trying to weld itself to the case neck. I try a few that I made 3 days ago & they pressed in gently. No POP sound.

SO...As you can see (if you read the info at AccurateShooter in the "reloading" forum), an overly clean & shiny case neck interior is a bad thing. Dirty (to some degree) is good... Old powder residue can be a good thing.
I post this info in hopes of helping another OCD Reloader in hope that they will not make the mistake I did & live a more fullfilling life in the ever wonderous world of the Savage Switch Barrel Thunderstick.

Frank in Fla.

[kdvarmint]

Sounds interesting. The link won't take me to it. Could you tell me the title of the post?

[fgw_in_fla]

I can't get the link to work either.... I never said I was any good with computers... ???

Go to Accurateshooter.com - Click on "Forums" -- Go to the reloading section & click. Scroll down about half way & look for "After annealing - Cleaning inside of neck?"

Good info in there about the subject matter. I like to read stuff on that site. Those 1000yd guys know their stuff. ;)

[fgw_in_fla]

Lets give it another try.... ::)

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3782925.0




I cut & pasted it as a hyper link & an FTP link (whatever the h3ll that is ???)

[kdvarmint]

Great, that worked. Didn't read it yet, but got it now. Thank's for passing it along.

[kelbro]

Too many people over-think this stuff. I sort of understand the logic of some of the things the BR guys do but I guess that I am fortunate enough to have handloaded (with very consistent results) for over 30yrs before I started reading all of the reloading forums. I have tried a lot of the so-called accurizing techniques and most of them do nothing on target (for me).

[fgw_in_fla]

I agree with you to a degree Kelbro... Much of what I read seems a bit like overkill but interesting nonetheless..

However... Try what the article implies. I did. Ammo the had shiny clean necks that sat in a box for a few weeks, went POP when I repressed them a few thousandths. Ammo a few days old (w/ shiny clean necks) did not.
I have noticed most of the ammo I load is dead nutz on EXCEPT for a few in the box that always shoot higher or off to one side. I believe I'll stop shining up the inside of the necks when I work my brass and see if I gain some more consistancy.

Couldn't hurt ;)

[barrel-nut]

I have noticed most of the ammo I load is dead nutz on EXCEPT for a few in the box that always shoot higher or off to one side.


Are you checking concentricity? There's a whole 'nuther bag of worms for your OCD to feast on...;)

[fgw_in_fla]

Hey BarrelNut.... Happy Sunday! ;)

Yes, to answer your inquiry. When I work my brass, I have two areas on the bench.
Area A - Straight & true
Area B - Everything else.

Ya know, for a while I didn't pay any attention to "less than concentric" cases until one lazy day...
I started to separate my ammo & discovered a major difference between ammo that's straight & true and everything else.
Ahhh.. such is life as a Savage Addict & Reloading OCD patient... ;)

[fgw_in_fla]

By the way, speaking of concentricity...

What are y'all using to check concentric ammo and, what do y'all do to straighten it out?

I know Hornady has a gadget for such tasks but, I've also heard folks saying don't straighten 'em out for whatever reason.
Seems like a heckuva waste to me to NOT want to try to salvage useable brass.

Whatcha think ???

[kdvarmint]

"BR Guys" That explains a lot. The over thinking stuff may or may not show a noticeable difference in a factory rifle, and may actually make only .1" of a difference on a custom rifle. But that .1 may be the difference of a group in the .3's as to one in the .2's, or less. Pretty big when the competition mostly all shoot 1/4" max. As a handloader we have to have realistic expectations of what we are trying to accomplish and with what equipment we have at hand. In whatever you do, do it consistent!

[kdvarmint]

I have the Hornady Concentricity Tool. Would I buy it again? Probably not. I think there are better concentricity gauges. Yes you can straighten them if there off, but the idea is to do it right first. I use it it to check loaded rounds and haven't noticed much difference after straightening the ones that were off. The question I ask myself is, are cases that weren't straight, then torqued and made straight, consistent with cases that did not have the extra torquing on them. They may be straight, but neck tension has to be affected. I've never sold anything on-line, but if you were in my area I would sell mine to someone who was.

[barrel-nut]

I have the Sinclair concentricity gauge and the Hornady gauge/straightener. Guess what? They don't usually agree! A round may measure out pretty well on one, and not so well on the other. I think this is due to the fact that they don't "index" (I hope that's the proper term) on the same parts of the loaded round. The Sinclair uses two pairs of stainless non-rotating ball bearings embedded in the adjustable bases to support the case basically anywhere you choose to set them along the body of the case, except that one set must be very close to the case head due to its' design. The gauge is, of course, positioned on the bullet, but can be placed anywhere else along the case if you want to. Kinda hard to explain, but if you look at the picture on their website, it's really simple. This works pretty well, but tends to exaggerate any imperfections in the case.

The Hornady tool indexes off the rim of the case head, and the tip of the bullet. It tends to show less runout than the Sinclair tool on average, partially I think due to the gauge being positioned between the indexing points, rather than outside of them, as in the Sinclair. I have only had it a little while, so I haven't yet fired any rounds that I have "straightened" with it yet, but I am anxious to find out if it helps or not. The straightening screw threads into an aluminum fixture, which flexes a distressing amount when tightened hard. I have my doubts about its longevity. If it breaks, however, I'm sure Hornady will make it good. I'm also a little suspicious about possible bullet deformation, since while tightening the screw to push a round back into compliance, you are also bearing pretty hard on the very tip of the bullet. Don't yet know if this is a net gainer or loser.

I like it when BOTH gauges say a round is good. If I start spending any more time obsessing over this loading stuff, I'll no longer have time to shoot! Almost there already! As I think it was SMK Shoe said the other day, I think I shoot now just to have an excuse to reload...

[fgw_in_fla]

Thanks for the info Mr. BarrelNut...
I have to totally agree with you. It's ALWAYS interesting when measurements don't always agree when trying to read something from the same round of ammo.
Ya know, maybe I'll stay with my current method of concentric checking. I made a bullet holder / roller out of a couple of steel wheels with bearing. mounted to a piece of oak, and I hold a ruler next to the pointed end of the bullet & roll it. Not the most precise gadget but, it does show any wobble or off center turning.

Perhaps I'll give my OCD condition a rest for a while & harp on something else besides bullet / ammo concentrics & such.

Thanks for all the info & input guys (and gals if applicable)

Frank "Wobble" in Fla... ::)