260AI...picture heavy

[scooterf79]

LR.....
Are you sure you didnt just copy one of my range trips.....sounds exactly like stuff that happens to me lol.
Those blown out shoulders do look pretty good.....looking forward to see your results. So....about 6-7% increase in capacity.....
Scooter

[LongRange]

That is a sexy looking case all formed up. Excited to hear what kind of velocities you end up getting. You think something got screwed up when you disassembled your bolt to find throat length? Or is it just trying to find a good place to set your shoulder? I should know by tomorrow evening if I need to be at work this weekend. I will let you know when I find out. Got a bunch of swift/.45/.357 loaded up and it's burning a hole in my pocket.

no...everything is good with the bolt...i set my firing pin protrusion short-er than most...once i find a load that shoots i adjust the FPP in the field by shooting groups and adjusting lighter each group until i start getting FTFs then i give it a quarter turn back(longer)and most times im set...if i get another FTF i will adjust it a quarter turn longer again and its set...i dont have an exact way to measure the protrusion but using calipers its right at .028 .030.
i have found a lighter strike seems to keep things more consistent but as you know my brass fits snug in my chambers and i run a little higher pressures.

let me know if you can make it out....ive got 76 more cases to form and your welcome to get in on the fun LOL!!


LR.....
Are you sure you didnt just copy one of my range trips.....sounds exactly like stuff that happens to me lol.
Those blown out shoulders do look pretty good.....looking forward to see your results. So....about 6-7% increase in capacity.....
Scooter

the gain was/is right in between 5.5% and 5.6% after the first firing and the shoulders are much sharper than i had expected so im not sure if theres going to be and increase after the second firing or not...i will re-weigh with H2O but im not really expecting much more...im pretty happy with 5.5% and i think with the right combo i can easily get where i want to be.

and yes it was a special first time out with the AI LOL...i have enough crap in my range bag to completely strip and put a rifle back together but forgot the cleaning rod...i KNEW i was going to need it thats the bad part and like i said .003 neck tension is no where near enough to fire form cases...lesson learned...im going to run the other 76 cases through my lee collet die with the .258 mandrel which puts the NT right at .007(the james bond mandrel)an ill try to run the extractor as its kind of a PITA running the rod down the barrel every time LOL!

[LongRange]

the pics that wouldnt load last night...

the ten shot target...remember 8 outta these 10 shots took two strikes to fire...it was cold and getting dark...i was hungry...you know the usual excuses when your shooting bad LOL...

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff515/LTT-/Mobile%20Uploads/1450271116.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/LTT-/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1450271116.jpg.html)

a few more cases....no doughnuts...

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff515/LTT-/Mobile%20Uploads/1450268950.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/LTT-/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1450268950.jpg.html)

and the primers...fire forming load was..
necked up 243 winchester brass ran through a FL die
142g SMK .015 jammed
47g H4831sc
CCI 250 primer...the primers are old and by old i mean they are in the older style red CCI boxes(5-10 years?)so im wondering if that was/is part of the FTF...i have a new box of 250s i will use for the rest of the FFing......i was going to run an OCW test...and i still might...but im going to go right to 48.5g of H4831sc and play with seating depth first and see where i end up...

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff515/LTT-/Mobile%20Uploads/1450269130.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/LTT-/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1450269130.jpg.html)

all of the above leads me to believe that this will be a great combo with a little tuning.

[yobuck]

Have you tried shooting groups while fire forming? The results might surprise you.
I have an old rusty steel cleaning rod that never comes out of my jeep. Also an old
plastic prescription container with several size bronze brushes. Having an empty hung up
while hunting is bad enough, but not being prepared for it is inexcusable. Worse yet is extracting
an empty with no neck on the case. A bronze brush makes short work of that. Things that shouldnt
happen have a way of happening sometimes.
Last thursday afternoon i was glassing in the front yard of our camp after the fog finally lifted.
I cant hear the phone ring when im outside but a friend with me did.
It was another old friend telling me to get a gun out to a spot he was on about a half hour away from me.
It is one of very few areas here where cell phones work.
He had a really nice buck laying down at about 650 with an empty stuck in his gun and no cleaning rod.
By the time i got there the buck had gotten tired of waiting and left. All they could do was watch him walk off.

[LongRange]

yep i keep all of that in my range bag but like a kid with a new toy i forgot the cleaning rod...im going to buy a cheep one today that will stay in the truck from now on.

[Dewey7271]

Nice LR. Cases look good. I really like that load for fireforming, seems to fill them out nicely.
That 48.5 is a sweet spot in my rifle. (26" done by Jim). Think you'll like around that area pretty well.

[sixonetonoffun]

I use a hardwood dowel rod with 22 case punch formed and crimped on each end. Keep one in my case for emergencies.

A short 2x2 makes a cheap improvised mallet.

Won't say how many over priced cleaning rods lead to this preparation.

[yobuck]

The dowel would certainly work, ive never had to beat on a case to dislodge it.
But ill keep my old rod just in case i need the brush to remove a case neck.
Back in the early 60s i had a Savage 110 lefty in 06. I was trying to strain all
the accuracy i could out of it so i foolishly decided neck sizing was a smart thing to do.
My brother and i were heading up a mountain road in a 55 chevy suburban we used in
our const business. It was bear season and all of a sudden there was a bear on the sidehill
across the valley at about 400 yds. I dont even remember stopping and getting out, only flopping down prone
on the dirt road and letting one go at that bear. My brother was stuck parking the truck. Realize if you can that
bipods hadnt been created yet nor had scope knobs either.
Anyway when i tried chambering another round it wouldnt go in. I was more intent on keeping my eye on the bear by then running thru the trees
than i was on looking at the gun. About that time another guy showed up in a red 59 chevy and also started lobbing lead at the bear.
By then i had figured out i had a case stuck in the chamber. The guys chevy had a radio antenna on an angle on the rear of the car.
I went over to it without asking and started ramming it into my barrel. But the thing kept folding down as it hit the empty and i never did
get the case out till after it was all over. I think the bear finally died of old age. But that incident taught me 2 things which ive not forgotten.

[LongRange]

Nice LR. Cases look good. I really like that load for fireforming, seems to fill them out nicely.
That 48.5 is a sweet spot in my rifle. (26" done by Jim). Think you'll like around that area pretty well.


Now ive figuered out how this works i think the rest of the FFing will go smooth.
48.5g seems to be the load for most everyone running 4831 and im sure thats where ill end up but im going to run the charge up to silly levels just to see what happens...they are calling for snow here saturday so i guess ill be shooting from under my truck...sunday is suppoed to be decent so im hoping to have everything dialed and a load worked up by the end of the weekend.

[Dewey7271]

Silly levels are sometimes educational, done correctly that is. I ran up a bit above that just to see but didn't find a lot more speed or accuracy. YMMV. Speed plateau slightly above that. Be interested to see what you find.

[LongRange]

how much above did you go?

[Dewey7271]

2 gr

[LongRange]

thanks Dewey...im going to run up a little higher than that unless i start flattening primers...i want this brass to last awhile LOL...if the 4831 starts getting hot before i see what im looking for ive got some H1000 and RL25 i might try...ive shot both powders in the standard 260 and both are VERY accurate but slow...im thinking with 3gs more capacity and a mild mag primer it should be interesting.

ive got the last 77 rounds loaded up to fire form...neck tension is at .007 and i set these so they will be jammed .020 so that should take care of the FTFs i think...im also going to load up the 24 FFd cases at 48.5g and play with seating starting at .002 jammed and work out from there...

[Dewey7271]

That should work.
Can't wait to see how it shoots for you.

[WinnieTheBoom]

I'm sure I missed it but what will the difference in overall length be once you have a load worked up? Or should it stay about the same as the .260?

[LongRange]

the case OAL(trim length) i run in my 260 is 2.028 and before fire forming these cases were there...after FFing they are actually shorter at 2.015-2.017 but thats before i have neck sized them so they will most likely end up around 2.020 or so...if your talking about COAL it is 2.906 touching the lands with a 142g SMK.


fixed the COAL.

[WinnieTheBoom]

Are you running them through .308 mags? Just curious about being able to keep it as a repeater, though it doesn't sound like you've had any issues with seating depth up until now, so I wouldn't expect that you've run into any problems with it.

[LongRange]

im not sure on the mag part as this rifle was a 110BA 300wm when new...the 260 cases fit and hold in the mag but dont feed to well because of the length of the mag...i think Dewey is mag feeding and may be able to answer better than i can.

[LongRange]

come to think about it ill have to try feeding with the AI'd cases they may feed better than the standard 260 cases...ill get back to that after i try.

[Dewey7271]

Mines in a LA and I run right at 2.88. There is definitely a gap or space in the mag but they feed very easily. Zero issues after probably 650 or so. I have not modified from where it was originally. Mine was originally a 30-06.