Possible fix for my ES woes

[MagnumManiac]

Jrock,
Nearly all of loads are compressed if I don't 'swirl' the charge but, afterwards they've got a little wiggle room that will/does not change after transport or sitting around.
Many moons ago, I would load at home with 'as dumped' charges from the pan, drive to the shoot and find excessive pressures on loads that proved ok being shot just after being loaded. The transport had shifted the powder in the case causing the higher pressure. I then started loading at maches, this was tedious.
I then discovered swirling the powder did the same as my 12" drop tube and could be done at home.
I hold the scale pan at about 30 degrees to perpendicular to the funnel, the powder is released so that a constant 'swirl' is seen pouring like a tornado into the case. At no time does the bottom of the funnel fill, the kernels are swirling as they fall into the case mouth. This enhances powder packing tenfold and makes my loads very consistent.

Cheers.

 

[Gregg C]

I had the same thing happen with my EZ prime. The rod was just too short to seat the primers all the way. I took it out and went to my anvil and hammered on the rod a little stretching it another .010 and now I can feel the primer seat all the way.

when it seats.

I had the same thing happen with my EZ prime. The rod was just too short to seat the primers all the way. I took it out and went to my anvil and hammered on the rod a little stretching it another .010 and now I can feel the primer seat all the way.

when it seats.

Thanks, that sounds easier sticking q feeler gauge in there.
Gregg

 

[Gregg C]

Here is an up date: I stated earlier that the es for that group of loads was xx, well, I checked my notes, it was actually worse than I said. Math says the es was 104fps. That's bad. This time out, the es actually was 72fps over 13 rds. So, a little better, I guess.
Gregg

 

[rcoody]

Broke my RCBS primer seater last nite. It's on a Rock Chucker Supreme, so was unable to find a replacement today. Instead I bought a Lyman EZee Prime. This is the third loading on new brass, so I knew that the primers would seat at least flush. Well, they didn't. Some were ok, others stuck out. Scratching my head I re-read the destructions, and it says that the plunger will NOT bottom out, yet I could not squeeze the handle hard enough to get any more travel in order to push the primer up into the case, to at least flush. I found an old feeler gauge spark plug gapper in my tool box that is narrow enough to lay in that recess in the middle of the RCBS shell holder. Stuck a shell on there, pushed the .013 feeler gauge in, pointed the **** thing away from my face, squeezed the handle....and pushed the primer home . Not just flush, either. It has the "right" feel to it, slightly below the case head. Did them all again, got that same recessed depth to all of these cases. I have been fighting protruding primers in this cartridge for the entire time I've been loading for it. Sometimes the durn things would not even chamber. And my new chronograph has been telling me that my velocities are all over the map. ES this last time out was 72fps.
As to the cause of this, I have no idea. At a WAG, I think the shell holder is minimal in some dimension or other, or wore out, or ...yeah, I dunno. But, if primer seating depth affects velocity, then could be I found at least PART of my problem. Questions, comments, concerns are welcome, encouraged, even. What say you all ? Hope this was not to long, tried to keep it short. Thanks.
Gregg

do you really want to solve this problem. try these steps.

make sure you have your sizing die set up for a 1 to 2 thousandths shoulder bump.

buy you a quality priming tool. sinclair makes one 21st century makes one.
https://www.sinclairintl.com/reload...nd-tools/sinclair-priming-tool-prod37732.aspx

get you a gempro 250 scale, some lee powder scoops and a little dandy powder trickler. weigh your powder charges as accurately as you can.

buy some lapua brass and benchrest primers

go through the proper load development and seating depth test procedures

after you get a handle on that then we can start talking about dies and neck tension and all the things that go along with it.

 

[Rich Coyle]

buy some lapua brass and benchrest primers

In my multiple tests benchrest primers don't do any better than other brands. Different rifles prefer different primers to shoot their best. Therefore I suggest you get several brands of primer and compare them buy firing some five shot groups with each as the last step in your search for accuracy.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

In my multiple tests benchrest primers don't do any better than other brands. Different rifles prefer different primers to shoot their best. Therefore I suggest you get several brands of primer and compare them buy firing some five shot groups with each as the last step in your search for accuracy.

This is true. I've tested cci br-2 vs winchester wlr. No noticeable difference. My es with the winchesters is 8. I shoulder bump my brass .002, uniform my primer pockets, debur my flash holes, neck turn my brass, weight sort if needed, and make every charge exactly the same. All the minor things will add up if your not paying attention to every little detail.

 

[Barrelnut]

I have been fighting protruding primers in this cartridge for the entire time I've been loading for it. Sometimes the durn things would not even chamber.

OP,
The problem may BE that the diameter of the primer it to large for the diameter of the brass primer pocket. It may NOT be that the primer pocket is not deep enough. Most primer pockets, even ones with inconsistent depth, are deep enough to allow the head of the primer to set just below the case head. To have them otherwise is inviting disaster. Plus, i think Weatherby brass should be of enough quality that you shouldn't need to uniform the pocket depths.

Maybe trying another brand of primer would help. Different brands have slightly different dimensions. Maybe try a primer that has a small diameter.

Here's a chart. Good luck.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Primers should be bottomed out in the pocket. The anvil in the primer has to be seated firmly, even a little crush. Flush is most likely not bottoming the anvil and primer cup. Can you drop a bullet through a fired case neck?

 

[Gregg C]

Primers should be bottomed out in the pocket. The anvil in the primer has to be seated firmly, even a little crush. Flush is most likely not bottoming the anvil and primer cup. Can you drop a bullet through a fired case neck?

Well, it goes in pretty easy. I could probably lose a bullet in the case without working too hard at it. What might that indicate ? Flush was never to my satisfaction, it was seemingly the best I could get. It took destroying the seater on the press to figure out that I have been settling for some thing less than optimum out of ignorance. Now I am getting them where they need to be, or at least, closer. I have a lot to learn, and I think next is a scale that measures closer than 1 tenth grain. Been using a beam scale(RCBS 5-0-5) and it seems like I could look at it from a slightly different angle, and vary the charge. Thanks in advance.
Gregg

 

[Gregg C]

OP,
The problem may BE that the diameter of the primer it to large for the diameter of the brass primer pocket. It may NOT be that the primer pocket is not deep enough. Most primer pockets, even ones with inconsistent depth, are deep enough to allow the head of the primer to set just below the case head. To have them otherwise is inviting disaster. Plus, i think Weatherby brass should be of enough quality that you shouldn't need to uniform the pocket depths.

Maybe trying another brand of primer would help. Different brands have slightly different dimensions. Maybe try a primer that has a small diameter.

Here's a chart. Good luck.
View attachment 87247

Interesting, thanks. I got em seating deeper, now, I believe it was the nut holding the lever! Operator error, you know ?
Gregg

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Not enough neck clearance will cause terrible es and accuracy. Do you know how much you have? An old rule of thumb was to see if you can push a bullet through a fired neck. I found that to not be a great test but if you cant there is a problem.

 

[Gregg C]

Not enough neck clearance will cause terrible es and accuracy. Do you know how much you have? An old rule of thumb was to see if you can push a bullet through a fired neck. I found that to not be a great test but if you cant there is a problem.

No , no sir, I don't . Are you talking about neck to chamber ? A fired case comes out at about +.008 or so over a resized case. About rite? Too little ? Too much? .338 caliber, if it matters. Thanks.
Gregg

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Loaded round neck diameter vs the neck diameter of the chamber

 

[Gregg C]

I had the same thing happen with my EZ prime. The rod was just too short to seat the primers all the way. I took it out and went to my anvil and hammered on the rod a little stretching it another .010 and now I can feel the primer seat all the way.

when it seats.

Thanks, Tnwhip, your suggestion worked good, did it tonite. Had to resort to some heat, tho. I beat the **** outta that thing, and only gained .002 !! A little heat got me to about +.012, though, and it works good ! Thanks again.
Gregg