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jseines
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Case prep .32 Miller Short
Mar 21st, 2013 at 6:39pm
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I'm looking for information on the different techniques used for case prep for the .32 Miller Short...any and all information will be welcome...Thanks/John
  
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40_Rod
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #1 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 8:52am
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First thing that you are going to need is a good heavy Reloading press. A rockchucker or a hydraulic press. I use a Corbin phase II press. 
Second you will need to decide what brass to use. The choices .357 Mag brass, .357 Max brass, or 5.6 X 50 R mag brass. The advantages to the mag brass less trimming low cost. The disadvantages thinner brass and less life for your cartridge. You can get nickle plated .357 brass stay away it tends to be more brittle and in general a pain. The advantages to the max brass a a slightly heavier case with better case life. The disadvantages more trimming a little harder to form. The advantages to the 5.6 X 50 R brass is the RWS brass is just superior brass, it is thicker and easier to form and does not require annealing in most cases they also give far better case life. The down side more time spent trimming and they are hideously expensive (about $2 a case). So everything that follows will depend of your first choice.
If you choose Mag or Max brass you will have to anneal the cases. This step is critical, with short cases it is easy to anneal way too far down the case and into the web. This allows case stretching as you shoot. This eventually leads to the case thinning just ahead of the web and cracks starting to appear in your case and its time to throw them away. Even worse case separation, where you open your action and just the head of the case pops out. Now you have lost a relay or two while you fart around trying to get the rest of the shell out and not ruin your chamber. So set up a pan with the coldest water you can. Make the water height about a 1/4" below your cases. Now run the torch lightly over the case mouth. Remember less is more you can always do it again but once they are too soft there is nothing that you can do to re-harden them. If they start to glow they will be too soft. For the 5.6 RWS brass no annealing is necessary.
  
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40_Rod
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #2 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 9:07am
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Now you are ready to form. If you don't have some Imperial sizing die wax get a can. I still have the can I bought 20 years ago. I don't know anybody who has lived long enough to go through 2 cans. Now lightly run your finger in the wax and use your fingers to coat the cartridge. Again less is more it is astonishing how little wax is needed. If you put too much on your case will fold once it starts throw it away its done. For the Mag and max brass it is best to do the re-forming in a couple of passes. For the RWS brass it can be done in one pass. 
Once the initial forming is done you will need to make one more pass with using the shell holder. I use a little button I turned up out of brass that fits in my shell holder with a flat top. Now start the cartridge into the form die and bring it down onto the flat surface until the die meets the rim. Now you have to remove the case from the form die. I use a 5/16" piece of drillrod that i turned a round on one end and a hammer to drive the case out. 
Now trim the case to final length and shoot.

40 Rod
  
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #3 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 9:49am
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I must be lucky. Used RP 357 mag cases. Didnt have to anneal the cases. Used some bullet lube which works better for me. Smeared the cases and pushed them into my forming die. Knocked them out with a brass rod.   Did drill all the flash holes to the same size and deburred at the inside. That's all I did.  Been using the brass for many years with no problems and have not resized them once. 

        Joe.   Smiley
  

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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #4 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 11:55am
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For mag brass you may be able to form without annealing. As to how it holds up it depends on how it is used. If you make up a couple of hundred cases load them and take 50 to a hundred to the range than if you, as I do, use the traditional one case reloaded all day. My cases get a lot more use than per-loaded method. Early on I tried bringing preloaded cases to the range and when I did my groups open up. When I went back to one case they closed again. The RWS Brass holds up to the use better than the Max brass did. 

40  Rod
  
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #5 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 5:10pm
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I started with new brass. Nice soft stuff. 

I usually have two hundred preloaded cases. Use a thin plastic foam wad on the powder. Have never single loaded a case when shooting. Everyone was using preloaded cases around me......... monkey see monkey do.  Roll Eyes
I use the .32 MS in only one match a year now days.  So boring, shoots so perfect all the time. No problems to figure out, gets boring putting bullet after bullet in the twenty five ring. Have a lot more fun using traditional rifles and shooting standing. 

              Joe.  Smiley

  

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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #6 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 9:55pm
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What are some of the powders used with the Miller short??   I have a CPA with an extra barrel with a gain twist, breach seaters, molds, but have not tried it yet, any suggestions???
  
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #7 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 10:03pm
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I started with ten grains AA #9. Now I use ten grains H108. That's all I've ever used. 

             Joe.
  

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catmasher
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #8 - Mar 22nd, 2013 at 10:38pm
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try between 10.5 to 11.5 AA4100  good for my rifle.
good luck
  
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #9 - Mar 23rd, 2013 at 1:45am
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Quote:
try between 10.5 to 11.5 AA4100  good for my rifle.
good luck


Bill, Won so much H108 with my .32MS short, will not live long enough to use it all. Now what?

       Joe.  Smiley
  

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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #10 - Mar 23rd, 2013 at 6:59am
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[quote author=15252E3323323C232822273023460 link=1363905574/5#5 date=1363979233]"preloaded cases to the range and when I did my groups open up"

I preload 550 cases before a major competition and have never had a problem with my groups opening up.  
That's a lot of cases I am wondering do you separate those into groups according to weight. I did that last year shooting CBA matches with a 32-40, I had one lot of 100 that were + - .5 grains and another that were the same but the second lot were about 1.5 grains heavier. I never could see a difference between the two lots and single loading a single case at the range. I went to the preloaded cases because of the time restrictions at the CBA matches.

Richard
  
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #11 - Mar 23rd, 2013 at 7:21am
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My problem is, I cant find H108, and since powder is in short supply here in Ruin Va, I thought I would start with a lite load using UniQ, any thoughts??  maybe 4227??
  
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catmasher
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #12 - Mar 24th, 2013 at 12:55am
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John, you wouldn't want to go head to head with joe, I've shot with and against him and my $$$ right now would be on Joe. Come up to Washington in May and the 3of us will dance.
Flint
  
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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #13 - Mar 24th, 2013 at 12:05pm
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Hey!  He's independently wealthy and even at $100 a set of 4 (1" groups) that's not enough motivation.  AND we all know how timid he is - let him (by not posting every day his 250's) have the satisfaction of the rest of us enjoy jumping up and down when (if) we get a 250 (even if he does it day in and day out)

Smiley
« Last Edit: Mar 25th, 2013 at 9:07pm by MI-shooter »  

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Re: Case prep .32 Miller Short
Reply #14 - Mar 25th, 2013 at 9:07pm
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play nice guys....

Ed
  
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