Leaving the .25 Krag barrel alone for a while started loading for the 40/65. Fire formed 50 cases yesterday.  No Iron sights yet, put a MVA B5 scope on the rifle.  Found some bullet seating depths & base zeros 100 & 200 .

Not many new things here.  Pretty standard BPCR loading procedure. Main thing I have to work out is to lightly size expand and bell, with some neck tension. Or charge seat the wad compress lightly to depth I want the bullet to ride. Then load the bullet slip fit in the case no neck tension at all. It drops right in a fired case. Fairly tight in a F/L sized case, although I don't have to F/L size when re-loading the formed cases. 

Bullet is 440 grs and engages the first band nice. Plenty of resistance to black powder, don't need crimp to increase pressure like in smokeless powder less than full case loads.

Thing that concerns me about the slip fit is getting consistency. Am using a Walters .060 cork - like wad. It's real secure and running through a compression die, with little compression it's probably going to set the bullets engagement well with no neck tension

Not sized may be able to get a few more grains in the case.  If sized and neck tension I can use a thin wad and gain some case capacity that way. Flip of the coin on powder capacity either way.

Any opinions slip fit or sized necks ?

Boats

Dave 

Meachum sells a straight line seater I have thought about.  Think it's the same one Shilo sells ? Might look at it more carefully.  I need consistent mid range performance - to 600

If loading on regular dies  with neck tension  I would reduce the size to minimum.  Just like you say .003 difference between sized and fired when using F/L cases run all the way down. I can reduce that by not running the case in quite so far ( decaper removed) or going to a neck sizer with interchangeable bushings. Can also go up .001 in size on the M die plug. 

Guess I will load up 20 of each neck tension and slip fit see what groups best at 200. Really won't know for sure until I commit one way or the other and upgrade equipment.

Boats

I shoot about 0.001 neck tension in my 40-65.  Much more accurate that way than slip fit or rolled into the grease groove.

RR2241  I am leaning  your way little bit of neck tension.  That's the way I shoot my 38/55 fixed smokeless powder. Can't slip fit it no stack of powder and wad to sit the bullet on. Little bit of tension rifle shoots nearly as well as with the 32/40 barrel breech seated

Fooling with slip fit in fired cases my 409 bullet wants to wiggle around some in the case. Might be chambers cut for slip fit don't see that wiggle. 

Very little neck size makes it snug not tight.  You can set the neck tension by adjusting how deep the case runs in the F/L die. Far as centered in the bore this Hoch 440 gr bullet is a bore rider lot of bullet up in the bore before the first driving band engages the rifling

Could also use a neck sizer die. CH4D has a interchangeable bushing neck size die that will let me set the neck any size I want, and switch out to do the same with other calibers.

Always seemed to me thing was to introduce the bullet to the bore with minimum distortion in a consistent manner. Not so important how it's done long as it fits and engages properly.

Will see & report

Boats

Chuckster wrote on Jun 15^th, 2013 at 9:51am:


I like standards that are simple to understand and achievable.