.303 advice

[dromia]

BTW, don't crimp.

[Dougan]

That's a unanimous on the 'no crimp' then...thank you all - that was the bit I was mainly concerned about. And thanks for the other info on powders and loads.

Ovenpaa: I'm finnishing early tomorrow, so will try to get a picture of the case necks posted. As for the curry - I actually had it with chips....you can't beat a chip butty dipped in curry

Dromia: I should have come to your stall - I was rushing to get the 'shopping list' between shoots, so didn't get all round. Next year I'm going to camp over, so I can spend time looking at everything...and will make a point of going to dealers from this forum first (maybe even get some discount ).

Cheers,

John.

[ovenpaa]

Ovenpaa: I'm finnishing early tomorrow, so will try to get a picture of the case necks posted. As for the curry - I actually had it with chips....you can't beat a chip butty dipped in curry

I can only agree whole heartedly

[Dougan]

Hi Ovenpaa,

This is the best close focus I could get with my camara - obviously the case on the left is the 'once fired' one.

What d'ya reckon?

[ovenpaa]

I would not worry about that as long as head space is not excessive and there is no evidence of case head separation. Having sprung one .303 action I am very careful with my .303's and tend to not use the cases too many times. Mine are cleaner as well!

[Doz]

That's pretty much how mine look after firing. I just check for head separation (as ovenpaa has already said) and general splits/cracks then neck-size them. Personally provided the cases are always fired in the same rifle I don't think the head space is much affected by the shoulder - the thickness of the rim would keep that under control. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong!

[Dougan]

Thank you Ovenpaa and Doz for that reasurance.

I will be sure to check my head space, and examine all cases for potential problems before reloading them. I will also clean them :lol: - I used dirty ones for the photo, as I thought it would show the detail better....

I only shoot around 500 .303 a year and have that many cases - so I should be good for a year or so before I start posting more questions about 'case trimming' etc. :?

I'll be trying the first batch in a few weeks (can't wait ) - I'll let you know how it goes...

Thanks again,

John.

[Dougan]

Update:

I made a few 'dummy' rounds in preparation for doing my first .303s - there appeared to be no problem with head space (I'd forgotten that .303 was measured at the rim, and not the whole case like .308 ).

As for seating the bullet - It seemed ok...I couldn't push or pull the bullets by hand, but when using the K-hammer they came out with quite a bit less effort than the Privi factory round...is this anything to be concerned about? The instructions for the die, said to back it off 1 full turn to avoid crimping - does it make any difference how far you back it off from the crimp, as to the strength of the seating, or is it just crimped or not?

Also does anyone have any favorite methods (with reference to equipment and process) for cleaning the inside of case necks, and the inside of dies?

[ovenpaa]

If the bullet is firmly held then all well and good and I would not worry about it. I use a phosphor bronze brush in a cordless drill to clean the inside of the necks, just one pass in and out is enough to do the job for me, I also use a slightly wet worn out kitchen scourer for the outside of the cases around the neck. I use strips of cotton rag pushed through the die with a knitting needle and white spirit to clean dies if needed.

[Dougan]

Cheers Ovenpaa - I've got all that stuff to hand...so that's perfect I'll be trying the first lot next Saturday - I'm planning on doing some grouping comparisons between the home loads and PPU...if the results aren't too embarrasing, I'll post them here.