The Frontier Sixshooter Community Message Board - Old farts

Old farts (reply)

lee jurras — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:53:11 +0000

Warhawk, no you are practically a teen ager. My oldest daughter is just two years older than you. She was helping me load in the basement at age 9-10.But has forgotten most of the details, never did load on her own, but understands the basics, not really why one would ream primer pockets and or flash holes.

I will look again for pics/videos - (reply)

John K. — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:37:20 +0000

thanks for info on the company.

Old farts (reply)

Warhawk — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:00:24 +0000

At 52 I'm not all that old, but I started handloading (shotgun shells) before I was old enough to drive. Started loading rifle ammo when I got my first centerfire rifle (a .243) a couple of years later.

Old (Fart) School Reloading (reply)

lee jurras — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:39:53 +0000

Glad you told me , I thought based on equipment some of you mature gentlemen might be as old as I.

Old (Fart) School Reloading (reply)

Catoosa — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:19:16 +0000

We ain't old farts, we's just sophisticated, mature and experienced gentlemens who happen to like Mexican food. (Just got back from Jalisco out on Highway 70)

Primer seating (reply)

lee jurras — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:10:09 +0000

I guess at one time or another have tried about all on the market. Still use a press on occasion, but mostly a Lee or RCBS, Lee gives a better feel in hand, but that is a personal thing, RCBS seems more positive feel. But whatever the personal feeling, feel hand seating is best for total dependability. Still MIL-SPEC allows 6 misfires per million. When you get one of those six, just hope it isn't during a Bear charge.

I remember one year the Nat'l Police PPC Championships held in Bloomington, IN
Al Sayge the defending Nat'l Champ at the 7 Yd. Line, got 3 rounds misfired, blew the primers and locked up his gun. The cartridge cases didn't have flash holes.....
This was out of a lot of 1 million rounds purchased by the City of NY for their pistol team. Odds and Stats...

Old School Reloading (reply)

lee jurras — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:52:19 +0000

Man, there sure is a bunch of old farts on this board.

Primer seating (reply)

lee jurras — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:48:57 +0000

I too on occasion use a press, But have at one time or another used about all on the market. Including the tried and true 310 Tong. My favorites are the RCBS and Lee. The Lee feels better in the hand, buts that is only a personal thing. The Sinclair is probably the highest quality, also the highest price. Whatever the choice its a very important step.

Old School Reloading (reply)

RidinLou — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 03:59:45 +0000

All . . . BUT ALL of my reloading and cast sizing for my 44 was done on one of those 310 tong tools!

And in those days I shot many a round, at least for the days.
Now with a 550 I may burn a lot more some days.

All my priming for single stage loadin is done with a lee Autoprime. That was 800 - 1000 7mm Mags last year.

Mag is a fun plinker with cast projies.

Primer seating (reply)

Catoosa — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 03:36:47 +0000

I still do my priming on a press. BUT I have a set of ancient Lyman concave priming punches which contact only the outside circumference of modern flat-cup primers. They give wonderful feel and just enough stress between anvil and cup with no danger of crushing the pellet. In 35 years of reloading, I've never primed with anything else and never crushed a pellet. I can remember having one primer that wasn't fully seated and didn't fire - brain fade on my part, more'n likely.

I have never heard of a Manurhin, much less seen one. (reply)

lee jurras — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:42:55 +0000

Manuhrin in France like Westinghouse or GE in the US. They make everything from Locomotives to pistols and about everything in between. Make for most arsenals. Was designed for loading FMJ projectiles. Just sitting running empty is a pleasure to watch. You would enjoy it. Should be a pix somewhere on the web. I've seen them just don't remember where. Back 25 years ago, for 308 loader ran about 160,000 us dollars.

I have never heard of a Manurhin, much less seen one. (reply)

John K. — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:38:29 +0000

I did look around the web for pics and only found text references - including where one was installed at Lake City in 2008 for 7.62 ammo.

Will keep looking; I love machinery.

Thanks!

Primer seating (reply)

lee jurras — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 04:35:39 +0000

Yep, when the anvil legs make contact with the bottom of primer pocket this moves the anvil closer to the bottom of the cup, thus sensitizing the primer.This reference is to the Boxer type.The primer or igniter ignites the powder by heat rather than shock. Altho the priming compound seems like an explosive rate, the powder is actually ignited by heat from the flame rather than the shock of the priming compound which ignites at some 18-20,000 fps. FWIW dept.

Interesting - I have spent the last 27yrs as an engineer in (reply)

lee jurras — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 04:10:22 +0000

So true John..Have you ever seen a Manuhrin loading machine ? Absolute poetry in motion.

Old School Reloading (reply)

bob — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 02:07:14 +0000

spent many an hour on the front porch of my folks home in the 1960's with a Lyman 310 tool in hand, loading 8x57s for my '98 Persian Mauser carbine. dumbest thing i EVER did was selling that gun!

Interesting - I have spent the last 27yrs as an engineer in (reply)

John K. — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 01:38:10 +0000

manufacturing; designing/building/programming/maintaining all sorts of equipment for military and commercial products. Used a lot of FMC vibratory bowls and Hoppman centrifugal bowls also.

Lots of people blink a few times when I tell them a normal day in our factory packaging condoms was 700,000 pieces... Machines wear out quickly at that rate, even when well built.

It's all about scale.

Of course, they aren't commercial grade - the big boys (reply)

lee jurras — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 01:03:01 +0000

Much modified Mag-na-Matic,for powder charge and seating bullets. priming done on separate priming machines we built.All pieces fed by syntron bowels. Each primer machine would prime at the rate of one per second. The syntron bowls were aluminum, bowels had to be rebuilt after every 3-4 million rounds. just because of the primers feeding around the bowl would cut grooves where the primes were feeding. People can kinds understand the number one million, but have no concept of a million pieces of anything, much less handling a million parts.

Of course, they aren't commercial grade - the big boys (reply)

John K. — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:06:24 +0000

would have really impressive automation.

What did you use back in the day? A few years ago I helped a friend set up a Camdex production machine for 40S&W - stations were inline, left to right, and advanced by way of a dog. Intermittant motion machine, all powered of course. Bullets, brass, primers, etc., all autofeed. Cost about $30K IIRC.

John K.

Primer seating (reply)

Charles — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:00:10 +0000

Seating primers with a tool that will allow you to feel when the primer is firmly seated in the bottom of the pocket will teach you much about just how much variety there is in primer pockets. They vary in depth as well as diameter. Accurate ammo requires proper primer seating.

Using tool that don't allow for this is not for me. Uniforming primer pockets helps, but still the primer needs to be seated with uniform pressure against the bottom of the pocket. The only way to do this is by feel.

Belding & Mull Tool (reply)

Drago — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:55:33 +0000

OK. Thanks