6mm Ackley cream of wheat fireforming
- Thread starter Plumsask
- Start date
notsorichguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- The city that rhymes with fun
I use the COW method to form cases in the 243 AI.
I started with 10gr of unique topped up the case to be bottom of the neck with COW, added a wadded up piece of single ply TP to fill the neck.
I learned 4 things:
1-more powder was needed to fully form the case
2-it makes a heck of a mess in the garage
3-wives are “funny” when they hear loud bangs in the attached garage and they know you’re out there doing “gun stuff”.
4-you still need PPE, specifically ear-pro, especially inside!
After a bit more testing, I settled on 12 gr of Unique (fully formed shoulders, yay!) and despite the advice to use wax (only a good idea if you LIKE to push a brush down the bore every 10 bangs) and continued to use TP so that it would make the trip out of town with-out making a mess in the ammo boxes. I’ve done 150 pieces with-out cleaning the bore, I attribute this to the absence of wax sealing the case.
Cheers.
I started with 10gr of unique topped up the case to be bottom of the neck with COW, added a wadded up piece of single ply TP to fill the neck.
I learned 4 things:
1-more powder was needed to fully form the case
2-it makes a heck of a mess in the garage
3-wives are “funny” when they hear loud bangs in the attached garage and they know you’re out there doing “gun stuff”.
4-you still need PPE, specifically ear-pro, especially inside!
After a bit more testing, I settled on 12 gr of Unique (fully formed shoulders, yay!) and despite the advice to use wax (only a good idea if you LIKE to push a brush down the bore every 10 bangs) and continued to use TP so that it would make the trip out of town with-out making a mess in the ammo boxes. I’ve done 150 pieces with-out cleaning the bore, I attribute this to the absence of wax sealing the case.
Cheers.
Thanks for the reply- this is exactly the kind of experience/info I was looking for, I was told that using wax as a neck filler may help build more pressure compared to TP, but if you’re getting fully formed shoulders I would think TP does just as well, and I do not enjoy cleaning a bore anymore than the next guy. I have also heard of people using bits of cotton balls in the neck. One other question- I have no pistol powder and will have to buy a pound to fire form- is unique the way to go? Any other suggestions?
Thanks
Ave
Thanks
Ave
Thanks for the reply- this is exactly the kind of experience/info I was looking for, I was told that using wax as a neck filler may help build more pressure compared to TP, but if you’re getting fully formed shoulders I would think TP does just as well, and I do not enjoy cleaning a bore anymore than the next guy. I have also heard of people using bits of cotton balls in the neck. One other question- I have no pistol powder and will have to buy a pound to fire form- is unique the way to go? Any other suggestions?
Thanks
Ave
Thanks
Ave
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
You can also fill the neck of the case with a little dab of carpenters glue and let it set up, it wont foul the bore either.
Just a word of caution tho using the glue...I don't do it in the basement, to much smoke & stink for me or the wife, I do it outside on the back deck but be sure your bore is pointed over anything that can be damaged....who-ever thought that little glue plug could do so much damage to the new aluminum deck railing the wife had spent 2 yrs saving up for...nice little round -no key-hole entrance wound but damn did that thing open up and tear a chunk out of the back-side...still work'in that one off.
Just a word of caution tho using the glue...I don't do it in the basement, to much smoke & stink for me or the wife, I do it outside on the back deck but be sure your bore is pointed over anything that can be damaged....who-ever thought that little glue plug could do so much damage to the new aluminum deck railing the wife had spent 2 yrs saving up for...nice little round -no key-hole entrance wound but damn did that thing open up and tear a chunk out of the back-side...still work'in that one off.
I used COW and 14 grains of unique to make .458 Wins out of smaller magnums. I plugged the cases off with the cheapest (8 for a dollar) bar soap at the grocery store, think it was Ivory. Believe it or not, those loads get a barrel hot.
Smaller charges worked, but they weren't 100%.
Smaller charges worked, but they weren't 100%.
notsorichguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- The city that rhymes with fun
Unique is a VERY versatile powder. Its one of the earliest designed smokeless powders. Useable in most pistol rounds, shot shells and it’s a standard “go to” for reduced loads in rifle cartridges (short range practice), but’s also very fast, so be careful! It is not prone to detonation, so it’s safe to use in very small quantities in large cases.
You won’t go wrong having a pound in the powder cabinet in the off chance that it might come in handy....
Cheers!
Not to point this thread in a different direction- but I am wondering if people have had issues getting AI cartridges to feed/chamber from a magazine due to the 40 degree shoulder? I had spoke to some people who saidthey hd no problems, and others who said yes.
Really depends on which cartridge and which gun. I wish I could be more specific, but that does about cover it. I can say I never had any issues getting 30-06 length improved cartridges to feed in Mauser actions. Sometimes a little stoning on the sides of the mag box and receiver, but that's it. On the other hand, I've had a few short action improved rifles that were pretty fiddly. Then again, that's been true of a lot of the WSSM, WSM, SAUM rifles I've played with as well. - dan
That made me laugh. I appreciate the info as well.
Neat. I think I'll try that.
Regards
Ronr
