Has anyone tried Nosler or Norma brass for fire forming 22-250 AI? I am using Winchester cases and have to throw away 15%-20% of the cases during fire forming and 2nd & 3rd firings. They split at the neck and base. I load about 700 of them for prairie dog shooting and have to fire form too much. I don't have a problem spending the extra money for brass that stays good.
22-250 AI Brass
- Thread starter sporty
- Start date
Yes.
I've used Norma brass to fireform in a .22-250 A.I. chamber with stiff load of IMR4895 and generic,Midway), cheap, 55 grn. bullets into the lands with no problems. I've also fireformed plenty of Remington brass in this same chamber with no problems. For fireforming loads in an A.I. chamber, I usually start at the max. load specified for the parent cartridge. If I'm not getting nice sharp shoulders, I bump up the charge. What powder/bullet combo. are you using?
Chino69
I've used Norma brass to fireform in a .22-250 A.I. chamber with stiff load of IMR4895 and generic,Midway), cheap, 55 grn. bullets into the lands with no problems. I've also fireformed plenty of Remington brass in this same chamber with no problems. For fireforming loads in an A.I. chamber, I usually start at the max. load specified for the parent cartridge. If I'm not getting nice sharp shoulders, I bump up the charge. What powder/bullet combo. are you using?
Chino69
Splits at the neck typically aren't accompanied by splits at the base unless your chamber is too big at the base, either in diameter or in head-space. The brass simply isn't ductile enough to accommodate the size change when fired.
Do you know who chambered your rifle's barrel & what reamer profile was used? Is it head-spaced correctly?
I've used Norma, Winchester & Remington 22-250 brass for fire-forming down to 6XC. Norma's was by far the most durable, while Winchester tended to open up the primer pockets after one or two firings which would lead me to think it ought to be soft enough to take what you're giving it.
If you can afford the per-piece cost of Norma brass it will to perform for you but I'd check the dimensions of your chamber first to make the investment worthwhile: it's a PITA to waste new brass - at any price - in an oversize chamber, not to mention on the unsafe side when that hot gas gets blown back in your face!
Do you know who chambered your rifle's barrel & what reamer profile was used? Is it head-spaced correctly?
I've used Norma, Winchester & Remington 22-250 brass for fire-forming down to 6XC. Norma's was by far the most durable, while Winchester tended to open up the primer pockets after one or two firings which would lead me to think it ought to be soft enough to take what you're giving it.
If you can afford the per-piece cost of Norma brass it will to perform for you but I'd check the dimensions of your chamber first to make the investment worthwhile: it's a PITA to waste new brass - at any price - in an oversize chamber, not to mention on the unsafe side when that hot gas gets blown back in your face!
My rifle was built by Kelblys. It has a standard neck. It does appear to me that the chamber is a little big but I am not am expert in this and I did not do anything to check the dimensions. They are good poeple that seem to know their stuff so I didn't question their workmanship. But, again I didn't cut the chamber so I don't know. I only know what I know when I do it myself, if you know what I mean! I load 40 gr of RL 15 with a 40 gr V-Max bullet for fireforming because it flys at 4130 fps and is very very accurate. My regular 22-250 AI load is 38.5 gr of 3031 with a 50 gr Nosler. The splitting is occuring with these loads. I am going to give the Norma brass a try. I have not heard anything about the Nosler brass yet and I am skeptical.
Sporty,
I shoot a 22-250AI. Sounds like you might have two unrelated issues. He's my guess:
Split necks: Either you have run into a lot of terrible brass or the chamber neck is too large,in diameter). Measure the necks a loaded round and a fired one. You shouldn't see much more than a .006" difference in the neck diameters in a standard SAMMI chamber.
Split base: Very concerning. After fireforming, does the case have a noticeable bulge starting just above the web area? If so, the chamber is sloppy,as in oversize diameter). On the other hand, if there's no bulge then it's either a) excessive headspace, or b) your FL die is crunching the shoulder back too far. Some FL dies push the shoulder back as much as .020" which is about three times more than necessary. Combine that with a chamber which might be slightly on the long side and the brass aint gonna last.
Are you using a neck sizer or a full-length sizer?
Tom
I shoot a 22-250AI. Sounds like you might have two unrelated issues. He's my guess:
Split necks: Either you have run into a lot of terrible brass or the chamber neck is too large,in diameter). Measure the necks a loaded round and a fired one. You shouldn't see much more than a .006" difference in the neck diameters in a standard SAMMI chamber.
Split base: Very concerning. After fireforming, does the case have a noticeable bulge starting just above the web area? If so, the chamber is sloppy,as in oversize diameter). On the other hand, if there's no bulge then it's either a) excessive headspace, or b) your FL die is crunching the shoulder back too far. Some FL dies push the shoulder back as much as .020" which is about three times more than necessary. Combine that with a chamber which might be slightly on the long side and the brass aint gonna last.
Are you using a neck sizer or a full-length sizer?
Tom
Sporty before you waste any more brass or hurt yourself, I'd suggest you find a gunsmith capable of taking a casting of your chamber to check its critical dimensions: neck & base diameter at bare minimum. They should also check your bolt-to-chamber headspace with the appropriate go/no-go gauges.
You could also send the barreled action back to Kelbly's for this if you have any doubts about the safety of your rifle. They should be happy to check it out for you.
In the short run you'll spend some cash for the services and the gauges, depending on what the 'smith is willing to charge you, but in the long run you'll have the opportunity to correct what might be an accident waiting to happen.
You could also send the barreled action back to Kelbly's for this if you have any doubts about the safety of your rifle. They should be happy to check it out for you.
In the short run you'll spend some cash for the services and the gauges, depending on what the 'smith is willing to charge you, but in the long run you'll have the opportunity to correct what might be an accident waiting to happen.
It’s been a while since the last post. In case somebody was interested, I sent it back to Kelly’s. They did fixed the problem. But I sure was frustrated for 2 seasons. I had them make a 20 BR barrel for me to switch on my action. Just the opposite problem. I could not close the bolt without a major effort. I could see a very noticeable scratch in the chamber when it was new. I mentioned and sent it back twice. Didn’t do anything the first time. Said it was fine. The second time they noticed and polished out the scratch and did some other work on it but did not say what. Now it’s fine. Dissapointing to build custom rifles with simple issues overlooked by them.
Jagermeister
Silver $$ Contributor
I went to all Lapua brass and have had no problems.
Be sure and anneal your brass before loading to fire form into the AI. All I have ever used is Remington or Winchester brass in my AI's and do not have that sort of issue, like you have.
I only shoot Nosler brass in my 22-250AI. Never let me down yet, 40 grains of Varget, 53 V-Max, Wolf LR primers or Fed , going right at 4,000 fps. Winchester quality control is lacking. I shot Winchester in .204 and new cases had cracks in the shoulder from the maker . I ended up buying 500 factory loaded 22-250 rds from Nosler and the " unformed" accuracy was excellent.
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