Have you had any experience with "cold welding" of bullets in case necks?

[Webster]

Is it possible that a ordinary continuous oxide film forms between the bullet and case neck thus sharing one oxide layer. With that comment I will never again reply to anything in regard to welding.

Respect everyone because they are trying to help even if they are quessing at the source of the problem. If you disagree you don't have to flame them. Just ignore the comment.

Have a good day everyone!

 

[bozo699]

Is it possible that a ordinary continuous oxide film forms between the bullet and case neck thus sharing one oxide layer. With that comment I will never again reply to anything in regard to welding.

Respect everyone because they are trying to help even if they are quessing at the source of the problem. If you disagree you don't have to flame them. Just ignore the comment.

Have a good day everyone!

Webster
I posted this old thread because all the questions that were asked were covered on this thread and without all the cussing at everyone, I think you commented on the wrong thread didn't you?
Wayne.

 

[Raythemanroe]

I think every bullet I have tried to pull with inertia hammer is locked so I started cracking them with the press and a couple taps and there out! I know I should get away from this system and buy the die! But I think it's a natural occurrence.

 

[lpreddick]

not to ressurect the dead but read something from a 1996 precision shooting mag that was an eye opener. there were "tin plated" bullets used in 30-06 rounds shot in the early part of the 1900s that were so "bonded" to the necks that the neck went down the bore with the bullet and a number of guns were "damaged". the tin was to supposedly reduce "fouling" in the bore.

 

[Raythemanroe]

One should test fresh vs old rounds of the same load!

 

[alf]

One should test fresh vs old rounds of the same load!

The year at the first 1000 yard BR match of the year, I shot a 3.XX" group with ammo left over from the previous year, is the last time I worried about loading ammo the week or day prior to the match....

 

[AckleymanII]

I never had this "welding" happen when I lived in the West where the humidity was low(if this is a contributing factor), but it has happened to me twice living in the South.

Both times, this happened was with N133 adn N135 powder, and there is no way to know if the powder had any kind of contribution.

Not only was the bullet welded,but the powder looked as if it had welded to the bottom of the bullet and had become fused through some kind of chemical process, gross looking. I was not running my brass through a tumbler of any kind, and I was not lubing necks or running any kind of brush through the necks.

Both bullets that had become welded to the case neck were Nosler ballistic tips, not saying that this was a contributing factor either.

IN both cases, the powder in the cases had become contaminated due to some kind of chemical reaction from Brass and bullet.

IMI brass, Nosler bullet, N133 or N135 powder, stored in Case guard 50's or Case guard 100's.

I have no clue what could be going on.

 

[AckleymanII]

New word of the day,.....'stiction' I like it
Wayne.

How about 'Gription', like in a sentence, "My tires have lost their Gription".

 

[cw308]

I had read the articles on bullet weld , I wet tumble brass is spotless inside and out , so I gave the dry lube a try . I reload and shoot the reloads that week so it wouldn't cause a problem even if I didn't use the lube . But what do the companies that load Match Grade loads do on first time loads . Do those rounds weld .

 

[riflewoman]

It’s a known phenomenon. But the surfaces have to be very clean (which you’d get in pin cleaned brass) or scraped and there has to be a high contact pressure ( here neck tension is not your friend)..
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_welding
Solution is to not clean your brass then immediately load it, let the oxides build. Make sure you don’t scrape off the oxide layer when seating your bullets so chamfer well. Or just clean without pins and leave the residue on the neck.

 

[cw308]

riflewomam
Not many " riflewomen" in my neck of the woods , well informed and willing to add to the conversation , I'll have to stop saying Thanks Guys .
Thanks Again .

Chris

 

[jmatters]

Wayne,
The pop that I am talking about is not the Wilson seater. I first ran across this with press dies, and nothing was slamming into anything.

The point as to whether it really cold welding is a good one. I put this thread to solicit responses from those who have some experience with this happening. With that group there is no belief issue. I put the term in quotes to give some wiggle room about what is actually happening. Because I generally don't load very far ahead, I don't commonly have this problem, but I have seen it, more than once.

Having been unable to load for a while, I went to a 600 yd match just to get some trigger time. I had some old (loaded 6 months earlier) 142 Sierras in a Lapua 6.5x284, with H4350, and from my short range (100 yd) experience, just assumed a degree of "cold welding" had occurred. So I brought my hand held dies to the range, and just turned the seater die in enough to "crack" the ammo loose. Unfortunately, I never miked it afterwards, because my expectations were very low. But lo and behold, 5 rounds went into .965". That is about .6" better than anything I have ever shot.

Not ALL rounds "cracked loose", but about 70 of 82 did. I miked the unfired rounds afterward and found they were jumping about 0.070". Have not been able to duplicate that performance , but have only gone to 2 matches since, and conditions were Perfect that day.