Heatwave? Time to reload!
- Thread starter joshb
- Start date
Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
I worked in Phoenix about 3 years ago and by 11:30am I was done for the day............dry heat? So is your oven!
Ya know..... I like “fresh” ammo, too! After reading all the posts about bullets cold welding to the cases, I don’t like to let it sit for too long. I just got bored with sitting around and said screw it!
I have 5 thousand empty pistol cases in a bin. I might just start on those.
If it exists, i.e. bullet cold welding, I've never experienced it despite reloading for close to fifty years now. I often use bad weather as a time to load up for upcoming varmint and predator seasons well in advance of these season. Never had a load go awry or critter I missed that I could attribute to "bullet cold welding".
PS: Seen some amazing groups shot at the range by others with Federal Premium factory loads. Why don't these show affects of "bullet cold welding?"
Bullet "Cold Welding" is not actually making a permanent bond, but rather a more robust one.
I've had some ammo sitting around and ended up taking it apart. But the bullets were hard to come out until I re-seated them deeper into the case to break the bond. You can really feel the harder bond when re-seating them.
The idea about fresh ammo is the tougher bond might take the ammo out of tune on cartridges that been sitting around for a while.
I just spent some time loading during the heat and humidity . Did some testing in it too...it got me thinking about the long winter nights near the woodstove loading up a days worth of shooting... anxious for the sun to come up so I could put targets out . Thinking back,22 below makes this heat much more tolerable.
It's all fun.
It's all fun.
jackson1
Silver $$ Contributor
That is what I do during the cold dark months of winter. Rarely gets hot enough in my area to crimp my shooting. After deer season and before Easter I spend a lot of quality on reloading and on other shooting related projects. Trap and skeet loads are a large part of my winter reloading. The hardest part of that is hauling the bags of shot from my truck to the basement. Wrecked lawn spreader using it as a wheel barrow, hauling shot.
As a deterrent to cold welding, I seat my bullets 0.03" long and finish seat the night before shooting.
As a deterrent to cold welding, I seat my bullets 0.03" long and finish seat the night before shooting.
I don't mind the cold. Coldest day I spent at the range was -15 f. That's about my limit !
Firearms didn't mind one bit. But the scope's magnification rings were a little stubborn.
Looks pretty frosty there,can almost feel the cold looking at the pic . I know what ya mean about adjusting magnification ,they can get stubborn when it's that cold.
i am just sitting and staring at those pics, hoping I will feel cooler.
It was so humid yesterday that 5 minutes outside just made you wet all over.
Not that that's any more miserable than a dry 108. Heatwave finally broke today.
D-4297
Gold $$ Contributor
I understand the "theory" regarding cold welding , and why but , I shoot several Mosin-Nagant's using rounds that were manufactured in the 50's , 60's , 70's and 80's . All Com-block stuff . And there doesn't seem to be any cold weld issue on the rounds . In fact , one of the most accurate rounds I've ever seen for the 7.62x54r is a Bulgarian 150gr. and the Bulgarian 182gr. , made in 1955 . Some sealed in Spam cans , and some not . But it didn't seem to make any difference in the accuracy . Most have been shot up by the plinker cowboys , but a great round . Makes ya question the "Cold weld" theory just a little .
Shot some 185 Hybrids last week at a club match that got loaded over a year ago , and got a 194 - 6x , 197 - 9x , in two strings . X-count was down , though . Think there are other factors involved in the cold weld issue . Like humidity , high to low to high temps , etc.
Shot some 185 Hybrids last week at a club match that got loaded over a year ago , and got a 194 - 6x , 197 - 9x , in two strings . X-count was down , though . Think there are other factors involved in the cold weld issue . Like humidity , high to low to high temps , etc.
Yea, I've felt the increase in re-seat resistance too while I was experimenting with this "bullet weld" concept a few years ago.
But I don't observe any radical change in group size in reloads from one season's reloads carry over to the next season or reloads I prepare in the winter for the upcoming summer varmint season. I should note that all the cases had been fired previously and had a carbon coating inside the necks from the firing. Maybe that made a difference.
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