Greyfox said:
MQ1 said:
As a guy who has written and edited more than my fair share, I don't know if you've proved the author wrong, but you have pointed out that he could have been more specific about the exact process of forming .243 Winchester into the wildcat.
FWIW,
MQ1
A number of years ago, before Lapua started making 22-250 brass, a good friend of mine made a fair amount of 6-250 brass from Lapua 243 Win. Howell didn't make a mistake. He just could have made it clearer by putting in the other steps.
Rick
You fellows misunderstand both my motive (perhaps) and the text in question. I'm not trying to make Howell look bad. I own and cherish a signed copy of his book, and other than official SAAMI drawings, his book is my first and often last stop reference on cartridges and how to make them. I defer to Howell on most any topic related to case forming - including annealing. My intent was wanting to verify that there is an error in the text, as if getting my ducks in a row before submitting an erratum report to the author and/or publisher, for improving a future edition.
Howell (or an editor)
did make a mistake, and perhaps I should have provided a more complete transcription of the entry in question (250-3000 Ackley Improved) which I think makes the mistake obvious.
Howell is
very specific about how to form cases, and leaves nothing to the reader's imagination. When dies are involved, he
always states that, and also states the
specific dies required.
Here are the three options Howell offered for making 250-3000 AI cases (annotated, edited, and
emphasized for clarity here):
1. Fire 250-3000 factory
ammunition in a 250-3000 AI chamber
2. Fireform regular 250-3000
or 243 Winchester with inert filler
3. Form from 308 Winchester using RCBS
form, trim, and ream dies.
The mistake is that "or 243 Winchester" was inserted in option 2 rather than option 3 where it obviously belongs (unless someone can chamber an unfired 243 Win case in a 250 AI chamber, which I'll wager cannot be done.) Or, simpler, 243 Win probably should have been omitted entirely, even from option 3, as there would be an added step of necking up from 6mm to 25 cal.
The only way 243 Win could be fireformed would be to apply option 3
first, then apply option 2 to it (essentially just to expand the neck). Howell isn't inclined to mention such an involved approach, especially when there are so many easy approaches available, as is the case here.
