unCOW'd

[TTE]

Before and after ....6.5 06AI
No cream of wheat. Just some fast powder and TP to hold the powder against the primer.

 

[6bra1k]

ya need just a tad more powder to sharpen up that corner

 

[TTE]

ya need just a tad more powder to sharpen up that corner

Am increasing it by 0.2 for the next try

 

[1shot]

I've always found that when the center of the bbl. gets a little warm and there is a small amount of recoil, the shoulders come out fairly crisp. A near full house load shot at a local competition is still needed to get the shoulders nice an sharp, but good enough for initial load development.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

 

[JMayo]

Filler is filler ....

 

[6bra1k]

Am increasing it by 0.2 for the next try

unless the case is close to full, to small of a step .5-1 full grain

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I've never used anything other than tissue paper or a pinch of cotton ball. Never used cow.

 

[JFrank]

Before and after ....6.5 06AI
No cream of wheat. Just some fast powder and TP to hold the powder against the primer.
View attachment 1341271

Nicely done. Looks as good as hydra forming

 

[6bra1k]

Filler is filler ....

NO FILLER

 

[Clous]

I don’t use filler. Just some and a bit more of bullseye. Point to the sky and let it fly.

 

[TTE]

unless the case is close to full, to small of a step .5-1 full grain

You are correct. .2 grains more powder did little to nothing in additional shaping.

 

[Phys86]

What powder and how much?

 

[TTE]

What powder and how much?

I used 14.0 grains of 700X ........ YMMV

 

[Dr. Matt]

Reviving an old thread.
Admittedly I'm a newbie and had no Idea this was a thing. Will this effectively convert a less than full charge to a compressed powder load? How much does it affect the burn rate? Does anyone do this?

Published by the Army Research Lab
2.3.2 Charge Establishment
"A charge establishment study was conducted prior to firing the actual test in order to determine a nominal charge weight for each desired velocity. The primed cases were standard M855 cartridge cases, and the standard WC844 powder was used for the higher velocities. For the lower velocities, it was necessary to use a faster burning powder (IMR 4198) to help ensure that consistent velocities were obtained. Additionally, at the lowest velocities, when the cartridges cases were only partially full, either tissue paper or 0.125-in-thick pink foam discs, 0.3125 inch in diameter, were used as ullage to provide for a more consistent powder burn. The approximate charge weights required to obtain the desired midrange velocities are shown in table 3."

 

[358WCF]

Reviving an old thread.
Admittedly I'm a newbie and had no Idea this was a thing. Will this effectively convert a less than full charge to a compressed powder load? How much does it affect the burn rate? Does anyone do this?

Published by the Army Research Lab
2.3.2 Charge Establishment
"A charge establishment study was conducted prior to firing the actual test in order to determine a nominal charge weight for each desired velocity. The primed cases were standard M855 cartridge cases, and the standard WC844 powder was used for the higher velocities. For the lower velocities, it was necessary to use a faster burning powder (IMR 4198) to help ensure that consistent velocities were obtained. Additionally, at the lowest velocities, when the cartridges cases were only partially full, either tissue paper or 0.125-in-thick pink foam discs, 0.3125 inch in diameter, were used as ullage to provide for a more consistent powder burn. The approximate charge weights required to obtain the desired midrange velocities are shown in table 3."

Doc,

Are you asking about a standard case fireform, or did you notice the difference in OP's shoulder angle & body taper to an improved cartridge possibly an Ackley Improved?

 

[Dr. Matt]

Doc,

Are you asking about a standard case fireform, or did you notice the difference in OP's shoulder angle & body taper to an improved cartridge possibly an Ackley Improved?

No, my question is more basic than that. Is this a common thing to do when hand loading to keep the powder settled against the primer?

 

[SeabeeKen]

As i recall, they used to used dacron to hold powder in place during low case fill situations but havent heard of it being done in many year

 

[Walt Krafft]

No, my question is more basic than that. Is this a common thing to do when hand loading to keep the powder settled against the primer?

Less than 90% case fill can create a dangerous load. Read some loading manuals. Only use powders listed for the cartridge you are loading and do not load less than the starting load.

 

[TTE]

No, my question is more basic than that. Is this a common thing to do when hand loading to keep the powder settled against the primer?

Fire forming is not a standard reloading practice (IMO).
However, in the example above (I'm the OP) I was fire forming 270 Winchester cases into 6.5 '06AI cases.

I used 14.0 grains of 700X (I have since upped it to 15.0 grains) to achieve the result you see above.
The 270 case hold a lot more powder than 15.0 grains, so I needed a way to hold the powder up against the primer and used TP. In any case you have to be gentle with the cases and try not to disrupt the powder primer relationship.
Fire forming is a dangerous thing to do. IF you choose to do it, you should speak with someone you know that has done it before.

 

[SeabeeKen]

Less than 90% case fill can create a dangerous load. Read some loading manuals. Only use powders listed for the cartridge you are loading and do not load less than the starting load.

Walt while I agree this is true with some powders, One of my most accurate loads in my 243 back in the 80's was a Hornady 100 gr Interlock over 35.5 gr of IMR-3031 and a case fill of 77%. It also killed countless deer over 2 decades in all kinds of weather. Never had an issue and it placed top 3 in every club shoot but 1. It depends on the powder