Ok, first off, this is a wildcat cartridge. Second , it's ar AR rifle cartridge.... 243 LBC, 6mm grendel, 6mm AR. (Same thing) I bought 50 Hornady 6.5 grendel brass, necked them down to .243, went smooth. Mandreled necks with . 241 mandrel. Deburred id/od necks, and annealed. Used hbn on inside necks. Seating pressure varied from super easy to mild resistance. Curious as to if this is normal with new brass that isn't Lapua or other top shelf brass, or my reloading skills suck? Any input, advice, criticism, etc is welcome ! Thanks in advance , rsbhunter
Varying neck tension on new brass ...
- Thread starter rsbhunter
- Start date
You annealed "first" before all that manipulation ... right?
It might have something to do with your annealing process??? How are you annealing them?
I just necked down new Norma 6.5 G to 6 ARC (didn't anneal first) and had pretty consistent neck tension. Didn't mandrel, or turn necks or treat inside of neck, or anything. Didn't anneal after szing / before seating bullets Got to a half moa load pretty quick. Semi gun.
I suspect the problems began with the letter "H" - ornady.
I suspect the problems began with the letter "H" - ornady.
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
Well since the brass comes annealed and he didn’t do that much “manipulation “ I don’t think it matters much however he wrote it as he annealed in his last process.
To the op,
Did you measure your mandrel? Did you measure your necks?… it is Hornaday it may vary . Are they fb or bt bullets?
Wayne
Sounds like you got one step ahead of yourself. I found that Hornady 6.5 G brass is good for weighing the garbage can down. I tossed all the 6.5 Grendel Hornady brass into the trash. Pockets expanded and was inconsistent as all get out. I went to 7.62x39 Win brass, way more better and tougher plus mods well for cats. I am going to do my step by step prep regardless, so I get nada by paying more for Lapua.
On any of my brass, I always anneal it before I perform any work. With new brass, I anneal it before running it through the neck bushing, trim if needed, chamfer it, neck mandrel to expand, clean lightly and load.
The mandrel is the one I use in my Dashers, it does measure .241. My normal process on fired cases is brush necks, anneal, lube, size, neck mandrel, trim, deburr, and load. I appreciate all the responses, I can always learn new stuff...I had tried -line brass, and had 4 necks split 1st firing.....(not me) had used Lapua brass, same exact procedure, no problems at all...guess lesson learned...rsbhunter
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
It is annealed from the factory and if it isn’t you don’t want it!…I think your process is fine.
Good luck
Wayne
Hmmm??? Sorry. . . "induction annealing" doesn't describe to anyone "how" you are annealing??? There's different induction annealing machines that are used in different way.
I suspect your annealing is not consistent. . . unless you're using an AMP annealer and following their recommended procedures.
BoydAllen
Gold $$ Contributor
In the past I have helped friends get set up to flame anneal. The results were consistent. People were annealing successfully for many decades before there were induction annealers.
If it were me, I would have turned/annealed before the neck-down, then annealed after the sizing/first fire forming. Neck forces should become stable as you go.
Initial annealing, either before or after neck turn depends on what it takes to get a good turning mandrel fit.
You can trial & error figure this stuff out with new cases culled by defects.
I should add that I dip anneal, which is a process annealing (mild stress relieving), and NOT a full anneal.
I would also lap neck IDs with J-B on a mop, or polish with a nylon brush wrapped in steel wool, to normalize friction (what you're measuring) before fire forming. Dry coating helps with new brass, but nothing matters with new brass. When tension does matter, and should be expected as consistent, you'll have a nice consistent carbon layer inside necks. The perfect dry lube for your measure.
People don't normally go through all this, but you are, so it's your fault
It's an opportunity to learn a lot.
I'm also sure that good reloading is something done, and not bought.
I could find & form diamonds out of a bag of crap,, it just takes more work. If I need more diamonds, I'll buy more bags of crap. Sometimes your plan leads to this, and should include making the good brass last.
Initial annealing, either before or after neck turn depends on what it takes to get a good turning mandrel fit.
You can trial & error figure this stuff out with new cases culled by defects.
I should add that I dip anneal, which is a process annealing (mild stress relieving), and NOT a full anneal.
I would also lap neck IDs with J-B on a mop, or polish with a nylon brush wrapped in steel wool, to normalize friction (what you're measuring) before fire forming. Dry coating helps with new brass, but nothing matters with new brass. When tension does matter, and should be expected as consistent, you'll have a nice consistent carbon layer inside necks. The perfect dry lube for your measure.
People don't normally go through all this, but you are, so it's your fault
It's an opportunity to learn a lot.
I'm also sure that good reloading is something done, and not bought.
I could find & form diamonds out of a bag of crap,, it just takes more work. If I need more diamonds, I'll buy more bags of crap. Sometimes your plan leads to this, and should include making the good brass last.
I use a induction heater/annealer that is shown on YouTube build...timer is accurate to 1/10 of a second. Seems to work on all my other calibers cases. As to the amp machine, as soon as the prize money exceeds the entry fee,or they give out certifacts for barrels and actions, the amp is out of the picture. Be fore I spend the money on the amp,I will buy the press they sell...would love to see the seating pressure curve between rounds seated. I have learned that a bag of crap, IS a bag of crap, no matter how much you polish it! Back to Lapua, it really is the "easy" button....Than,s for all of the replies, the info brought me to a soloution....you sometimes do get what you pay for....rsbhunter
I hope you didn't think I was advocating the purchase of an AMP. I just know that their methodology and the machines precision produces pretty good consistency with just about any brass. I do like the technology of induction annealing, mainly because of the speed that it can be done. The only induction heating machine I have is my kitchen cooktop. I still anneal with flame.
Because of the way induction works and is so fast, variations in the mass affects how much annealing is done and the timing is critical. . . as I think you're well aware. I think that when you're very close to getting a full anneal (for a lack of a better way for me to express it), it's easier to get more variation where one can feel it like you initially expressed. Of course, this is only one possible explanation, but one that simply stands out for me.
Straightshooter1, not at all...if the funds allowed, my reloading room would look like Erik Cortina's !. I just wish I could justify the tens of thousands that the pros tie up in loading equipment. I used flame for a long time, and the results were better than not annealing, the induction is 100% better. After years of reloading, the little things I've changed, annealing, mandrel, correct procedures have made a big difference...rsbhunter
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