Author Topic: Omega/ACP conversion range report (Read 1186 times)

Nic_58 · « **on:** September 16, 2004, 02:25:36 PM »

Hi all!
Got out with my .50 Omega today. It shot great right out of the box. I tried 2 combinations with it. First was a Hornady SST 250 gr. in a Harvester High Pressure Short Sabot on top of 105 gr. T7ffg. This shot well with a couple 3 shot 100 yd. groups under an inch. Next up was a T/C Shockwave 200 gr. in the blue sabot over 105 gr. T7ffg also. I only had time to shoot 6 rounds for group but the 6 shot average was 1.16" at 100 yds. I may use this load for whitetail deer this fall. It appears to shoot very flat out to 200 yds. or so. My last shot of the day was at a 32 oz. Gatorade bottle filled w/ water at 157 yards. I held dead center on the bottle and that is where I hit. I was sighted in 3" high at 100 yds. by the way. This load has a lot of potential.

Next is a question for all you fellow .25 ACP conversion users. Overall, I liked the conversion, only one complaint though. After 8-10 shots or so, I loosened the breech plug a little and tightened it back up so as not to end up with a frozen plug. I guess it didn't seat back down to the original depth because every fired brass primer after that locked down even harder than usual and the brass was basically deformed on the mouth end. It had been rolled in all the way around the mouth of the brass therefore making the brass 4-5 thousandths of an inch shorter than the brass that was fired before loosening the plug. A couple of the brass were hard to remove and would not go back into the breech plug after removal because of a crimped case. I'm not exactly sure what caused this other than maybe fouling fell down in front of the breech plug upon loosening it and wouldn't allow it to fully tighten back down. Anyway, I think I'm a candidate for a case trimmer for the .25 ACP brass. My RCBS Trim Pro unfortunately doesn't have the capability to trim .25 ACP so I need to know what I need to buy to trim my cases down a few thousandths to make the lockup a little easier. All help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

smoky · « **Reply #1 on:** September 16, 2004, 05:06:07 PM »

You are dealing with exactly what I dealt with a couple of weeks ago with my conversion in my Encore.

Short of buying a brand new timmer with a universal chuck that would hold those little .25ACP cases for trimming, there is no trimming tools that I could find that would work for the .25.

So what I did was turned my RCBS trimmer upside down and removed the allen screw that holds the trimmer head on. Then I put a .24 pilot in the trimmer and holding the case between my thumb and index finger and the cutter in the other hand, I manually twisted the mouth of the case against the cutter head a little at at time and measured the cases until they were less than .610 (usually about .607). this fixed the hard lock up and cocking problems I was sometimes having with the new brass.

This was not particularly easy, but the brass doesn't seem to stretch so you should be once and done with this method.

Hope this helps,

Smoky

donedidit · « **Reply #2 on:** September 17, 2004, 11:44:32 AM »

Nic - Had the same problem with my Encore conversion. Brass fit and rifle locked up with the threads of the breach plug ungreased. The rifle wouldn't lock up when I greased the threads of the breach plug and inserted a case.

Only thing I did was file a case down until I got a good lock-up and filed the rest of the cases to match. Just used a flat mill file and was careful to make sure the mouth of the case was square on the file with each stroke. Took on average about three to four strokes across the file per case to remove what I needed. Did a hundred cases in about 30 minutes. Rifle functions great even after backing out the breach plug and retightening during firing.

Remember, you aren't trimming to seat a bullet here, just trimming off enough to close the action.

Nic_58 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 17, 2004, 04:54:07 PM »

Well, I finished trimming 50 .25 ACP brass awhile ago. With a little ingenuity, I was able to use my RCBS trimmer for trimming the longer cases and used a flat mill file for the cases that only needed a little taken off. I measured each one with calipers to .607". The lockup on my Omega is much easier now. I couldn't believe how much difference there was in the brass from piece to piece. There was as much as .007" difference from the shortest to longest brass that I measured. It's no wonder my Omega's action would close easy one time and then need force to close it the next shot. I hope by trimming the brass all the same to .607" will cure my problems. Overall, I like the ACP conversion and feel it was worth the price paid for it. I've never shot my Omega with a 209 primer and probably never will as long as I get accuracy like I did at the range with it yesterday.

upnorth · « **Reply #4 on:** September 19, 2004, 05:10:38 PM »

I've put several hunderd rounds through my conversion with no brass or lock up problems. the plugs for the encore and omega are slightly different. maybe you guys got the wrong plug? that's why cecil chose the 25acp; so you don't have to trim the brass. something's not right here.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 20, 2004, 01:26:24 AM »

Quote from: upnorth

I've put several hunderd rounds through my conversion with no brass or lock up problems. the plugs for the encore and omega are slightly different. maybe you guys got the wrong plug? that's why cecil chose the 25acp; so you don't have to trim the brass. something's not right here.

I have 3 of the 25ACP plugs and had to trim the brass back a few thousandths, no biggie. When I received the conversions, they came in a baggie marked Encore/Omega. From what I was told, they are the same.

rjo3491 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 20, 2004, 04:14:38 AM »

While on the 25 ACP topic,

How many reloads are you guys (yea, I'm a yankee) planning to get out of your brass?? Any suggestions for sources (I'd like to buy a thousand or so if possible).

Thanks!!

Nic_58 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 20, 2004, 04:20:00 AM »

The first ACP plug I received from PR would not let my Omega action close unless I used EXTREME force to close it. After a call to Cecil, he told me I got the wrong breech plug, one made for the Encore. I returned it to him and he sent me another supposedly made for the Omega and the action did close easier but still closed with more force than is necessary IMO. So I trimmed the brass back to .607" and the action closes with much less force than before. I personally don't see the need for the action to be so tight.

Keith Lewis · « **Reply #8 on:** September 20, 2004, 06:42:23 PM »

I found same problem with my Omega. Had to trim the brass to about .608 to get good lock up without a lot of effort. My Lyman brass trimmer with the fits-all brass holder works just fine for trimming .25 brass as long as you can find the .25 trim button. I have a lot of once fired .25 brass and find the same wide variation in overall length from brand to brand and also within the same brand. Does not seem to be very steady for length. The brass that came with my plug was way too tight.

smoky · « **Reply #9 on:** September 21, 2004, 03:43:56 AM »

Not only was it causing a hard close on my Encore, but sometimes the trigger would not cock, I guess due to a less than perfect lock up. That was what really bothered me. I got them trimmed to below .610 and no more problem.

rjo3491,

To answer your question. I think you should get many, many loadings per brass. Because the brass is acting as a primer holder and is not exposed to pressures of a cartridge that would stretch the brass and shorten its life. The burned powder residue will corrode the cases, so I drop my spent cases into a jar of soapy water at the range. When I get home I just rinse and dry them on a paper towel and they are ready to decap and use again.

Smoky

upnorth · « **Reply #10 on:** September 21, 2004, 09:06:47 AM »

I agree. you should get unlimited life out of the 25acp cases. as an experiment, I have reloaded 10 cases 9 times each now with no signs of primer hole deformation. I still have not had to trim my brass.

rjo3491 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 24, 2004, 11:09:06 AM »

Thanks to Smokey and UpNorth:

I asked about the primers as I noted a great deal of fouling on the inside of the primer after use - I really wasn't able to clean them very well (even with a brush). Good Idea about soaking them right after use - I'll do that next time.

Thanks again!!

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #12 on:** September 24, 2004, 12:29:18 PM »

Quote from: rjo3491

Thanks to Smokey and UpNorth:

I asked about the primers as I noted a great deal of fouling on the inside of the primer after use - I really wasn't able to clean them very well (even with a brush). Good Idea about soaking them right after use - I'll do that next time.

Thanks again!!

This is what I do. I bring a jar with water and dishwashing soap mixed together, after firing the cases I put them in the water/soap mix. When I get home I rinse the cases and they are clean. I then place them in the oven for about 10 min to dry on low heat. I place the cases in my tumbler and clean them up nice. I use a universal decapper and then clean the primer pocket and recap. (Cases look new again.)

DEPUTY · « **Reply #13 on:** September 24, 2004, 06:16:08 PM »

Funny thing is cecial never thought of this system until he had and ultimate muzzleloader in his hands! nice system makes it easy to load! i have noticed no differance in the accuracy in my encore