Author Topic: Are these shells safe to shoot?  (Read 742 times)

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Offline flinginairos

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Are these shells safe to shoot?
« on: April 07, 2009, 02:31:26 PM »
My buddy gave me my shells that I had him reload for me just the other day and with about half of them I have to close the gun a little harder to get it to lock up to the point where it will cock. This is the third time these shells have been loaded, I bought them as factory Coreloks and fire formed them. He then loaded them with IMR 3031 with a 139 BTSP Hornady. I shot that whole box and they shoot FANTSATIC. He loaded them again the same way this time also. The dies that I bought are only neck sizing. I am thinking I might have to get a full size die ??? The gun will close and cock with all of them, just a few of them I have to close the gun a little harder. Is this OK?

Offline Camp Cook

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2009, 03:27:22 PM »
Hard to judge from the info you posted...  ???

Are the bullets seated far enough or could they be jamming into the rifling when you close the action?
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Offline flinginairos

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2009, 03:55:20 PM »
I dont think they are jamming into the rifling, there isnt any marks that I can see.

Offline flinginairos

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2009, 04:07:03 PM »
Well......I started looking them over and didnt see any rifling marks but I did discover something else........all of the bullets are loose! :o I can move pretty much all of the bullets up and down in the cartridge. I tried pulling the bullets out of the casings by hand but was only able to pull one of them out. I would assume that its not safe to shoot these? Maybe something is wrong with my die set, I dont know ??? I was really wanting to take it to the range this week too. I will be honest, I shot the last box he loaded for me and never checked to see if the bullets were loose and they shot great. He has been reloading for a LONG time so I trust him. What should I do?

Offline Grumulkin

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2009, 05:11:29 AM »
It's perfectly safe to shoot cartridges with loose bullets.  The disadvantage is that if treated in the usual way while hunting the bullets may come completely out of the case.

Did you buy a Lee Collet Die by any chance?  Those dies don't always size the neck enough.  Also, if chambering is difficult, the shoulder of the case probably needs to be bumped back a bit.

Offline flinginairos

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2009, 06:07:03 AM »
It's perfectly safe to shoot cartridges with loose bullets.  The disadvantage is that if treated in the usual way while hunting the bullets may come completely out of the case.

Did you buy a Lee Collet Die by any chance?  Those dies don't always size the neck enough.  Also, if chambering is difficult, the shoulder of the case probably needs to be bumped back a bit.

Hmmmm......I kind of thought it would be dangerous but I dont know a whole lot about that kind of thing LOL. I actually tried pulling some of them out but they only move just a little bit. Would this cause inconsistent shots? I did find that if I pull the bullets out until it they stop that they are the ones that lock up a little harder. If  I push them back a little they go in just fine. I assume that if I set all of them the same that they will be fine? It's funny that you mentioned the Lee die, because thats what it is LOL. I may pick up another one in a different brand. I just wanted to make sure my gun isnt going to blow up because of some stupid mistake!

Offline Hopalong7

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2009, 06:51:50 AM »
    Please don't be offended by this question, but did you set up the Lee Collet Die according to the  instructions?  It is quite different from regular sizing dies in set up and operation.  Ol' hardhead here had a little problem with'em until I understood how to set them up and use them properly.  Now I love'm.
GOOD SHOOTIN',  Walt  ;D

Offline Siskiyou

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2009, 07:20:09 AM »
Following suggestions from Graybeard members I bought a Lee Factory Crimp die to crimp my 30-30 loads.  My factory die already did the job okay, and I want to experiment with the Factory Crimp die.  I was impressed with the results.  I used it on a 100+ loads.  I recently fired a bunch of them.  I first loaded them into the Marlin magazine, and loaded the chamber from the magazine.  The crimps held tight.  I think the crimp from the Crimp Die is easier on the case then the roll crimp created by my standard reloading dies.
After trying the Factory Crimp Die on my 30-30 cases I pulled out a Lee Factory Crimp Die I bought new a few years back for the .270 Winchester.  I crimped a run that used the same components I have been loading for years.  I was satisfied with the results and will continue to use it on the appropriate bullets.  I was a little more mindful this time around because of a round I dropped.  The bullet popped out and powder was spilled on the ground. 
My old reloading die has done a good job, a few years back I dropped one of my reloads on the ground when unloading my rifle.  It bent the tip, but the bullet stayed in place. 
“This is the third time these shells have been loaded”
Your cases maybe growing and need trimming.  While I have a more expensive Forester case trimmer I find the Lee case trimmer setup cost effective and when powered by my cordless screwdriver/drill speedy.  When I started using .270 reloads in my high school years in the past century I had them loaded for me.  About the 3rd or 4th reload I started having chambering problems.  About this time I expanded beyond the original Lee Loader, and purchased a Forester trimmer.  I am sure that if the Lee Case Trimmer was on the market I would have started there.  Proper case trimming resolved the problem.
In my cases the bullets were being seated to the cannelure, but the resulting cartridge was exceeding the appropriate case length.  This also started showing up as high pressure.
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Offline flinginairos

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2009, 08:30:35 AM »
    Please don't be offended by this question, but did you set up the Lee Collet Die according to the  instructions?  It is quite different from regular sizing dies in set up and operation.  Ol' hardhead here had a little problem with'em until I understood how to set them up and use them properly.  Now I love'm.
GOOD SHOOTIN',  Walt  ;D

Not offended at all LOL :D I have no clue, I dont reload, my buddy does it for me. I bought the Lee die set from ebay. It was used but looked like new. I didnt even know it was a neck sizing die until he told me. Should I pick up a full sizing die for him to use?

Offline Grumulkin

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2009, 10:09:29 AM »
You might need a full length sizing die at some point such as if you want to size cases not originally fired in your gun so it's not a bad idea to have one.  A neck sizing die from RCBS or Redding would be good as well.  Accuracy and case life will likely be better with neck sizing and you can get by with using dry lube on the neck which isn't as messy as other types of dry lube.

I really like Lee Factory Crimp dies; they really are a better way to crimp cases and can sometimes solve the problem of loose bullets.

Offline Dezynco

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2009, 06:07:33 PM »
I don't think you have anything to worry about if there are no signs of excessive pressure.  Most of my best shooting loads have to be "slammed" shut.  One thing about shooting a single shot of any sort is being able to "force" the gun to shoot well.  When you have a bolt gun or a semi-auto, you have to make the ammo feed into the action, otherwise it will jamb.  That's why you see so many wildcats in the TC Contenders and Encores.

Now, considering that you've reloaded these cases 3 times, and considering that you didn't tell us what you are shooting, I'd bet that you need a case trim and a good bore brush that's big enough to clean out the neck of the chamber.

Offline Dezynco

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2009, 06:13:49 PM »
BTW....
Generally speaking, a crimp doesn't dramatically effect accuracy.  If the bullets are a little loose, that only makes them finicky for hunting purposes.  I shoot black powder cartridge loads in my 45-70.  I have to be really careful with some of my loads not to point the cartridge "downhill" or the bullet will fall out!  Keep the bullet pointed at the sky.  However, 1" holes at 100 yards are not unusual with this load.  Go figger'!

Offline flinginairos

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Re: Are these shells safe to shoot?
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2009, 01:07:36 AM »
I don't think you have anything to worry about if there are no signs of excessive pressure.  Most of my best shooting loads have to be "slammed" shut.  One thing about shooting a single shot of any sort is being able to "force" the gun to shoot well.  When you have a bolt gun or a semi-auto, you have to make the ammo feed into the action, otherwise it will jamb.  That's why you see so many wildcats in the TC Contenders and Encores.

Now, considering that you've reloaded these cases 3 times, and considering that you didn't tell us what you are shooting, I'd bet that you need a case trim and a good bore brush that's big enough to clean out the neck of the chamber.

Its a 7mm-08. I guess I should say that the cases have only been shot twice, once as factory, once as reloads. I did figure out that the ones that lock up harder were the ones where the bullets were sticking out a little further. It will shut though with a little bit of pressure. I tried pulling the bullets out and was only able to get one out. The rest seemed to be in there pretty good! I am taking it to the range tomorrow, I cant wait! ;D