Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire August Campfire gathering in New Mexico

Thanks, but I'd probably better leave it as-is for now.

When I decide how and to whom to pass it along, he can decide who'll be loading for it.

And whoever'll be loading for it can decide which powder to use.

It's never been fired. It was to be the ultimate of my three .220 Howells, and I scooped enough bucks into it to make my knees watery whenever I even think of what the total would be.

I aimed to shoot the heck out of it, of course, but got it � complete and ready to go � just after the stroke that killed my hope of ever shooting again. Several surgeries and complications have further doomed my shooting.

I have a hard case, the custom dies, 100 or more head-stamped virgin .220 Howell cases, and over 6,000 Hornady 75-grain Hornady A-Maxes for it. I also have four scopes, with rings, for the Talbot QD mount. The scope that's on it now is a stainless 32x Weaver. Planned to add something a bit more powerful but had to abandon that notion (the Weaver came when I was in the hospital).

If you have QuickLOAD, you can get some idea of what to expect it to do. I set the seating depth (in QuickLOAD) to 0.555 inch (shank 0.375 inch) and ran the scale for optimum powders to fill the net capacity of the case to 90�100% full and 50,000 lb/in� maximum pressure. IIRC, Ramshot Magnum would theoretically poke that A-Max out of he 26-inch barrel at 3,300�3,400 ft/sec and a tad less than 50,000 lb/in�.

Oehler's Ballistic Explorer predicts that such a load would make the classic .220 Swift factory loads look like grade-school spitballs beyond about 200 yards.


These 75-grain A-Maxes look like they oughta do a coupla hundred ft/sec just sittin' on the shelf!

Ken, honored to say the reamer for this intriguing barn burner of a cartridge sits here at my humble digs.

I would imagine that working with a soft blank, I could gen up a neck bushing die, to be suitably heat treated afterward (are you listening tex n cal ?) I hesitate to try and do initial case forming with a set up like that.

I've got a hunch that it WOULD work, though.

Win .270 brass to start, right ?

GTC

They are indeed a sleek looking bullet. Downright racey.
I shoot it out of my .223 AI, and its a dream.

.270 brass'd make suitable cases, all right, but I'd prefer .25-06.

Two preliminary steps'd be necessary. (They won't form in just one pass. You can easily guess how I know!)
� Start massaging the shoulder back with an 8x57mm Mauser sizer.
� Continue massaging the shoulder back with a 7x57mm Mauser sizer backed-off about 0.10 inch.

The resulting case should then form properly in the .220 Howell sizer � and need only be trimmed, reamed, and probably annealed.

That's the original reamer for this rifle, Greg.

Has also chambered one or two more since this one, so it's reasonably fresh.

What a great crowd of A+, top shelf gentlemen.

I will truly look forward to pics of this soiree!

Get more than pics Bob..
Come on out and make an appearance. Its a grand time with some of the finest company.

Having thus begun, I reckon that I oughta add a few major details �

� original Nesika bench-rest action (single-shot)
� 26-inch Broughton bench-rest barrel with Howell straight-taper contour for maximum stiffness
� H-S Precision tactical stock with integral aluminum chassis (glass-bedded)
� Remington trigger (with safety removed), with Kiplinger single-set finger piece
� Talbot QD mount
� Harris bipod
� butt monopod

Since I don't trust variable scopes, and prairie-dog towns are at a variety of long distances away, I opted for the Talbot mount (which always goes back smack to zero) and four good more-reliable fixed-power scopes � 8x, 12x, 24x, and 32x � to be zeroed for whatever range of distances that I'd be shooting.

Designed and commissioned this hummer to be a "field model" bench-rest piece.

No doubt about the fine company. While I've had the pleasure of you and your son's company, there's 20 more hands I'd definitely like to shake in this upcoming crowd of folks. I could definitely bore Greg and Ken for at least one Happy Hour.

This would be a tough one to pass up. I'll look into it further,Tom.

Allow a few more for reciprocation!

so a stick of, say A-2 tool steel 1.25" dia would work? After machining - Austentitize in stainless foil, air cool, Harden & double temper to Rc 56-60?

I think someone once told me most commercial dies are made of A-2, as it changes dims very little in hardening.

I could likely round up the material pretty easily, though I'd have to farm out the heat treat.

I wonder how many cases could be acceptably formed in good unhardened tool steel.

After all, once you've formed a batch of brass, you don't need forming dies any more.

Also, you don't need forming dies if you use the sizer dies that I mentioned above.

Some dimensional variation is acceptable from a forming die anyway. The sizing die trues 'em up, doesn't it?

Back around the time when Joe Garagiola had hair, one enterprising soul made a chamber cast of his whomper, poured a can of hard plaster around it, melted the chamber cast out, and cobbled-up a few cases that his sizer would accept.

Probably hadda use gobs o' lube.

Ken, I've got some large rimmed .45 body forming dies I made out of the crops off of mostly octagon Badger barrels. They used to use a .8750" "Fixture" on the muzzle end of their blanks for their deep holing and rifling,....it sure made things pretty easy and straight forward......prior to crowning I'd just pick up that Dia., and thread 14tpi, Run the reamer in.....than lop off the 'Drop' (and crown). Most everybody wanted 32" or 30" barrels, so the 36" blanks had adequate material (just) to spare.

The Chro moly steel, polished out has literally done 100s of cases without a scratch or a hiccup.

These are of course, STRAIGHT cases,.......I've not all that much experience in re-forming / wildcatting the bottlenecks (yet )

In truth, it all seems pretty straightforward from this vantage point.

GTC

this is top of my bucket list....looks like my main project will be in the final stages...working on 2 others to accompany me

Hey! You have to keep me awake driving!

I'll try to remember to bring my 1886 45-90 and my 416 Rem ........

I've made a passel o' goodies from shop scrap.

Once made a beautiful, ever so carefully fitted barrel-band swivel base � lotsa hand work with files � and found (when I went to blue it) it was stainless!

Ya',.....BTDT

ALWAYS hit the workpiece with a drop of clod blue,....right.....?

Oops, ....was so busy I forgot,....

chit,.....

GTC

Everything that I'd made at that point � from the same box of scrap � had been chrome-moly barrel stubs.