Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .22 RF alternatives

Jimy, glad you did that. I've a few tales to relate.

Best of news for resident loonies here on the 'Fire is this project does not require much in the way of tools. Yes, I've been using a shell holder crafted by Jimy and fiddling with a tapered size die contrived by a friend of mine, but the short version is this ammo can be reloaded with virtually no tooling whatsoever. Took a break from the humdrum a couple days back to load up another round of test ammo and try another invention of mine which I hope addresses or helps address the issue of consistent neck tension. Purpose of the next test is to evaluate different lubes and in the spirit of that I have 4 rounds of 4 shots each with the same powder charge but a different lube. They are 1)my standby SPG/graphite, 2)NASA lube, 3)Vaseline/graphite, 4)ALOX. I also loaded up 4 rounds with a .1 bump in the 800X charge, to 1.2 grains. I'm expecting somewhere around 900 fps with that load and note it is 100% load density w/o compression.

Having alleged that few if any tools are necessary for this and admitting that I use some, what are they and to what end?

I decap spent primers by use of the previously mentioned shell holder and a RCBS universal decapper. Simple enough....but not required. A small diameter nail, or punch on a properly prepared wood block will work as well..

Look at the top of the load block and you will see a two diameter hole, the center being thru bored. Works like a champ.



So with that done, how do I prime the cases? With a hammer and brass punch. The case is inverted and the web rests on the face of a punch in the vice. I get everything lined up, take a deep breath and with all my strength give it a gentle series of 3 taps. 9 times out of 10 the last tap will have a slight metallic "tink" and that signals the primer is seated. ~200 rounds into this and I still have all the fingers I started with. For what it's worth, the first few cases I primed when this started were done with the case upright on the anvil, punch in the case and tapping the case down on the primer. It works but does not fully seat the primer.



Well, it all works but being the nit picker I am and wanting it more-better and all, I have a few more simple tricks. None of this would have been necessary if years ago the industry had realized a need for such contrivances on the front end. Hell, they probably couldn't imagine the impact our recent clown president would have on the shooting industry is my guess.

Top of the press is the sized die mentioned earlier. Nothing really special but the .223" sizing allows for good neck tension and with the gentle kiss of a Lee Universal Neck Expanding Die one can seat the bullets with finger pressure. Problem with this approach is that from time to time the die would extract the bullet after the crimp was administered. Vexing that. Sometimes it takes serious finger pressure. Sometimes I use a small stick of soft pine or cedar and administer gentle admonishment upon the stubborn bullets, but I do NOT deform the bullets in so doing. Gentle is a key word here.

Down below the die you see a small section of PVC pipe, cut perfectly square and I know what you're thinking. "This guy had lost touch with reality!" Well, like I said, if the industry had been on the ball 80 years ago none of this would be happening. Slackers!

At the lower left you see a small round of wood and perhaps ask what it's for?




Well the wood's purpose is very straight forward. When I first tried the brass hockey puck to impart a wee roll crimp in the case after the bullet is seated I had problems with it not separating clean and square. It was causing about 1:4 bullets to cant slightly and that was defeating the purpose of the drill. That's where the PVC came in and the wood as well. I started to use a hole saw bit but thought better of it and due to dimensional incompatibility had to get creative.



The process is easy. Loaded round in the shell holder, wood then brass crimper on top, give it a very light bump against the size die and it all separates cleanly. Bullets are straight and do not spin in the case. Bullets currently in use mic at .2225" diameter on the drive band, cases are ball park .224" after fire forming. Hole in the brass is .223" on the dot and has a radiused juncture. Simple as dirt.

I will close this by saying that in the proposal forwarded to Hornady I suggested this could be done with simple 310 style tools (or less) as a vehicle for introducing the uninformed to the world of hand loading. Too, it was suggested that conventional dies and equipment would provide a path to high precision crafting. I'm thinking at present that it has been demonstrated this is a practical undertaking and for the most part very simple. The one serious demand in the whole undertaking is dimensional compatibility between bullets/brass and tooling. A creative mind is useful at this stage but if the industry does the right thing that won't be required either.

DD