I have really warmed up to my CZ Varminter. Plenty accurate and after I monkeyed with it and got it to feed it has been great.
I am still struggling with the hand loading for it though.
My least favorite activity at the bench is case prep. I dont mind so much the chamfer and deburr process, but cutting primer pockets is lame.
Most of the pockets are the correct depth, but all of the pockets need chamfered so a primer will seat and not crush. I imagine its like crimped brass.
I understand that buying empty brass is silly when loaded ammo is so cheap, but I would rather not buy a bunch more ammo with goofy primer pockets.
Is there a way to look up lot numbers to be able to tell if the ammo inside the box has good pockets? I assume the more recent ammo is good to go, but my luck would be to buy a bunch of older stuff.
Is there a lot number break you are aware of?
Secondly, I could use some guidance on a powder measure......specifically the adapters for each caliber size.
I use an older Uniflow that I bought new probably 15 years ago. It was the style with the screw in adapters. I did not have a .17 adapter for it so I had to "upgrade" to the slip in O ring style from RCBS.
I find these adapters to be much worse than the old screw in style. They are bulkier and deeper. I had to shave a bunch off the .17 adapter to get it to where it would not spill as much powder. There is still a gap around the case mouth and a 17 hornet case will slip right through the hole.
AA 1680 is fine granulated, as you know, and it does not bridge the gap.
What measure and adapter are you using for your .17 Hornet activities?
Jim, I have a 4" clear plastic drop tube that screws right into my uniflow. I've had it forever, so can't remember the maker. It has a gray plastic 17 cal tip that fits the hornet perfectly. The nice thing is, if powder does bridge, you can see it and give the handle another tap to finish the fill....... Maybe MD does something different.
I use a Redding BR-30 measure with a Redding .17 caliber adapter, which friction-fits onto the outside of the standard spout. But in the past have purchased plastic .17 funnels and cut them off, taping them to the spout of other measures. This works too, but doesn't look nearly as slick as the adapter Huntsman uses!
I don't know what lot numbers of .17 Hornet brass have problem primer pockets, but maybe Hornady will provide that info. The one batch I got that had the shallow pockets was once-fired brass purchased off the Campfire Classifieds. I used a stout drill motor with a Redding pocket uniformer to deepen around 250 pockets, but would just as soon not do it again.
That said, I use so many different kinds of brass that some inevitably needs the edges of the primer pockets chamfered. These days I use the same drill motor with a 45-degree wood-screw countersink, giving it just enough of a zip to knock the edge off. Just did this a couple weeks ago with 200 pieces of once-fired Black Hills .308 match brass, and it didn't take long at all.
Glad you're liking the little .17. There's a lot to like!
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
I do 'em a lot faster than that with a drill motor and countersink. I mount the motor with countersink in a bench vise, and have two plastic trays, one with brass to be chamfered and the other empty. I turn the motor on, grab case from the first tub, touch the primer pocket to the spinning countersink, and throw the case in the empty tub.
Countersinks cost a few bucks at a hardware store.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
Huntsman22, I looked around and it looks like Sinclair has a similar set up for sale.
They have a steel adapter that screws into the Uniflow measure. Then you slide a clear acrylic drop tube into the adapter and set it with a screw.
The drop tube is pre made with the correct size hole in the bottom, rather than a grey plastic unit like yours.
Might be just what I need.
Seems like Sinclair has a good reputation on the internets, yeah? Never used their products before.
As it stands now, I drop the charge into a pan and dump it into the case using the .17 funnel from RCBS. Its really not all that slow.....I must just be impatient.
That is a very good funnel, never spills a kernel. Next step would be to cut it off and tape it to the Uniflow.......
to bad I just ordered the RCBS adapter for my Uniflo oh well, guess until Jim reports on his new Sinclair drop tube I'll just keep using the funnel. Thanks to all about the primer pocket info I was hoping it wasn't just me.
if you want change you have to put in your 2 cents, you can't just sit on the sidelines and whine
another 'hint from heloise'..... when dropping powder into the 17's, drop slow and kinda trickle it in instead of a fast, normal dump. 'specially with powders that may bridge.