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

Thanks Jimy, so far neck size is OK. Need to chat with you briefly, will give a ring this afternoon or early eve.

Any time is good I have nothing important planed.
I just come in to eat lunch, its a great day to cut next years firewood !

Some Scotch Guard on dowel or shaft might be a better way to clean the brass. That stuff is great!

Dan,

Regarding the priming tool, the first image that popped into my mind was a modified version of a Dillon primer pocket swager crossed with a Forster type bench priming tool.

Place the deprimed case over a post that closely fits the ID of the case. That post, hinged at the rear ala the post of the Dillon swager, is mounted on the base, directly opposite of the priming plunger of the Forster type bench priming tool.

In operation, the post rotates down into position such that it aligns the base of the case with the priming plunger. Then, simply depressing the Forster Priming Tool handle inserts the primer.
Having an extension on the case post would allow it to be flipped up and the primed case lifted off and a fresh case to be placed on the post and the sequence begins again.

A shelf, or ledge, would need to be made to support the case at it's lowest point so as to properly align it with the primer plunger on the Forster side of the device.
On second thought, you could actually use the adjustable "legs" on the Forster tool to support the case and limit it's downward and side-to-side travel.

If you made the pivot for the post a threaded tube, you could mount the post portion and it's base to a common platform that the Forster type tool is mounted and adjust the clearance between the base of the cartridge case and the face of the Forster Tool by turning the post in or out of the threaded pivot.
Either a jam nut on the threaded post or a set screw assembly placed in the side of the threaded tube would allow for that clearance to be set and maintained.

I hope I've made it at least as clear as mud... As I said, I need to draw it out.

Jimy, thank you for chipping in on Dan's Great Adventure!

Ed

Ed, your idea would work I'm quite certain, but I'm pursuing one of two approaches, first being a simple toggle tool design somewhat similar to the Lyman 310, or perhaps adapting a die with a ram for the press that will function with the Rockchucker in the same spirit at the hammer theory. I've no doubt what you described would work, but the quick and dirty appeals for this project.

One of the points of this is to make this a marketable concept and I'm thinking that low entry price would be a key to success. Time will tell I suppose.

Dan

PS: I just learned something else. Spell Checker thinks "Rockchucker" should be "Cockchafer". I never heard of that word before.

C'mon, someone needs to pick up that ball and run with it!

Dan, the 310 type tool would be really handy at the range, much like the Pope de-capper I carry for my Sharps.

For the Rockchucker, I could see a 7/8x14 Die body with a spindle with O.D. of the I.D. of the case, such as a neck expander that protrudes below the die body. The ram has a shellholder-type adapter with a shallow cavity which holds a single primer.
That adapter has a tiny raised ring of steel, centered in it, just deep enough to keep the primer centered and narrow enough to slip into the gap between the radius of the primer edge and the edge of the primer pocket. That would allow the primer to be seated flush with the case head.
The adapter would look very similar to the RCBS primer pocket swage, except the swage would be machined down to create that ring.

You slip the case over the spindle, raise the ram which contains the single primer adapter and primer, seat the primer, lower the ram, pull the primed case (it may just drop off if tolerances are loose enough) off and prepare for the next case & primer.

It could be very inexpensive, all you would need was the adapter, a spindle of the proper diameter, and any 7/8x14 die body to hold the spindle.

Ed

Thinking we are on the same page, or close enough. Appreciate your thoughts on this, truly.

For a case that dainty I'm picturing a pair of pliers altered thusly: a pivot pin installed in one jaw with a brass rod dangling from it (that conforms to the internal dimensions of the case), slip the deprimed case over the rod, place a primer on it, and close the pliers against the flat machined face of the opposing jaw. You could alter two pliers, the other one with a decapping pin instead of a blunt "pusher" (a short pin sticking out of an identical "pusher"?)- place the fired case over the pin until you feel it engage the flash hole, then close the pliers against the opposing jaw which would be machined to receive the case head with a hole sufficient to allow the spent primer to fall through.

The only real trick would be designing it so the flat anvil surface would end up being faced flat against the case head when the pliers closes into contact.

A spare set of Lyman mold handles might be a viable alternative to the pliers. The "jaws" of one of them lie parallel to each other when they're what, 1 1/4" apart or so?

A sketch of these ideas might , clarify and help produce a working model.

I'm no artist, but I'll take a shot at it.

Ed

Made a rough sketch of my idea. Perhaps handier for the guy wanting to load at the shooting bench? Based on using bullet mold handles.

Well done sir! Very much in line with my thoughts.

Will say at this point that it occurred a very few days ago that the loading process for this does not require high tech. Despite the dance done with dims the case is tiny and I think manageable with hands as well as a press. Score for the home team?

I'm curious as to how testing will work out with dipped powder charges. (Or did I miss something?) I can see how weighing each charge can be a benefit with such minuscule charges, but my interest would be mainly for range use and shudder to think of managing a scale outdoors if it's even a little breezy. Tried it a few times and gave it up. A handful of cases, box of bullets, primers, powder, capping tools, funnel, and loading block would fit in a cigar box and provide for a day's worth of loafing at the range.

I would not say it won't work, but if you review the data posted with the targets you will see that .1 grains variation has significant influence on velocity. Have not tried Lord Black yet.

Here is my idea for the press mounted tool set.

The "base" just snaps into the press ram just as you would a normal shellholder. I took the general dims of the base from a couple of shellholders I have here.

The "cup" that holds the primer is only 0.003" deep while the "post" that the "cup" is bored in, is 0.005" above the main part of the base, giving a 0.002" below flush primer seating depth.

The rim of the cup could be tapered in cross-section to allow it to slip between the primer cup and the primer pocket rim.

I think you could take one of the RCBS small primer pocket swagers and mill that cup right into it. Somebody around here must have a spare one they would turn loose of.





Ed

Haha, great minds think alike- we both have the noses of our calipers intruding into the pics.

With Lord MacAllan egging me on, I just spent the last 2 hours re-reading this entire thread (with time out to order some esoteric gun parts). It beat anything on TV all to hell, and got my juices flowing again regarding this project. I'll unabashedly follow Dan's lead and go with a .22 rifle set up for both rimfire and centerfire. I hit upon using my Springfield M2 as the vehicle: spare bolts are available, as are one piece firing pins. The pins and forward (non-rotating) halves of the bolts are easily converted to centerfire, and the locking lug on the rear (rotating) halves are adjustable for headspace making a matchup between rim thickness, existing chamber, and bolt face a snap. The extra bits weren't exactly cheap, but MacAllan scotch is a great lubricant for rational (irrational?) decision making. In the end, its utility as a rimfire rifle won't be compromised in the least and those extra bits will look good under glass if the project fizzles.

Digital Don't-Tell-Me-It-Can't-Be-Done Dan deserves a "Laurel, and Hardy handshake" for his work on this project.

Am blushing a bit here.

Know where I'd like this to go, dunno if it will get there but I'm giving it the old Air Cav second effort. Has potential to lure a great many folks into reloading, casting and fun with the kids IMHO. Hoping some of the industry will see their way clear to make it happen.

Imagine a 10/22 that has a spare bolt that makes it immune to disruption of ammo supply. And variations of the theme that just recently passed.

Imagine how deftly your wife can load ammo compared you! And your kids too.

Also, there is such a thing as "parallel pliers" that could be modified to work.

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=parallel+pliers

Parallel Pliers, Flat Nose, 5-1/2 Inches | PLR-866.00

I'll second that! (Just so long as he doesn't "whip this out", that is. )

Dan, this is a great idea that certainly has potential!

I have a factory Contender Carbine barrel in .22lr Match just waiting to be exercised.

Ed

Ed, funny thing about the idea is it wasn't on my mind when I started the thread. Where the concept stands at present was the distilled essence of the conversation here. Somewhere about mid way the conversation as I recall it occurred this might be something of interest and practical utility that crossed many lines in the shooting world. Old man Time will be the judge, but I am hopeful.

Tip of the hat to the Colonel, who by my reckoning was well ahead of his time.