In January I managed to crank out about fifty rounds of .280 Remington 140 grain Sierras for varmints but was only able to get to the elk loads today.
I guess he got a deal on the nickel cases but they are turning out to be a bear to use. They come "sized" according to the literature but after I weighed out fifty charges and tried to seat the bullets on to the loaded cases I found that the case mouths were all too tight. The seating process shaved off nasty amounts of the gilding jackets (Nosler 160 grain AccuBonds over 51.7 grains of IMR 4350) of the first two projectiles, even with their boat tail configuration.
I poured the powder charges back into the cannister and returned it (the powder cannister) to the sub basement, then set up to size all the cases in my Herter's double ram press. This meant I had to remove the decapping pin from the sizing die, which took all of five minutes. I shot the cases with spray lube, gave them a minute to dry, and proceeded to get about half of them sized before I had a stuck case. I destroyed the neck expander/ decapping pin holder in getting the case out of the die.
I think I'll suggest he not buy nickel cases. Brass is our friend. I'd be done now, had I been working with brass cases. Now I've got to time getting off work early enough to hit my reloading supplier to pick up another pin.
But I got fifty rounds of .30-'06 done before any of this kerfluffle. I got to spend time in The Cave.
It's been a good weekend. I hope yours was, too. And there is still Spaghetti Night to come!
No new Mosins recently. I let a Ministry of Defense marked 1939 Tula get away Saturday. That's okay, too, since I can't shoot more than two of the ones I own at one time, anyway. I joke, I joke... here's one of my favorites from downstairs, just for fun:
