Do You Plunk Test???

[tightgroup tiger]

I do check all 9mm Luger rounds in a case gage because of 9mm Makarov and .380s.
Sometimes they sneak through my press without me knowing it.
On a new setup with the other pistol calibers like .357 and 41 mag, I check 20, if I have any that are questionable then I make my adjustments and check 20 more, and keep doing that until I have about 50 pass with no problems. Then I figure I'm good to go for the whole run.

 

[jmorris]

I generally only plunk when setting up but used to as a final check. Every now and then, I’d still get a “mystery malfunction” because I knew the round plunked just fine before the match.

Then one day, a fellow competitor retrieved a case gauge from his bag and the round that plunked fine failed his case gauge. That’s they day I quit relying on the plunk.

There is quite a bit of the base of a case that is not touched during a plunk but will get caught by a case gauge.



Or every now and then going into the breechface/extractor, if you just plunk.

 

[Walkalong]

Only in the beginning to be sure the OAL I am working with will plunk ok.

 

[deadeye dick]

A little tip, I use a Lee turret but in single stage. Size and prime all 50 rounds place in block, dump powder place in block, than seat bullets. What i have been doing was picking up the barrel plunking the round, putting the barrel down and on to the next. Than it came to me, it was a PITA to keep handeling the barrel. so i found a suitable spot and drilled a hole in the bench, but not thru, leaving a blind hole, stick the barrel in the hole. This way i can plunk and not have to touch the barrel at all, or if you dont want to drill the bench make a block. Works great.

 

[murf]

when i am working up a new load, or when i change something in my reloading process (e.g. a new seating die stem) of an existing load, or when something just doesn't seem right i will plunk it for peace of mind.

luck,

murf

 

[Whiterook808]

I use a gauge and check each round as I box the cartridges. It just takes an extra second or two and prevents problems at the range.

 

[Louca]

I use a case gauge on every round. If it fails the case check (a few do), I run it through the seating and crimping stages again, then re-check with the case gauge. If it fails that time (very few do), I do the plunk test in the barrel chamber. If it fails that test (extremely rare), I toss the round, since I have no way of unloading my pistol cases (yet).

 

[mcb]

I chamber check/gauge every round I load. The time spent is worth it to me and it give me a final QC look to make sure other things beyond the dimensions the gauge checks are right also. Things like upside-down primers etc

 

[WYO]

I gauge most of my ammo. With pistol ammo, I will plunk ammo that fails the gauge and decide if I will use it for practice ammo only.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

I do check all 9mm Luger rounds in a case gage because of 9mm Makarov and .380s.
Sometimes they sneak through my press without me knowing it.
On a new setup with the other pistol calibers like .357 and 41 mag, I check 20, if I have any that are questionable then I make my adjustments and check 20 more, and keep doing that until I have about 50 pass with no problems. Then I figure I'm good to go for the whole run.

I never plunk test rimmed cartridges since they are straight sided.

Leon

 

[.38 Special]

Nope. Every once in a while when I start loading for a new-to-me cartridge I will, but for my old standards, essentially never. Even in my competition days I would just pull the hammer back slightly and spin the cylinder to ensure nothing was binding. If it didn't feel right I'd just dump the whole cylinder and deal with whatever it was later.

At any rate, I can't remember the last time I had a round which wouldn't chamber and fire, so don't see the point in checking for such things unless the purpose of the particular load is critically important.

 

[rg1]

I plunk test every pistol reload in the barrel or chamber of the pistol. Also after reloading a batch of rifle rounds I weigh every round. Just makes me feel more confident with my reloads.

 

[film495]

in a gauge and the chamber to be fired in, to start, then just a sample one here and there to do quality control

 

[lordpaxman]

If I need to rely on it, I gauge it. So far everything passing the Shockbottle has chambered, so I’ll continue to use it. I also catch short and long 9’s with it. I do use Shockbottle 9mm, .40 and .45. For rifle it’s a spot check. Good luck.

 

[Bartojc]

I plunk test when I am working up a new load or projectile. I typically am looking to get something that will work in multiple handguns so its a must.

From there I recently started running every round through a case gage.

-Jeff

 

[jmorris]

I use a case gauge on every round. If it fails the case check (a few do), I run it through the seating and crimping stages again, then re-check with the case gauge. If it fails that time (very few do), I do the plunk test in the barrel chamber. If it fails that test (extremely rare), I toss the round, since I have no way of unloading my pistol cases (yet).

From what I have seen, if a round will plunk once the dies are set and they don’t move, it’s a problem with the part of the case that isn’t touched by your normal operations. That happens also to be the part that the plunk test, doesn’t test.

If you have one that plunks but won’t case gauge, the base and rim are the most likely culprits.

Instead of going back to the process that didn’t put it back in spec the first time try (if your case gauge is steel) flipping the round in backwards and giving it a twist, That is usually enough to iron out the burr on the rim.



I have a couple of roll sizers that make sure the rim/base and extractor grove is good to go before I run them through the loading process, that also does the trick.

 

[Thomasss]

9mm seems to be a rather finnicky case. I do every case and am surprised at the name brand cases that fail.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I found that my Hornady gauge is tighter than my chamber. I plunk in the chamber to find OAL for new bullets to figure out seating depth. Then I use the gauge on every round.

 

[gifbohane]

Instead of going back to the process that didn’t put it back in spec the first time try (if your case gauge is steel) flipping the round in backwards and giving it a twist, That is usually enough to iron out the burr on the rim.

jmorris- I gotta ask doesn't that score (scrape) the inside of the guage?

 

[mdi]

For all my pistol handloads Plunk Testing is essential (4 different calibers). I have determined which gun has the "tightest" chamber and use that for the test (when I first started reloading semi-auto ammo I thought I needed a gauge. My gauge now is a long time (20 years) resident of a drawer somewhere in my shop)

 

[Jim Watson]

jmorris- I gotta ask doesn't that score (scrape) the inside of the guage?

No.
Gauge is steel, rim is brass. Unless you are loading Russhin steel cases.

 

[jmorris]

jmorris- I gotta ask doesn't that score (scrape) the inside of the guage?

I have never had any transfer of brass to the steel case gauges but it’s not a very high load operation. Only torque and force I can impart is what I can do with two fingers.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I never plunk test rimmed cartridges since they are straight sided.

Leon

I don't plunk test anything, I said I use a case gauge, it's an ammo checker for testing loaded ammo. LIke jmorris above, I had a bad experience with plunk testing ammo.

 

[Palladan44]

Yes. I Plunk the finished rounds in the chamber of the gun it probably will be used in, just a small batch of them. I trust my case lengths and my resizing die/crimp die to do their jobs properly aside from plunk testing. This is 9mm, 45acp,40 s&w and 10mm im talking about.

 

[Kaldor]

Not every round, but to set up the press absolutely. SAAMI spec is exactly that, its a spec. That doesnt mean your chamber is SAAMI like a case gauge. Ive seen long, short, tight, loose chambers, so I always setup on the chamber.

I recently had a friend that stopped by, said he couldnt get his CZ to chamber his reloads and that he checked him on his gauge. Guess what? The chamber on the CZ is shorter than SAAMI, therefor his reloads wouldnt chamber because he setup using a SAAMI case gauge.