John Wayne
Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2007
- Messages
- 1,133
Just finished loading up some rounds and decided to try a little experiment, on a whim. Here are the results of my rather brief and simple experiment.
4 rounds of .357 mag handloaded ammo, using nickel cases, Federal primers, and 158 gr. XTP bullets were selected at random from a batch I'd loaded. These had a crimp of approximately 1/4 turn. To two of them, I applied clear nail polish around the primer and around the case mouth. I applied one coat, let it dry, and then applied another.
I plunked all four rounds in a glass of water. I also dropped in one factory Winchester .38 SPL JHP round and one Winchester 9mm JHP round. I let them all sit for 48 hours.
Went to the range today and fired them:
-2 .357 Mag rounds with nail polish fired the first time
-2 .357 Mag rounds w/o polish would not fire, even 2nd or 3rd attempt
-both factory rounds fired the first time
So turns out it actually does make a difference! Last canoe trip I took I managed to keep my gun relatively dry but some of the ammo that was in my pocket did get wet. I'd waterproofed it using the method above, and fired it at a later date with no issues, but always wondered if the extra step made any difference.
4 rounds of .357 mag handloaded ammo, using nickel cases, Federal primers, and 158 gr. XTP bullets were selected at random from a batch I'd loaded. These had a crimp of approximately 1/4 turn. To two of them, I applied clear nail polish around the primer and around the case mouth. I applied one coat, let it dry, and then applied another.
I plunked all four rounds in a glass of water. I also dropped in one factory Winchester .38 SPL JHP round and one Winchester 9mm JHP round. I let them all sit for 48 hours.
Went to the range today and fired them:
-2 .357 Mag rounds with nail polish fired the first time
-2 .357 Mag rounds w/o polish would not fire, even 2nd or 3rd attempt
-both factory rounds fired the first time
So turns out it actually does make a difference! Last canoe trip I took I managed to keep my gun relatively dry but some of the ammo that was in my pocket did get wet. I'd waterproofed it using the method above, and fired it at a later date with no issues, but always wondered if the extra step made any difference.