SSN Vet
Member
I loaded up my first test rounds of .38 special target loads last week.....then I popped the bullets to see what the FCD was doing to the plated Berry's DEWC.
I was surprised that the just 1/2 turn in on the FCD (light crimp) basically created quite a distinct groove in the bullet. So I guess these swaged cores are pretty soft. When the bullet was popped in the little hammer gadget, however, it did not strip any of the plating off.
So last night I finally managed to steal away (geeking out as my wife calls it) and loaded up a couple boxes. I started with the cases that I had popped the bullets from. Having not been fired and not wanting to pop the primers (or pull the primer pin from the sizing die), I figured I'd just hit them with the powder through expanding die (PTED) and go from there. I was surprised to feel a very rough and chattery stroke, but attributed this to the case mouth having been crimped.
After taking a peek at the PTED I saw that I had never cleaned the residual oil off when I first set it up. So, I decided to re-check all the dies and adjust them from scratch figuring it would be good practice. When I disassembled the PTED, I was surprised that the finish on the "bull nose" was quite rough.
Did I damage it by using it on the crimped cases? ( I don't believe this die is carbide plated on the interior).
Should I be concerned by the rough finish?
It seemed to do just fine on newly re-sized brass, so I continued to reload my batch and backed of the FCD to a~1/4 turn in. This gave just a perceptable roll on the top edge of the mouth.
I was surprised that the just 1/2 turn in on the FCD (light crimp) basically created quite a distinct groove in the bullet. So I guess these swaged cores are pretty soft. When the bullet was popped in the little hammer gadget, however, it did not strip any of the plating off.
So last night I finally managed to steal away (geeking out as my wife calls it) and loaded up a couple boxes. I started with the cases that I had popped the bullets from. Having not been fired and not wanting to pop the primers (or pull the primer pin from the sizing die), I figured I'd just hit them with the powder through expanding die (PTED) and go from there. I was surprised to feel a very rough and chattery stroke, but attributed this to the case mouth having been crimped.
After taking a peek at the PTED I saw that I had never cleaned the residual oil off when I first set it up. So, I decided to re-check all the dies and adjust them from scratch figuring it would be good practice. When I disassembled the PTED, I was surprised that the finish on the "bull nose" was quite rough.
Did I damage it by using it on the crimped cases? ( I don't believe this die is carbide plated on the interior).
Should I be concerned by the rough finish?
It seemed to do just fine on newly re-sized brass, so I continued to reload my batch and backed of the FCD to a~1/4 turn in. This gave just a perceptable roll on the top edge of the mouth.