I just got back from the range where I was giving my new .300 Blackout a try. I had made my .300 Blackout brass from .223/5.56 brass of assorted headstamps. Only got three rounds through before one failed to chamber and was jammed so tight I couldn't pull it back out. At home, after removing the stuck cartridge I tested all the other rounds I had loaded by dropping them into the chamber - four others would not fit. All five, including the original stuck cartridge, were IVI headstamp (none of the others I loaded were) - and the neck measured 6 to 7 thousandths larger than the cartridges that fit (all LC and FC). My recommendation - don't use the IVI unless you plan to turn the necks so they'll fit in the chamber.
Watch out for thick neck on IVI brass.
- Thread starter rustyb
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Certaindeaf
member
It's not the brass, it's the indian. It's up to you to make sure neck diameter is proper, especially after forming, up or down.
Actually - I guess it is the body that is thicker. These were cut down to make the .300 Blackout brass - so what I'm calling the neck used to be the body just below the shoulder. I've seen other posts about IVI being heavier/lower-volume - which would fit with being thicker. Anyway, it wasn't something that I consider and it caused me trouble - just wanted to warn others.
Certaindeaf
member
I hear you. I didn't mean to seem short or anything.
Certaindeaf - Just figured that out, I haven't done any resizing/reforming before so I didn't know to watch out for this. But in a way it is the brass in this case, since all the non-IVI brass came out OK. Funny, but out of all the you-tube videos I've seen of people showing how they sized .223/5.56 brass to make .300 Blackout, none of them mentioned anything about checking/turning the necks. Thanks for pointing out my error.
KansasSasquatch
Member
That dang Israeli brass.
I actually like their .45acp brass but I don't have much of it. Just 10-20 pieces I scrounged at the range.
I actually like their .45acp brass but I don't have much of it. Just 10-20 pieces I scrounged at the range.
Do you have a ball micrometer to measure the neck thickness on that IVI brass? I would be interested to know what it is.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=710664
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=710664
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41 Mag
Member
rustyb,
You learned a VALUABLE lesson on the cheap there. When ever your forming cases, even necking down one caliber to a smaller one like say a 308 into a 243, or 30-06 into a 25-06, it pays to check the thickness of the necks after doing so, and also measuring the OD after making up a dummy round with the bullets your planning to use. Some bullets might say .224 or .308 or whatever, but until they are actually checked and or loaded you really are at the mercy of the manufacturers specs. They are all usually pretty darned close, but if I were buying ANY new packaged bullets nowadays I would surely do a little more in-depth measuring on them. With the production rates they are running at dies can easily be worn and diameters run on the high side.
The bad side of this could have been that it was driven into the chamber by the bolt. Where as even though it went, it was forces into the chamber and was a press fit, effectively squeezing the case necks down around the bullet. If this would have happened it could have resulted in an over pressure issue, either blowing the primer, splitting the case, or worse.
Just one of the many things that some manuals rarely cover, and you learned by doing. I hope this sticks with you.
You learned a VALUABLE lesson on the cheap there. When ever your forming cases, even necking down one caliber to a smaller one like say a 308 into a 243, or 30-06 into a 25-06, it pays to check the thickness of the necks after doing so, and also measuring the OD after making up a dummy round with the bullets your planning to use. Some bullets might say .224 or .308 or whatever, but until they are actually checked and or loaded you really are at the mercy of the manufacturers specs. They are all usually pretty darned close, but if I were buying ANY new packaged bullets nowadays I would surely do a little more in-depth measuring on them. With the production rates they are running at dies can easily be worn and diameters run on the high side.
The bad side of this could have been that it was driven into the chamber by the bolt. Where as even though it went, it was forces into the chamber and was a press fit, effectively squeezing the case necks down around the bullet. If this would have happened it could have resulted in an over pressure issue, either blowing the primer, splitting the case, or worse.
Just one of the many things that some manuals rarely cover, and you learned by doing. I hope this sticks with you.
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