The Down Range Forum

Member Section => Reloading => Topic started by: alfsauve on January 23, 2023, 11:34:58 AM

Title: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: alfsauve on January 23, 2023, 11:34:58 AM
Doing a bunch of .38spl this morning and all of a sudden the Powder Cop screams, S-T-O-P !

Strange, I thought, I mean I have never had a powder issue since I acquired the PC.  Then I looked down in the case and there was something funny going on.

Turns out there was a .22lr brass down there.  It had been there the time before because it was all blown out to match the .357 contour.   Whomever loaded it before, and I don't think it was me, had punched through the little sucker with the de-primer pin and loaded it with the brass in the bottom.   Had to drill out the primer pocket of the .38 to push the little sucker out.  All I can say is, Powder Cops Matter.

 
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Big Frank on January 19, 2024, 10:42:55 PM
And that's why you never buy someone else's reloaded ammo. My mama said reloads are a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Rastus on January 20, 2024, 07:01:12 AM
Whhaaaattttttttt?  That's scary. 
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Majer on January 20, 2024, 10:19:52 PM
I once bought some what was supposed to be once fired 30-30 brass. I started loading them with a starting load and on some of them the powder overflowed. I dumped the powder out of them and tried again thinking "Maybe" I double charged those cases by mistake, Nope same thing. I dumped the powder again and set then aside to check out later. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to tear them open and found that they all had .30 Carbine cases in them with the primer pockets drilled out. Now Why would someone expand the necks enough to put those cases in them and re-neck them back to spec? Everyone I showed them to were as perplexed as I was. From that point on I only bought new brass or only used my own fired brass for reloading.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: TAB on January 21, 2024, 07:11:36 PM
That was a kaboom waiting to happen.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Big Frank on January 23, 2024, 03:48:50 PM
I once bought some what was supposed to be once fired 30-30 brass. I started loading them with a starting load and on some of them the powder overflowed. I dumped the powder out of them and tried again thinking "Maybe" I double charged those cases by mistake, Nope same thing. I dumped the powder again and set then aside to check out later. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to tear them open and found that they all had .30 Carbine cases in them with the primer pockets drilled out. Now Why would someone expand the necks enough to put those cases in them and re-neck them back to spec? Everyone I showed them to were as perplexed as I was. From that point on I only bought new brass or only used my own fired brass for reloading.

Reduced capacity loads?
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Majer on January 23, 2024, 07:11:47 PM
Reduced capacity loads?
Maybe, But that's an awful lot of work to go through for the end result.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Big Frank on January 26, 2024, 05:49:26 AM
Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do it for any reason i can think of.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: MikeBjerum on February 17, 2024, 06:54:24 PM
Reduced capacity loads?
That is a lot of work to cut capacity.

I download my .38 spl for SASS. Three grains Red Dot, and I top them with instant white grits. An afternoon of work, and I have two powder measures on the toolhead.  First drops powder, and second drops grits. Grits are cheap, and I get a much more consistent chrono than a mostly empty case.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Rastus on February 18, 2024, 08:32:38 AM
I had never heard of grits for reloading.  Nice. 

I've used grits as a temporary fix to seal water leaks in cooling systems. 

So, grits are granular.  I wonder what flakey oats would do?
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: PegLeg45 on February 22, 2024, 11:25:29 AM
I've seen folks use grits.....there was an 'old-timer' at our old club years ago that loaded them in his .45 ACP for use in bullseye. I don't remember the powder charge he used.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Big Frank on February 22, 2024, 08:40:43 PM
I've heard of people using farina (Cream of Wheat) and corn meal. Semolina too maybe, but I'm not sure about grits. Then again, I don't reload or read much about it. I think any old cereal grain that's ground up, but not too fine, would work. You really wouldn't want a dust explosion, if that's even possible in the confined space of a cartridge. I don't think flour mixing in with the powder would be that great anyway, but something coarse can stay put to a degree.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Majer on February 23, 2024, 07:50:57 PM
A lot of Cap & Ball pistol shooters use cream of wheat to take up space in the chamber so they can download them, Grits are for eating, not wasting on BP pistols.
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: Rastus on February 24, 2024, 06:25:13 AM
Hot damn Majer.  You are so right.  How in the heck did you get so educated on fine breakfast cuisine?
Title: Re: Those Pesky .22lr Brass
Post by: alfsauve on February 24, 2024, 08:41:06 AM
I had always just switch to magnum primers when shooting light charges in large cases.