Case Lube

Hello Everyone,

Well I finally made the switch from the old pad and lube system for sizing and depriming duties on the reloading press.  Currently I am using Hornady one shot for the case body and unique on the neck and mouth.

There are other brands out there like RCBS, Lyman and Dillon, plus many others. I would like to try the Dillon after I run out of the Hornady one shot. The only reason I went with Hornady was due to the availability of it locally.

These are the steps needed to size and deprime your brass using Spray lube and unique lube.

1. Disassemble your decapping die and clean.
2. Spray inside the die and outside the decapping pin and ball with your spray lube.
3. Reassemble your die after the lube dries.
4. Arrange your brass in a block or tray with the necks up or away from you.
5. Spray with Lube, taking care not to get any on shoulder or damage could occur.
6. Lube Mouth and neck with Unique taking care not to apply to the shoulder.
7. Resize and Deprime.
8. Wipe case clean or tumble.

I have posted a video about this on my YouTube channel catch it here at Rex's Blog.

On the video I show you how to use the product on 222 Remington Nickel plated brass. 

Nickel plated brass is a lot harder to resize due to its hardness compared to regular brass. I use nickel plated on my .222 so I can easily tell the difference between them and my .223 brass, in case they get mixed up.

Thanks for checking out the blog, check out my video and feel free to comment with any questions.

Rex

Reloading Die Maintenance

Blog post ideas come to mind randomly at times while I am either behind the trigger at the range or reloading rounds at the house, the other evening while sizing and decapping some .223 brass for this years sage rat shoot I had a little issue with a stuck case, which brought to mind a post about maintenance on reloading dies. (Sizing and Decapping die will be referred to as sizing die below)

A quick overview on the stuck case problem. I lubed the case and neck with lube by RCBS on their lube pad, as I pushed the case up into the die and popped the primer out it got tight, as I tried to pull the case out of the die it pulled the rim off. After disassembling the die and a little hammer work, the stuck case was out, this is the point when I thought that I should post on the blog about the issue.

Reloading die information if your new to reloading or just looking for information.

Top is the bullet seating die, and bottom is the sizing die.






Maintenance is key for proper die use and operation, the bullet seating die doesn't get as dirty as the sizing die but still needs maintenance. The same solvents and lubes you use on your firearms can be used on your dies as well.

Being the first in line in the reloading process the sizing die is the dirtiest, it will need to be disassembled cleaned and inspected, I also like to lightly coat the decapping pin and walls of the die with a light oil. You will find slight amounts of grime along the walls of the die mainly near the neck and shoulder that will need to be cleaned, signs of this will be deformed necks or shoulders, scratches on case and tight cases in die. On the decapping pin build up can occur behind any tapers like the expander ball which is part of the neck sizing process, also you will find grim on the small pin that pushes the primer out of its pocket.

Bullet seating is the least dirty process, but as noted above still needs to be disassembled cleaned and inspected. Since most brass being reloaded has been sized, cleaned, polished, trimmed and chamfered, the brass is clean. Most issues in the bullet seating die are cause by dirt and dust from other sources and loose powder on the neck of the case from being filled. Mainly check around the walls of the die and around the bullet seating system, clean and lightly lube as noted above for the sizing die.

Cleaning can be as simple as running a solvent coated patch through the die body followed by a dry patch, I like to use a 410 shotgun brush with some solvent to get the walls clean, it also helps get into areas maybe a patch can't reach. Other cleaning processes used are sandblasting the outside of the die body, this helps with keeping the rust to a minimum when you reload in areas with high humidity. The newest thing to clean dies with are the Ultrasonic Cleaners, they use a warm liquid bath and high frequency pulses to release dirt and grime off parts. Most reloading component companies are now making ultrasonic cleaners for brass prep, and can also be iused on other items as well such as dies.

Want to watch a video about cleaning your dies: Here's A link to my YouTube video showing just that: Rex's Shooting and Reloading Blog Video on Die Cleaning

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, this was just a general overview on the cleaning and maintenance of reloading dies, you will more than likely come across different style dies than shown above, which will have there own needs in regards to cleaning and maintenance.

Still Working On The Blog(Behind The Scenes)

Hello All,

I haven't posted in awhile as you can tell, I mentioned previously about starting to make videos to supplement the blog with content, well it seems that I need a modern computer for video editing. I am working on purchasing a new computer to aid in video editing, but then I see something shooting or reloading related that I need to purchase. I have been creating content to use for the videos on the blog, so I will be well stocked.

Recently I have gotten into woodworking, mainly just small items for around the house, no commissioned pieces yet. I have been tossing the idea around on making some bullet trays out of some exotic hardwoods in various calibers and round counts. I am thinking of making 50 and 100 round loading blocks, but I was also wondering about a 10 or 25 round loading block for load development.

Shooting and Reloading have been on the back burner for me it seams lately, I have hit the range a few times this past year and went hunting a few times for deer and pheasant. This year I am optimistic that I will have a better year shooting and reloading. By the end of this coming week I will be prepping for our yearly sage rat shoot down in Eastern Oregon.

There has been lots of chat around work with the AR guys about the 244 Valkyrie, I have not dug into the ballistics on this round yet, but a coworker has pulled the trigger on a new upper for is AR. I took a quick glance at it's performance at long ranges with it's heavier side bullets. The drop is less than a similar grained bullet fired from a 223, which grabbed my attention as new round for some 300/500 yard matches at my local range.

Still looking for a 17 HMR, haven't nailed down the one I want yet, I really like the Browning T-Bolt, but can't justify dropping that cash on a rimfire, I believe I will be going with an Ruger American, I am not sold on the savages yet, well I take that back, I just went over to the Savage site to cruise the 17's and I see there new B 17 F left handed rifle, wow that is a clean, good looking firearm from savage. Time will tell, but a new Savage may be coming up on the blog soon.

All for now,
Rex

Lyman Case Prep Multi Tool

Hello all,

If you didn't know already I have been putting  together some video reviews for the blog on YouTube , trying to add a little more content for you.

This week is the Lyman Case Prep Multi Tool video review.

Here is the link to the YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/Qz7Jg8F2VLs

Subscribe  to my channel to keep up to date on reviews and blog information as well. If you haven't checked it out already I have another review on YouTube for the Monstrum Tactical 10/22 scope rail.

Thanks for checking out the blog and check out the YouTube  channel as well, feel free to leave comments and like the videos as well .

Plinking Day

My son doing some plinking at the local range, video is better on my phone sorry about the quality.

Firearm: Keystone Cricket, Single shot.
Ammo: Winchester 22Lr 100 round pack
Target: Random Steel at 15 yards 

A Little Shotgun Choke Safety

Good New Year to Everyone,

As the title states this post will be on Shotgun Choke Safety. Over the Christmas holidays we had a little issue arise with chokes before we went out shooting our shotguns.

An associate of mine has a Mossberg Maverick 88 he bought used from his local shop. I was getting ready for the next day and asked what choke he had in case we needed to change it to adapt to our shooting conditions, he is new to the shotgun world and didn't know the choke type. With that being said, I looked at the tip of the barrel and notice it was a fairly tight choke, almost like a turkey choke. He also said that he has shot slugs and standard lead shot out of it.

So I grab my choke wrench and pull out the choke, the bottom of the choke it eroded away and the thread's in the barrel are gone near the eroded choke area. This is most likely contributed to the slug being fired through a 680 Turkey choke, then repeated round of shot being fired. So I also have a Maverick 88 which I have dedicated as a turkey gun, Scope,choke, ETC. So I pull the barrel off of that to stick on his with a modified choke so we can do some shooting.

This is the choke I pulled put of his barrel, don't have any pictures of the barrel threads.

 

This could have ended worse, many different outcomes could have arisen. Slug stuck in barrel and barrel blows out or blows end of barrel apart.  All outcomes are dangerous to your self and others around you. Always wear Eye and Ear Protection.

Get to know your firearm and how it works, operation, cleaning, inspections, chokes, ETC.

Thanks for reading this little post about safety,
Rex

22-250 range day report

Hello Everyone,

It's been over three months since I have posted on here, work has been a little hectic with more work load added due to some restructuring within the company and my children's extracurricular activities take up some of my extra time as well but for good reason.

I have had two RSO days at the range this year with my third and final one sometime in January. I always enjoy my days RSOing at the range, mostly due to people bringing out there new fancy guns and I get to see how they do without buying them! I also like seeing the different varieties of firearms brought out by the many people who visit the range, anything from AK-47s to high end Sako target rifles.

The first range day I had the night before I decided to bring out the Remington 700 in 22-250, so I loaded up some 55 grain Hornady V-max's that night, to try out for the upcoming 3rd annual sage rat shoot in Central Oregon. After the range closed for the general public, I pulled out the 22-250 to see how she was doing since I haven't shot her for quite a few years. For my starting load with the V-max's my groups at a hundred yards averaged less than one inch, which I was happy with for just starting load development with these bullets.

I have been pretty lax on reloading during these past couple of months due to the below freezing temps and my reloading room in the garage, which is always close to the temps outside. I was using CCI BR primers, and AA 2015 behind the 55 grain Hornady V-max. I am going to adjust my powder charge a little hoping to tighten the group up a little, also change seating depth a little bit to get me off the lands the proper amount. Hopefully with this combo the groups will tighten up and will be deadly against the sage rats farther out in the fields.

I have not tried any other brands of tipped ammo for varmints yet, my family and I have been using Hornady V-max's for a long time against varmints and I don't plan on changing anytime soon. With that note I have great interest in the Hornady's new ELD match tipped bullets, I have read quite a bit about them in the publications I subscribe to. I think the tips on these will revolutionize the tipped bullet market. Many times have I thought about what the tips do during flight, and now Hornady has proved they are degrading during high speed flight. I have noticed that some V-max's that I had the tip got damaged during storage or in the field still fly very accurate for being deformed.

I was very happy with the results of pulling the 22-250 out of the cobwebs and shooting it. I am very impressed with the bullet drop within 400 yards, I forgot how great the 22-250 was for varmint shooting, I have been neglecting the 22-250 for a few years by only shooting the 223's. It sure is a great all around shooter and you will be hearing more about it in the near future.

The Remington 700 I purchased probably around 2006 from a local store, the main reason for buying was the varmint taper barrel and the HS-Precision black with grey spiderweb stock. Which I will probably never change cause it's awesome. I have tuned the trigger a little to bring down the trigger pull. Next item I may change will be a picatinny rail and 6-24x scope instead of the 4-12x currently on it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, hopefully I can push some more out sooner.
Rex

Mentioned product websites

• V-max Bullets www.hornady.com
• Model 700 Rifle www.remington.com
• Primers www.cci-ammunition.com 
• Powder www.accuratepowder.com
• Rifle Stocks www.hsprecision.com