Post by GLSHOOTER on Feb 24, 2018 13:35:30 GMT -8
I received the Consistent Crimp hardware from Tuckerp229 Consistent Crimp about 10 days ago. NONEYA loaned me an RCBS Ammo Master press for the trials. I wandered down to Cabelas and picked up a Lee FCD die in 233. Brass for the test is 1X Winchester commercial that I have accumulated. Primers would be Remington 7 1/2's and I decided on X-Terminator powder at a nice safe starting load that I had used in other rifles. The rifle is an SPS 223 Varmint that I picked up a couple of years ago on a whim and had not even fired until last spring. It has about 150 rounds of break in stuff through it with a couple of PD loads developed in June.
Packaging on the wrench and temperature gauge was nice.
The adapter is well made for the press being nicely plated.
Instructions were adequate for assembly of the set up on to the press. The videos on the site also were helpful. The adapter needs to be threaded in to the press handle area by design. The Ammo Master has a smooth handle hole and is not threaded. Needless to say that was NOT GOOD!! :doh:
I got on the net and ordered up a new Ammo Master II press that should be here tomorrow on the 17 TH.
Being that I am the impatient type I chatted with Scott via PM and the phone. I took some measurements of the hole and found they were larger than the adapter. On a whim I screwed the tension nut for the adapter all the way to the top and put the adapter in the hole. There were a few threads left sticking out the bottom so I put on another nut and sucked it up tight in to the hole. Nice and tight we are ROCKIN!!! :banger:
The rig ready to go.
The Lee Crimp Tool
I had processed and loaded the ammo using a Dillon 650 and had used a Sinclair expander mandrel to drop the neck tension as much as possible. The wrench proved easy to use and I can tell you that 5 FT. lbs. is not much!! I have loaded up ammo in five ft. lb. increments from 0 to 50 in groups of ten. I only loaded five of the 50's as that is a heck of a lot of pressure!!
The goal is to place groups on the target so one can review the results of varying crimp pressure. That means that you want a grid system for easy reference. I'll be using some targets with a one inch grip for visual assessment as well as measuring them out. I want to eliminate any performance issues so I put a Leupold 24X target scope on the SPS yesterday.
Of course a scope change means a sight in was necessary so off I went in a balmy 109 degree temperature!! I had some OLD ammo I loaded up for my AR in 1994 with a good 52 grain bullets and shot some sighters. Two rounds at 25 had me dialed in close and I moved out to 100 yards. The next group fired ran a bit under an MOA.(not measured yet). I then fired some 40 grain VMAX that I had downloaded after my last automatic deprime on the trigger pull experiment. Once I got settled in the rifle shot some nice groups and I now have an acceptable PD load with those bullets. Since I intend to showcase the groups later I adjusted my scope to throw the bullets out into the non-aiming point of the target that will translate over when I go for record. That worked well and I shot two, one four and one five shot, groups with the test ammo and no crimp for a baseline sight in. The rifle likes the load but still leaves room for improvement.
I'll be posting the results once I start hitting the range next weekend. I intend to shoot this twice, my first batch of ammo, and then run another batch through that I will load this week. I have also decided, after talking with Scott, to run a test using a 243 Remington that is a standard weight barrel. This will be an interesting test as I paid $300 for it off the used rack at Cabelas in 2007 and have never fired a round through it. It has an OLD Weaver variable on it but nice Leupold rings. I'll swap the target scope over to it for the test. The gun has rust on the exterior and has been banged around a bit. I THINK it has been shot very little as the bluing in the bolt shows virtually no wear like the ones that I have that have been shot extensively. I've got a bunch of extra 1X 243 R-P brass that I've had for years and I really want to work up a fast load with the 70 grain TNT's and this will be my excuse to do that. I picked up a 243 FCD die yesterday and have plenty of components. This should be a nice experiment.
Greg
Packaging on the wrench and temperature gauge was nice.
The adapter is well made for the press being nicely plated.
Instructions were adequate for assembly of the set up on to the press. The videos on the site also were helpful. The adapter needs to be threaded in to the press handle area by design. The Ammo Master has a smooth handle hole and is not threaded. Needless to say that was NOT GOOD!! :doh:
I got on the net and ordered up a new Ammo Master II press that should be here tomorrow on the 17 TH.
Being that I am the impatient type I chatted with Scott via PM and the phone. I took some measurements of the hole and found they were larger than the adapter. On a whim I screwed the tension nut for the adapter all the way to the top and put the adapter in the hole. There were a few threads left sticking out the bottom so I put on another nut and sucked it up tight in to the hole. Nice and tight we are ROCKIN!!! :banger:
The rig ready to go.
The Lee Crimp Tool
I had processed and loaded the ammo using a Dillon 650 and had used a Sinclair expander mandrel to drop the neck tension as much as possible. The wrench proved easy to use and I can tell you that 5 FT. lbs. is not much!! I have loaded up ammo in five ft. lb. increments from 0 to 50 in groups of ten. I only loaded five of the 50's as that is a heck of a lot of pressure!!
The goal is to place groups on the target so one can review the results of varying crimp pressure. That means that you want a grid system for easy reference. I'll be using some targets with a one inch grip for visual assessment as well as measuring them out. I want to eliminate any performance issues so I put a Leupold 24X target scope on the SPS yesterday.
Of course a scope change means a sight in was necessary so off I went in a balmy 109 degree temperature!! I had some OLD ammo I loaded up for my AR in 1994 with a good 52 grain bullets and shot some sighters. Two rounds at 25 had me dialed in close and I moved out to 100 yards. The next group fired ran a bit under an MOA.(not measured yet). I then fired some 40 grain VMAX that I had downloaded after my last automatic deprime on the trigger pull experiment. Once I got settled in the rifle shot some nice groups and I now have an acceptable PD load with those bullets. Since I intend to showcase the groups later I adjusted my scope to throw the bullets out into the non-aiming point of the target that will translate over when I go for record. That worked well and I shot two, one four and one five shot, groups with the test ammo and no crimp for a baseline sight in. The rifle likes the load but still leaves room for improvement.
I'll be posting the results once I start hitting the range next weekend. I intend to shoot this twice, my first batch of ammo, and then run another batch through that I will load this week. I have also decided, after talking with Scott, to run a test using a 243 Remington that is a standard weight barrel. This will be an interesting test as I paid $300 for it off the used rack at Cabelas in 2007 and have never fired a round through it. It has an OLD Weaver variable on it but nice Leupold rings. I'll swap the target scope over to it for the test. The gun has rust on the exterior and has been banged around a bit. I THINK it has been shot very little as the bluing in the bolt shows virtually no wear like the ones that I have that have been shot extensively. I've got a bunch of extra 1X 243 R-P brass that I've had for years and I really want to work up a fast load with the 70 grain TNT's and this will be my excuse to do that. I picked up a 243 FCD die yesterday and have plenty of components. This should be a nice experiment.
Greg
