v3 autotrickler + Crimp!!!

JakeSCH

Well-Known Member
Oct 16, 2017
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So I did my first load with my v3 autotrickler and FX120i...at the same time I decided to do a 1/4T crimp with the hammer bullets. I have read it helps with the lower bearing surface to get consistent burns.

I also want to note that I never did a ladder, I just noticed a ~.2gr difference between my beam scale and my new scale so I accounted for that. Another note, my velocities were much lower than before, which is most likely due to my old process where I used a beam scale and a cheap jewel scale.

CA Mesa Ti - 24" barrel - 1/10" twist
300 WM
ADG Brass
RL23
Fed 215s

5 Shot group with no crimp die ~ all fit within 1"
71.8 - 3067
71.8 - 3088
71.8 - 3081
71.8 - 3078
71.8 - 3088

5 Shot group with 1/4T of crimp die ~ all fit well within 0.75"
71.8 - 3088
71.8 - 3088
71.8 - 3086
71.8 - 3088
71.8 - 3088

At first I was getting annoyed because I thought my LabRadar wasn't registering new shots, only later on did I realize that it was just the same velocity repeating. I know I can squeak out another 70 FPS or more but not sure if I will since this shot so well.


Crimp method mostly used except i went straight to 1/4T.
1627417751236.png
 
yeah, looking forward to stretching it out as well. But if I can maintain a low ES / SD it should carry out extremely well to distance. Last year I shot a very similar load which produced just over 2" groups at 500y and my ES was closer to 30 for that load.
 
I just loaded 10 more rounds, i was a little more lazy and did my load to +/- 0.02 grains instead of making every single one exact. We will see how well the consistency stays.
 
I just loaded 10 more rounds, i was a little more lazy and did my load to +/- 0.02 grains instead of making every single one exact. We will see how well the consistency stays.
+/- 0.02....ah maybe some day. Until then +/- 0.1 with majority of charges over throws and going back in the hopper. Guess I shouldn't complain about a borrowed Chargemaster!
 
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Very compelling, where did you learn that Hammers like to be crimped?

hammer has their own forum (hammertime) focusing on hammer reload data, terminal performance, plus tips and tricks. A lot of good info focusing specifically on hammer bullets.

that is where I grabbed the screen shot of the crimping process.
 
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So I shot 10 more rounds today. Accuracy was good...not same hole but half inch groups.

So this time I decided to run the autotrickler on its own and not hand fix any overshoots like last time.

71.8 gr of RL23, 1/4T of crimp

3087
3097
3083
3088
No Read
3097
3100
3085
No Read
3085

I knew there were a couple throws that slightly overshot that I purposely didn't manually fix because I wanted to see the impact if I was being lazy in the future. It is interesting how different velocities group together and most likely due to differences of 0.02

What blows my mind with this setup is the fact that this is not a "node". After I clean / resize my brass I may do another ladder test to find an actually node. I know I never "need" better than this but it is still cool.

Now I soon it will be time to do similar tests with my new 280ai, 6.5 PRC, and 308. Glad my reloading room has AC.
 
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