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Posted: 4/4/2005 11:27:37 AM EDT
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It was mentioned to me that the M1A is pretty hard on brass and using reloaded brass can lead to case separations in the chamber. Has anyone had this problem and if so, with what frequency. For those of you whe haven't had the problem, how many reloadings do you have on the brass you use? Thanks |
| I use only Lake City brass, available from Jeff Bartlett (www.gibrass.com) I shoot NRA HighPower matches and my current batch of brass is on their 6th reloading with not one single sign of head seperation on any of them.. I load them light for 200 and 300yds (168gr SMK's @2400fps ) and 2575fps (175gr SMK) for 600yds. I have shot 1K yds with my M1A and that brass is kept seperate as it is loaded HOT (175gr SMK @2675fps)and the cases will only last 2 - 3 reloads. |
I have found the above to be absolutely accurate. I assume HPS is talking about the new Lake City pull-downs. I also get mine from Jeff Bartlett. I like the match pull-downs. IMHO, you should NEVER use once-fired brass in your M1A, unless the first firing was by you! Most once-fired brass comes from M-60's, which are notorious for stretching the cases. |
What powder are you using?imr4895 or something else? |
| The commercial brass lasts longer than the military brass. Its also easier to work with and you dont have to ream or swage the primer pockets. I've never had a commercial case get stuck in the die, I've had a couple of well lubed military cases of different makers get stuck and its a pain in the ass. The thing that beats my brass up the most is concrete floors, posts and benches. Its usually the case mouth that takes the beating and I loose more brass to this than to it making it to case head separations. I normally get 10 or more reloads with the commercial brass before I start seeing the brass getting ready to have case head separations.( I rarely have any as I'm always looking for it and discard the brass before it happens) When I used it, I rarely got to 8 reloads on military brass. Its thicker, stiffer, and more brittle than commercial brass and usually needs to be downloaded one full grain from what the manuals call for. You can use a paper clip to make a tool to check for case head separations by bending it straight, filing the end to a sharp edge and putting a small sharp bend on the end. You just reach into the case and drag it across the side of the case from the bottom upwards. If its getting ready to separate, you will feel it. I trim my cases everytime. I know you dont always have to, but there are always one or two, or more that need it, so it just makes it easier to do them all so they are consistent. This makes a big difference if your loading for accuracy. I also initially ream the inside of the flash holes on all my brass. I've had best luck with IMR 4064 for accuracy out of my .308's, using both Sierra Match Kings and Nosler Ballistic Tips. It pays to keep your brass organized, in the same groups and a record of the number of times it was loaded. If you stay on top of it, you'll have a lot less problems down the road. |
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