DeepSouth

I'm finding some 223 cases that won't fit a shell holder. Going through some old notes I found it. A Lyman TC-38 357-FL die, sizing die with the guts removed used as a bulge buster. Use a pusher from a bullet sizing kit. Lube the cases extra well. I know you're thinking, 1 case doesn't cost much, scrap it and replace it. A quart or gallon bag or 2 full is a bit different.

Not much going on here. I shoot at Sardis, MS, McLver gun range. $20 for half day noon till evening. Pistol and 100 yard rifle bays are covered and next to each other. Longer range a walk or short drive. Skeet, trap and archery areas too. I can check to see if we can set up canopies and grill for a meet.

RangeUSA had Magtect 9mm ammo for $14.99 on their Black Friday sale, back up to $19.99. With my order of 115 gr bullets It's about $9.50 per 100 to reload. The last new primers that dad got were when he helped Dennis at a Memphis gun show. Unload the trailer and set up displays Friday night, help with sales Saturday and Sunday, reload the trailer Sunday night. He got a sleeve of primers each day. Dennis pushed to many bottles of HP-38 on the display and 2 fell off the back. Dad put the lids back on, swept up the powder for the trash and brought the 2 half bottles home. Dennis was selling 223, 55 gr pulled bullets for 9 cents. Dad bought 500 for 5 cents.

"Are you lubing your cases and making sure you pull the handle all the way to the bottom?" Years ago I used SAE20W oil to lube cases. A bit messy but no stuck cases. I thought I'd move up some, spend some money and do as others. I went to Sportsman's Warehouse and bought a can of One-Shot. Read the label and applied to the cases. Of the first 10 5 got stuck. That wore me thin. I wiped them down pretty good with paper towels. Got my bottle of SAE20W oil out. Applied very little to my finger, rubbed my thumb on it, rolled a case between them and sized 10 cases before having to get another dab of oil. It took me longer to remove the stuck cases than sizing a 2 gallon bucket with the oil.

Found the problem, worn/broke linkage handle pin. Replaced with a 4" bolt for now. Sent about 300 through the sizing die last night. Will test load a few dummies today.

The sizing die isn't sizing the neck small enough for bullet not to fall into case body, none of them.

Who in the Memphis area loads 223? I'll bring my dies and a bag of cases to see what you can do.

"Your seating die isn’t the issue." It won't crimp enough, why isn't it the problem?

I counted 1,000 cases to work with. Measured until I found 1 at 1.755 and set the seating die to barely crimp the neck. Ran all through the seating to crimp the neck some. Measured with a bullet, separating those that a bullet would fall through and those that won't. Turned the seating die 1/2 turn in and ran those that go through again. Measured again with a bullet and separated. Did that 3 more times until bullet wouldn't fall through any of the cases. Used a nail set by hand to expand the neck enough so the bullet would start into the neck. Set up for making a few dummy rounds so seating die would be set. Screw the seating die in until it touches the shell holder and adding 1 full turn. Very little crimp on the neck using the RCBS die. Can turn bullet in crimped neck. Press bullet by hand into the case body. No crimping action with the 3 Lee's or 1 Lyman seating dies. Tried the factory crimp dies, no increase in tension on neck. I tried the Lee seating dies by hand. Can push case in until the head is flush with the bottom of the die and touching the crimp area. Sounds like the die is to long.

Primers were removed using a universal decapping die. I screw the die down to where I think it should be. Put a case in the holder and press down. While the handle is down I screw the die down until I see the handle move. Press the handle and adjust die depth until it can't move anymore. The Lee sets were new, the Lyman and RCBS bought used.

I went through a 2 1/2 gallon bag of 223/556 cases. Looked at headstamps first. Aquila and Perfecta cases went into the scrap bucket. Then I used a pin light down the neck, added some Berdan primed cases to the bucket. Then measured length, all cases over 1.755 got trimmed to 1.750. Then they were decapped. Then polished. (All 223 cases were between 1.735 and 1.756. All 556 cases were between 1.762 and 1.772) Only difference in length was the neck. Now here's my problem: I set the sizing die in the press and run a few through. Test with a .224 bullet, it falls through all of them. Have tried 3 Lee, 1 Lyman and 1 RCBS sizing dies, all the same. Measured the bullet, .224. Measured the decap pin, all 5, .220.

All the SPM primers I've shot fired right. You said, "one case of them just fizzed." 50,000 primers fizzed? I found blems at American Reloading $56 per 1,000, no shipping just state tax. The 200 I loaded hit the paper at 10 and 15 yards.

I'm reloading for free. Dad left me everything and I'm going through his records. The last primers he bought were $9.95 per 1,000. There are 12 of those 5 packs in a large box. Got lots of powder, most is in 8# jugs and 16# kegs. I went to an auction in April, different brands of primers, 100 per pack were selling for $15 to 22. My 9mm and 38spl don't have a problem shooting cast bullets and I've got tons of lead. New problem, both my sons' 9mm don't like lead bullets. Looking online jacketed bullets are $16 to 22 per 100. Range USA has ammo for $15 per box. Need a source for cheap bullets in 115 or 125 gr range.

I started out helping my dad and granddad cast sinkers. Molds were made of sheetrock mud and would have to be remade a lot. 1969, my first job was casting babbit bearings while at Dover Elev in Horn Lake, MS. Saturday overtime I cast sinkers for whoever wanted some. Started helping dad cast bullets in 1974, 38spl 100 to 160 grain round nose mostly. Wheel weights were pure lead. All loads were under start data. I've got lead, no hardness tester, $1 per pound, no shipping, pick up in Horn Lake, MS.

For those of us in the Memphis area Range USA has opened a location in Southaven, MS. It's on Hamilton Rd. Exit I-55 onto Stateline Rd headed east, Turn right at the first traffic light.

Sunday there was a local dealer's auction on Zoom. One of the dealers put up 5 Lee sizing kits, said they were for 38/357. All I could see on the label was .3. I won the bid cheap and picked them up Tuesday afternoon. Not what I was expecting, they are .356 bullet sizing kits Lee # 90046. I made small boxes for each kit, I figure my cost + a dollar or 2 for the drive, package and mailing time + postage would be cheaper than anywhere you could find them.

Sorry for the late reply, with the Covid work has been extra. Lots of folks out of work with the sickness. I caught it too in the later part of October , taste and smell still comes and goes. The big 4 lakes along I-55 south of Memphis have a 12" limit with 15 per person, 40 if there are 3 people in the boat. Sunday I had 7 hanging off the side of my kayak. The game warden checked all were 12 1/2 to 15 inch long. 2 guys brought their boat to shore. Said they caught their limits of 12 3/4 to 15" crappie and put them on ice. The game warden checked them. The fish were 12 1/8 to 14 1/2 inch. They learned that ice will shrink crappie, I've known that for years.

Crappie fishing hasn't been good this year. 4 trips to Sardis lake, 12 keepers with over 200 throwbacks. 3 trips to Enid lake, no keepers with over 200 throwbacks. I'm doing better in the spillway area of these lakes since there isn't a 12" size limit. Sardis has a lower lake so that's were I'm fishing from a kayak.

Dad bought 3 coke flats of ammo and reloads from an estate sale years ago, 38spl and 9mm. All the cases were green and some of the corrosion had grown together. It had been stored under a house for years. He sat the trays on the top shelf of a closet for over a year before doing anything with them. 1st was to tumble them in walnut media with dryer sheets for 6 hours. Some needed a 2nd tumbling. At the range we found the rounds were weak, but no squibs and most of the cases cracked. He pulled the bullets from the bad looking cases, most broke in half leaving part of the case on the bullet. He tried running them through a sizing die to remove the case. Nope, he loaded some with brass jackets that shot fine.

I was in the area so I drove across the levy to the pond where the Grand Casino use to sit. The guy pulled his stringer up and left, 4 giant crappie. I look in the back seat, wife had cleaned my truck out. 17 miles to my house then back. Not a bite in 3 hours. I've been back 5 times without a bite. Yesterday there was water across the road heading to The Willows.

At an auction a seller had single hen blow up decoys that sold for $8. A triple pack 1 tom 2 hens sold for $10, I bought 3. I've seen flocks in the area but the land owners won't reply to my calls.

Use spent dryer sheets before throwing them out. As the media ages add more sheets. I'm using 8 in 5 year old media. It takes about 3 hours to clean brass instead of an hour. Walnut media for cleaning brass, corncob with Nu Finish to polish.

I look for concerts. This one is 1:29:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe7jMEpnVmc

I saw it Tuesday while getting my second vaccine shoot. Didn't know who it was for and didn't ask. I get an email report daily from the state health department that shows the number of new cases reported the day before. Scroll down and click in the data link for county's total numbers. I started recording those numbers on a calendar starting November 1, 2020. Since the vaccine has started the numbers are dropping. We aren't out of the woods yet. Wear your mask, take your zinc, C, B12, D3, aspirin and a cold pill daily. If you feel sick, take something for it. If bad enough get tested or see a doctor. I don't see this stuff going away in the near future.

Prayers sent.