Gas Check depth seating

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  • Last Post 15 December 2018
tlkeizer posted this 13 December 2018

Greetings,

After nearly finishing shooting at those silly coyotes using cast bullets from other CBA members, I am seriously considering getting some molds for rifles other than my 45-70.  Reading results of matches in The Fouling Shot, and other posts here in the forum, gas checks hold their own in subject matter.  However, I did not find any writings on how deep the seating of the checked bullet in the case affects bullets with gas checks (I may have just not seen the articles).  Are there problems with gas checks staying on the bullet if the base of the bullet is down beyond the neck?  How much do gas checks in the neck vs gas checks below the neck affect accuracy?  Will a long bullet with a gas check below the neck have problems with the gas check staying on when the cartridge is fired?  I am interested in what shooters experienced in this area have to say.

I have seen results of gas checks coming off bullets, but they were residing somewhere in the neck on the bullet before being launched.  The barrel was not affected as the checks probably stayed with the base of the bullet until after coming out the barrel, but the checks sure marked up the chronograph (not my rifle, loads, nor chronograph; I was merely observing).

Thank You

TK

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M3 Mitch posted this 13 December 2018

I have always read that having the gas check even with the base of the neck, or further out, generally gives better accuracy, but have not seen any real data to prove that.  The Hornady style gas check that crimps on, in my experience, stays on the bullet even after impact.

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onondaga posted this 13 December 2018

I was concerned about dangling checks when I began loading cast for .308 Win. I solved the problem by loading flat nose bullets, they are shorter, especially wide flat nose bullets like the RanchDog 165 gr. that I use . I also load the Lee .309 FNGC but had to hone the mold to get them to fit. Another excellent hunting cast bullet mold is the Lee C312-185-1R that I hollow point after loading with a Forster large HP tool in a drill press. I load this 185 gr. sized to .311" in 30-06. My seating depth is with the bottom of the check halfway past end of the neck so about half of the check is in the neck.

Gary

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Scearcy posted this 13 December 2018

TK

I have never experienced any provable problem seating checks below the neck as M3Mitch said above.

I might suggest that you section a case down to the should and leave enough of the neck to seat a bullet. Usually the bottom of the neck is significantly lower than you think it is going to be.

Jim

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John Alexander posted this 13 December 2018

Mitch is right.

I don't think anybody has seen any valid evidence that this causes trouble and  a heck of a lot of shooters do it and don't worry about it. It was probably thought up by somebody with no understanding of three dimensional stress.

I believe it is one of the several bugaboos about shooting and especially CB shooting that build concern but never seem to produce and evidence to support the concern.

Quit worrying about it,and if you find shooting evidence that it hurts accuracy publish it here. It would be a good contribution to what we know.

John

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BigMan54 posted this 13 December 2018

I've never thought to worry about it.I have both LOVERIN and Conventional Gas Check Bullet molds in .30 & 7mm.

It seems all the cases I load are long necked:.30-06, .30-30 & 7X57 so I've never had to worry about seating the Gas Checks below the base of the neck.

The old Gold Colored slip on Gas Checks did fall off when they hit the backstop.

Never even thought about .38-55 or .45-70 with gas checks. The new crimp on, DO STAY ON. 

Heck if I don't think about it, I sure can't worry about it.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Ross Smith posted this 14 December 2018

I (we) usually are more concerned about seating the bullet out far enough.

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Mike H posted this 14 December 2018

In my .308 Brno 601,the bullets I mostly use,RCBS 180 SP or 150 SP, protrude into the interiør of the case to allow chambering,the only problem with that is once the bullet clears the neck/shoulder junction it isn’t as firm in the neck and will go back further into the case body when loading from the magazine and recoil also tends to affect the fit.To handle this problem,I give the load a Lee Factory Crimp,seems to work well for me.

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cfp4570 posted this 14 December 2018

My limited experience mirrors that of Mike H. In my .300 Savage 99, with the moulds I have on hand, the short neck of the case will not allow seating bullets with the gas check in the neck. I also use a modified .308 Winchester Lee factory crimp die when loading from the magazine in this rifle to prevent bullets from being shoved back into the case upon cycling. I have never worried about the gas checks being in the powder space and I make my own checks from aluminum, so they are definitely not crimp-on. They do, however, fit very tightly.

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Eutectic posted this 14 December 2018

When I was at the range in Miami one of the other shooters found a gas check in his fired case. This did not worry me because I was shooting an 06 with a nice long neck. Later, when I bought a 308, I worried because some of my bullets seated  down in the powder space. I looked carefully when shooting the 308, but never had this happen and I was using slip on gas checks. I think it CAN happen with Lyman gas checks which are very loose on some bullets, however I do not think it happens on firing. I think it probably happens when the rounds are handled roughly and the gas check falls off inside the case before firing.

If it worries you, use Hornady checks which crimp on. They do however introduce their own problems 

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BigMan54 posted this 14 December 2018

Ross,

I seat out as far as the chamber allows, Which is a pain in the rear,when you have 4 different .30-06's. Glad there is FED, REM, WIN, HORN & G. I.  headstamped brass.

I think LYMAN sells crimp on gas checks they buy from HORNADY, these days. 

 

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Ross Smith posted this 15 December 2018

1Me too big. I thought you had hibernated for the winter cuz its below 70 degrees where you live.

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