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Post by battis on Mar 10, 2016 11:58:03 GMT -5
I have an old set of .401 dies and some fired .35 Rem brass. I cut the .35 Rem brass to length (1.45" - 1.50") and ran one through the FL sizing die. Everything went well until I got to the bottom of the case - the brass formed a belt. I don't have a lathe but I could use a drill press and a file. Is this common?
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Post by blackbahart on Mar 11, 2016 2:20:27 GMT -5
yes it is part of the forming process .I did try the 35 rem brass and found them labor intensive and stopped after a few cases.Did more research and found 414 supermag from starline which only required the rim to be trimmed and the extractor grove enhanced,But was more costly .I then traded the remaining 35rem for some 762x39 brass and this is the easiest and cheapest brass I found to convert.
Just run them into the sizing die and a wee belt will form easily removed with a lathe or file and a drill presss.Anneal the case ,prime and use a small chargeof 700x and pack with toilet paper and fire form .then reload
I an sure other people do things differently ,this is what I found the easiest for me Cheers Peter
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Post by battis on Mar 11, 2016 6:24:00 GMT -5
It took some time to form the case from .35 Rem, that's for sure. That's quite a belt that formed. I also formed a case from a .30-30 case, and that was almost too easy - just cut to length and reduce the rim. I don't have bullets yet - they're on the way from Western Bullets (sized to .406"). The cases made from .35 Rem and .30-30 chambered and ejected perfectly, but having bullets in them will be the test. I found a source of cases made from 414 Mag brass - the prices are good (and tempting) since I don't have a lathe. I'll look around for some 7.62x39. Thanks for the info.
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Post by blackbahart on Mar 11, 2016 10:38:16 GMT -5
I have used 210gr .410 (41 mag bullets) and have had no measureable difference over the crony with the 762x39 brass.The difference of.004 in diameter made no difference in my rifle .
In the late 80s way before I got the internet I used to purchase factory 41 rem mag ammo and turn down the rim only on the live ammo to fit the magazine.Did not enhance the extractor grove.My rifle shot and ejected every round ,but only after I got the internet this practice was deemed NOT ADVISABLE and I then went out to make proper ammo .The moded 41 rem mag ammo cronied at 1580-1610 fps and my formed purpose built ammo on the 7.62 brass and .410 bullets does 1940-50 fps ,and sized .406 bullets same case and charge also 1940-50 fps.
I was lucky to be interested in the wsl rifles before they became worth anything and have a hoard of them which wouldnt happen today at current pricing .Was just missing the shotguns but now have 2 thanks to the internet Cheers Peter
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Post by battis on Mar 11, 2016 11:52:56 GMT -5
I replaced the springs and buffers in the .35 and .351 without any trouble, but I'm having a hard time with the .401. In the .35 and .351, the buffers were more exposed and easy to get at - in the .401, as you know, the cylinder has to go in before the spring. Have you devised a method to install the cylinder and bolt spring?
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Post by blackbahart on Mar 11, 2016 12:15:05 GMT -5
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Post by battis on Mar 11, 2016 15:00:08 GMT -5
The problem with the .401 is that you have to put the buffer cylinder in place before you can put the spring in; in the 35 and 351, I put the spring in then slid it back and installed the buffers. I think I might have figured out how to retract the spring in the bolt before I put it in place.
What did Henwood mean when he said, "Model 1910 rifles use a cupped "buffer pocket" at the rear, and a shaped washer at the front."?
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Post by battis on Mar 11, 2016 18:29:56 GMT -5
I threaded a nut on the end of a cleaning rod and slid the spring from the other end. Then I inserted the cleaning rod into the removed bolt and pulled it as far back as it would go. I dropped a small piece of metal into a hole I had drilled in the cleaning rod to lock it all in place. I put the buffer cylinder in place on the barrel top and dropped the bolt over it. From the post behind the buffer cylinder, I slid a piece of rod through the hole. I released the cleaning rod and spring (pulled the locking rod out of the drilled hole), and the nut on the end of it pushed up against the buffer cylinder. I unscrewed the nut and removed it so that the end of the cleaning rod and spring were now against the cylinder. I backed the cleaning rod out and pushed the piece of thin rod forward (from behind the cylinder post) to engage the spring and hold it in place. I pulled the cleaning rod out and replaced it with the bolt guide rod. Sounds easy - it wasn't. Here's the kicker - this was just practice. I don't have the new buffers yet.
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Post by blackbahart on Mar 11, 2016 22:07:17 GMT -5
I reloaded the pics to the link ,looks like the previous host killed the pics .The pics are back up to show what I was talking about Peter
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Post by battis on Mar 13, 2016 15:31:18 GMT -5
I made up 3 dummy rounds - no primers or powder. The bullets are sized to .406.
30-30 brass: turned down the rim slightly, trimmed to length. It chambered fine. .35 Rem brass: removed the "belt", trimmed to length. Also chambered fine. 7.62x39 brass: removed the slight "belt", the length was fine, but it would not chamber at all. I tried 2 more and they would not chamber. The body of the case towards the head/rim is too thick.
The .35 Rem looked the best. The 30-30 and 7.62x39 looked like a snake trying to swallow a rat. I'll try live rounds next week. I found a vendor online who makes the brass out of .414 Supermag - tempting at $1.00 each, unless I get my own .414 Supermag brass and it doesn't need the ejector groove cut.
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