Headspace
 

Looking for suggestions on forming brass in a chamber that has a little excessive headspace.

Should I lightly oil the Brass to blow the shoulder forward when firing instead of ruining my brass with that dreaded incipient-case-head-separation-ring around the case.

Any pointers from those with experience is appreciated. It is not real bad so reworking the barrel is not where I am intending to go with this.

RE: Headspace
 

They say, use bulleye and cream of wheat. I have never tried it. If its so bad you almost get case head separation, its definatley too bad.

RE: Headspace
 

mike bellm of bellm's custom tc"s suggests using a very slow burning powder so as to fill the case to a point were a bullet seated out to touch the lands of the rifle will compress the powder charge.what this does is to stop the forward movement of the cartridge in the chamber after being struck by the firing pin.this allows the shoulder to blow forward after ignition instead of the casehead blowing back causing insipient rings in front of the case head.just start off working the load up to make sure the powder is slow enough to not cause pressure problems. i hope i explained this well enough.if not let me know.

RE: Headspace
 

I guess I'm not sure how close to getting separation I am, but there is a consistent ring just above the base of the cartridge. I did cut one apart and there is a slight thinning of the brass in the ring area.

I think I will be fine if I can blow the shoulder forward on the first firing and not full length resize.

I was reading Ackley's #1 manual last night on pressure and he touched on lightly oiling the case - as it relates to bolt pressure. I have never done that. I would think I may want a reduced load since the pressure on the bolt face would go up considerably if the brass is not sealing itself in the chamber when fired, but it should allow the shoulder to be moved forward. Thanks for the Bullseye and Cream of wheat idea. I'll ask around and see if I can find someone who has done it. Definitely going to ask more questions first.

RE: Headspace
 

if you seat the bullets out to touch the lands the back of the case head will be pushing on the bolt face. slow burning powders will not create enough pressure if the powder is slow burning enough.
when the firing pin contacts the primer it pushes the cartridge forward till the shoulder contacts the chamber. firing pin force is enough to slide the case neck over the bullet until the shoulder contacts the chamber and detonation occurs. by using a compressed charge with slow bulky powder the case cannot slide over the bullet as the compressed powder charge won't allow it.the case head will remain on the bolt face and the expansion will be in the shoulder area blowing forward as it now has room to move.

RE: Headspace
 

I'd have the barrel turned back a touch and be done with it. Why treat the symptoms and not the cause?

Is it just me, or does seating so that the cartridge headspaces by jamming the bullet into the rifling sound like a really bad idea no matter what powder you use. Secondly, there aren't too many powders that will allow one to do this at all, let alone in a rifle with excessive headspace, and I doub't you'd find tested load data for this stunt. The result would probably be a gross overcharge compounded by the bullet being jammed into the rifling, which is a recipe for disaster, IMO.

Mike

RE: Headspace
 

Yea, thats one bad setup with another and another. I will take a headspace job any day.

RE: Headspace
 

If the brass is thinning, headspace IS excessive and the rifle MUST be repaired. Anything else is inviting disaster, personal injury, the loss of a rifle, and your dog drinking toilet water.

RE: Headspace
 

some of the top benchrest shooters in the country shoot with their bullets touching the lands of their rifles.reference any of the precision shooter compilings dealing with benchrest accuracy.
when fire forming wildcat cartridges, proper case dimensions to mirror chamber dimensions can only be achieved this way as there are no factory cases to start with.
if you use extremely slow burning powders (slow for the cartridge you are using) you can use compressed loads safely. BUT, you should always work up loads slowly checking for pressure signs.
the only problem i could see is if you are shooting large capacity cases that demand the slowest burning powders to begin with.

RE: Headspace
 

I want no part of oiled cartridges, and I don't like bullets contacting the lands when I chamber a round, Silly of me, but that's the way I am.
First, a question. Have you ACTUALLY checked the headspace on the rifle? Does it close on a no-go? Does it close on a field gage? If it closes on a field, I would set the barrel back and be done with it. If it closes on a no-go, try expanding the case necks to the next larger caliber, them resize in a properly adjusted sizing die, and set the shoulder back just enough to chamber. There, you have just adjusted the brass to the chamber length. You will still have a barrel with excessive headspace, but your brass will be adjusted to the excess length, effectively equaling a properly dimensioned chamber.