SmallCaliberCentral

hozz57: Not sure how many days you will be popping PD's, but you may want to plan for 300 rounds per day if the shooting is good. It's possible to shoot more, but if you clean your barrel in the field as I do to prevent copper/carbon buildup, it is no problem to expend 300 rounds at cooperative dogs, and more if you don't clean (perish the thought!)

It's better to haul ammo home, than to run out and pout all the way home. Been there, done that.

hozz57 wrote:
My first Pdogging trip ever will be in 2 weeks up in northern Az. I've got a 150 loaded and 250 to go. I can't wait to see what all this work has accomplished.

You need more loaded ammo. I don't go for the 4-7 hours here...unless have have 800 for three rifles (total of 800 rounds).

I guess I better go buy another bag of Rem brass although from what I 'm told, the Pdogs here in AZ aren't as plentiful as in the northern regions.
My 11 year old daughter will be shooting her Savage .17HMR but knowing her she'll be pestering me to shoot the .204. She is deadly with it out at the range shooting the fake Pdogs at 300 yds. I see a new .204 on the horizon and me spending all my free time loading.

Anyway, getting back to the thead have you guys tried the norma brass. Also what are some of the seated neck dimensions you are getting with the different brass? I got .225" with the norma and .2275" with the Rem brass.

hozz57

I'm surprised with your seated neck diameter of .225. My Norma brass is .012 out of the box. If I didn't neck turn that would be .012 + .012 + .204 = .228. I neck turn mine, because I have a tight neck (.228) chamber, to .011. That makes my loaded neck diameter .011 + .011 + .204 = .226. This gives me .001 clearance all the way around the case neck for release. On a factory chamber I don't turn the Norma or Nosler brass because they are a consistent thickness all the way around the neck. If you turn them thinner than .012 you might be setting yourself up for some split necks. The brass will expand more if you turn it for a chamber that isn't tight necked and could split. Measure your brass after firing and add about .001 to that to get an approximation of your chamber neck diameter. You don't want to be streatching those case necks too much.

On the other brass I have a box of Hornady brass that measures .016 thick. I don't mind turning these because they are not uniform all the way around the neck and they are thick enough to turn. Some of my other brass measures .013 and I neck turn them also just enough to clean up the high spots.

Skipper
I measured again and came up with the same thing. I did turn that norma brass and may have removed too much. I was trying to just clean them up which they didn't need but I only "shined them up". I have fired them twice now since then with no split necks, this measurement is on the third reloading of this brass. Same thing with the Rem brass its been fired a bunch of times now.

Here is the perfect place to show you guys this. I unscrewed my Mic rod and ground a chamfer on the tip with a Diamond wheel.(A diamomd wheel is needed if the rod has a carbide tip.)I left about .05 flat on the tip. This allows me to measure my case necks up to the shoulder not just the mouth rim .

Good job Mike.....anybody would think you worked in a machine shop!

I never could figure out why the mic makers always put flat ends on tubing/neck mic's. Do they think that nobody ever measures next to a radius? Go figure.....