It’s been a couple of weeks since the last update but I have been busy in the reloading room. It has been nice to be able to spend some time back at the reloading bench and cranking out some ammunition. There really are two types of handloaders in this world, the first is the guy or gal who handloads just to spend more time at the range, and then there is the gal, or guy who spends time at the range so they can handload.
The older I get, the more I find myself to be the latter rather than the former. I just enjoy handloading. It is the repetitive process of it that I find to be somewhat soothing, and mind-calming. since it’s been a few weeks I’ll share some updates on a few loads I have been working on.
338 Spectre – 300gr SMK Subsonic
I am going to admit, I am a bit frustrated with this load right now. I do like the 338 Spectre because I think the cartridge has a lot of potential as a utility cartridge. A cartridge that allows you to basically shoot everything from super heavy subsonic bullets to light for caliber rounds. All in a handy AR-15 platform.
At least that is the idea and it’s an idea that works well when it works. Right now, I am having issues getting the rifle to run as I want it. To provide a bit of context, I bought the barrel for the rifle and completed the build about six years ago. However, since finishing the rifle I probably put less than 25rnds total down the barrel. Even then I had a few issues. However, circumstances did not allow me to really figure out what was going on.
Now I am digging into it. I am using 12.0gr of CFE BLK with a COAL of 2.250in. The rifle has very unreliable cycling. Even when cycling dummy rounds. Something is preventing the bolt from closing all the way and it’s not consistent. I made up some dummy rounds to check to see if the COAL was hanging up anywhere, I have tried different mags. Nothing seems to make sense.
If that was the only issue, I probably would not be as frustrated. The other issues, I have are off-center primer strikes (Usually not a problem in ARs) a single-pierced primer, which
could be a warning sign of excessive pressure, and lastly cracks on the brass that runs the length of the case. Sometimes when you have a lot of issues with a project it is good to step away and rethink things for a moment. The bolt does close about 95% of the way but you need to use the forward assist to close it the rest of the way, not ideal.
I think my next step will be to strip down the rifle and recheck everything. At this point I am thinking the ammunition, for the most part, is not solely responsible for everything I am seeing. If it was possible for me to get a box of SBR 338 Spectre ammo to test in the rifle I might, but they are sold out. Even still there is a good shot I email them for suggestions. I have never seen a case crack like the length of the body, so I am convinced there is something going on here that may not be entirely ammunition-related.
It’s a rifle I built, I am somewhat determined to get it purring like a kitten before I am done with it. Ultimately I’d like to provide some data for people looking to load for this cartridge as some of the data out there is a bit hard to read and is suspect.
45 ACP – 170gr Cast Hi-Tek Coated Target Loads
This is another project that has been a long time in the making. It started around the same time the 338 Spectre build did and then due to the very same circumstances, got shelved. I di pick it up about two years ago to start casting bullets and to play with the Hi-Tek Coatings but then again due to changes in employment and moves it got delayed. Well, we are finally here.
Some of this project has been detailed in previous write-ups. ( Hi-Tek Coating, Lee Die Issues) There have been a few challenges with this project. Namely, the mold was supposed to produce 155gr bullets not 170gr, (this could be alloyed related), learning how
to do the Hi-Tek coating was a bit of a process, and then having issues sizing them through the Lee Sizing Die really presented an unexpected challenge. I tried mixing up my own blend of Isopropyl Alcohol, Castor Oil, and Liquid Lanolin, which helped but still was not ideal.
Ultimately what broke this project loose was an opportunity to try ad new product developed to specifically solve this issue. That was AquaLube 3000, the kit can be purchased here. Very simple to mix up and it was a dry lubricant. Sizing the bullets was a breeze. I really am impressed by how big of a difference it made when sizing the Hi-Tek coated bullets. Just to give it the best chances at failing I purchased a brand new Lee Sizing die that had not been polished. Yet, it passed with flying colors. I am going to do a separate write-up on this later but, thanks to Mike for turning me on to this solution.
Since a good portion of my brass inventory is currently sitting in Texas, I co-worker of mine “lent” me about 750 pieces of 45 brass. I was very glad to receive it until I looked and saw most of it had crimped pockets. Since it was the only brass I had, I spent several hours swaging out primer pockets to rescue the brass from the scrap bin. I could have cut the swage out but used the RCBS on the Press Swaging tool because I had it, and I needed to do some testing on some new soon to be released product. So it was long and tedious, but I killed two birds with one stone.
Once the swaging was done, the sizing wax needed to be cleaned out of the primer pockets, so into the tumbler it went, and it came out excellent
pockets, so into the tumbler it went, and it came out excellent. 5lbs of Stainless Steel media, 1 gallon of water, 750 pieces of 45 Brass, about 3 capfuls of Frankford Arsenal Cleaner, and about 2hrs. Honestly, if you like your brass neat and shiny, wet tumbling and SS is about the only way to go. I only complain that my OCD necessitates I do a close inspection of the brass to make sure I don’t send SS pins down my barrel.
When developing pistol loads, I generally load for the economy. I am not loading the fastest, hottest load I can get. Rather I am usually looking for the lightest load that will reliably cycle both of my 45 pistols. A light bullet and a light powder charge are one way to do this, and I loaded these extremely light. Now, there are dangers in doing this, you open yourself up to the possibility of a squib load, or you can double charge a case and cause extremely high pressures. So you should be away of these dangers. A double charge of Bulleyes in this load will not get me above SAAMI Min Proof Individual, in fact, it’s quite close to +P pressures. Given both of my pistols and suppressors are rated for +P I have some margin of safety should there be a double charge.
I ended up settling on 4.5gn of Bullseye, which was enough to cycle both my MK23 and my HK45CT unsuppressed. The pistols cycled the loads suppressed as well. This makes for a fun day at the range of leisurely target shooting. When I get the velocity data, I will publish the loads in my load database. I am expecting the velocity to be around 650 to 700fps based on QuickLOAD estimates. I also find QuickLOAD to be optimistic so it would not surprise me to see that these bullets are dribbling out of the barrel at a measly 600fps.
Still with that said it will be nice to have a 50 Cal full of 45 ACP that I can haul around and have on hand for impromptu plinking. Something I used to do quite a bit but have had far less time to do as of late. I need to get some range time in to see how these loads do on paper and I’ll likely post another update after I have that figured out.
On to Other Things
Lots of other stuff going on in the world. Probably the most notable for me has been following the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. I really do not want to get into the particulars of the case. I do want to draw attention to the prosecution. Something that really stood out to me was how just about anything could be used against you.
This means we need to be very thoughtful about what we do. If we carry a firearm, how is it carried, what types of accessories do we have on it? For example, I have seen a lot of people put cute little Punisher backing plates on their Glock slides. I have talked to handloaders who “Roll their own” +P+++++ ammunition. Other people like to carry ammunition that is rather “Extreme” in design and does not follow the conventional Hollow Point design.
My point is not to tell you what to do have on your firearms or what to load your firearms with. That is a personal decision and is something you will likely decide on regardless. My only point is, if you are involved in a self defense shoot, it’s already a bad day. If for some reason you need to go to court and defend yourself over the shoot, it’s going to be a bad 18 months. If you give the prosecution all kinds of reasons to make you look like the worse, most blood thirty human being possible, it could be a bad life sentence.
Always think about how it will look to a jury. Remember that Jury is probably going to have very little firearms knowledge. Usually, people who do, are weeded out by the prosecution as part of jury selection. Always think, lowest common denominator, the person who has a high school education, and likely has seen a mixture of Law and Order SVU, super hero movies, played lots of Call of Duty, and probably has no idea what the difference is between FMJ and Hollow Point.
Anyway, that’s what I have for this week. As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at jay@theballisticassistant.com. You may check us out on Parler, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database, the instructions are here.
As always, shoot straight and stay safe!
The Ballistic Assistant