Finally Finished My >338 Gas Check Die

did some mods to my orignal check maker...enlarged the skirt area and was able to heat treat the punch and die body. it's cutting some pretty good checks as you can see in the photo. all metal used was scrap 3/4" cold rolled stock. now that i obtained a .30 cal mold i guess now i will have to make another .30 caliber gas check die.
Rick

Nice.... you do quality work Rick....

Looks nice Rick. Does it cut and form all in one motion or is it 2 seperate operations?

Wow thats freakin awesome man. Im lovin it!

yea thats nice work there what materal are you using is that roofing tin??

eagle60,
this is a freechex style die...one pull of the handle one gas check....dartfreak75...i am using .008 roofing tin that was purchased years ago just laying around looking fora job.
Rick

http://www.datafilehost.com/download-c7a0815b.html

will you be making any for sale? I have never had the need for gas checks until 2 weeks ago when I bought a .309 Lee mold for my 30-30.

Awesome Rick. Thanks for the link.

here's a little update... since i extended the skirt on the check forming die even using .008" thick aluminum flashing i am now able to crimp the check onto the base of the bullet much tighter. the next time out to the range will see if this helps with better accuracy.
xbonesx,
if i don't get back to work soon i just might have to start making check dies for some added income. the one i have now is for use on a drill press or arbor only. if i make any to sell they will be made to work with one's re-loading press. if and when i start you will be #1 on the list.... what caliber do you need one for?? HTH the bullets in the photo are step 1 of 2 times tumble lubed with alox mixed with johnson paste wax run through a Lee push sizer that i had to open from there .329 sizer as Lee does not make one in .338 dia...HTH
Rick

Rick,
would like to line up when you decide to sell them.... 30 cal, 45 (.452), 357

that would do me...

kcatto wrote:Rick,
would like to line up when you decide to sell them.... 30 cal, 45 (.452), 357

that would do me...

ok kcato you will be #2
Rick

#2 dang that line formed quick!!! hehehe

here they are all loaded up in .338/06 fire formed cases standing at attention and waiting for orders dog hairs and all....Beautiful Little Soldiers.
Rick

that is a nice little battalion you got there...

id like to have one in .357-.358 so i could cast for my 35 rem and load some cast 38+p i got a quetions is the roofing tin too abrasive would it damage the riflings? just a thought tin is pretty hard compared to copper but this again so is brass and im using them for jackets lol just wondering!?

i have shot over 300 rounds through my Rem Mod 30 using gas checks that i have made from aluminum flashing and see no ill effects in the barrel. just make sure that you have lubed the gas check well. what i do after i clean any barrel that i use cast bullets is to take a swab after cleaning the barrel and put some Lee alox on it and swab the bore with it. it coats the barrel and also keeps rust out. cheap and inexpensive method. HTH
Rick

Rick459 wrote: i have shot over 300 rounds through my Rem Mod 30 using gas checks that i have made from aluminum flashing and see no ill effects in the barrel. just make sure that you have lubed the gas check well. what i do after i clean any barrel that i use cast bullets is to take a swab after cleaning the barrel and put some Lee alox on it and swab the bore with it. it coats the barrel and also keeps rust out. cheap and inexpensive method. HTH
Rick

good tip rick.... do you run a clean patch through before you shoot or just let the first few rounds remove the lee alox?

no i just shoot it. the lube helps those first bullets on the way down the barrel. i do the same in my rolling block with it's 30" barrel with the BAC lube on them. using this method i find no leading in my longer barrels. that cheap Lee alox does work. but i also add johnson paste wax to help it dry faster. HTH
Rick

good idea.... i like lee alox....

Now that is nice work Rick.

Various sellers on Ebay have been selling various gas checks made from roofing tin which is mostly aluminium.

Not sure on the bore wear problem but there have been thousands of aluminium gas checked bullets shot on the Cast Boolits forum and I have not heard anything about bore wear yet.

If you search the Cast Boolits forum there have been some real doozy discussions on the pros & cons of the roofing tin vs. (insert whatever metal).

People have used pop cans, hobby sheet metal found at places like Michael's & Craft Mart, various sheeting from the home improvement stores like Lowes & Home Depot, and even old advertising signs.

I am glad to see someone else likes the .338/06. I have a commercial CZ Mauser 98 in .338/06 AI that I love. Stoked with a fav pet load pushing 225 gr Nosler Partitions it is not far behind my beloved .338 Win Mag.

I shoot a lot of .35 caliber pistol and rifle so I always look out for deals in the .35 bore.

I shoot a .35 Rem T/C Contender, as well as .357 Rem Max, and .357 Herrett all in pistol barrels.

I also have an old mil surp VZ-24 that is in .35 Brown-Whelen. Fireforming is a pain as I have to buy commerical .35 Whelen brass from places like Quality Cartridge and then fireform to get the shoulders to move forward. Necking up either .270 or 30/06 brass leaves me with about 11% failure rate as the necks split and crack.

I used to use cheap lead bullets to fireform but the outdoor range close to me has banned lead so either I need to find cheap jacketed bullets or find another place to shoot.

I like to have a nice quantity on hand although after my family fiasco of this summer, my hunting this season is going to be heavily curtailed. So much for the central Commiefornia trip for feral pig for which I was loading non-tox .35 cal pig medicine.

just an update on my progress with the Lee 220 cast .338 bullet. so i have come to find out that using AA Data 74 powder that it shoots better in cold weather (below 80 degrees) than in hotter weather. the photo shows a five shot group with 40 grains of Data 74 powder. this same load shot in the summertime the group was larger.. so seeing i have 40 lbs. of this powder it will be my cast bullet powder for winter shooting oh yes.. the bullet hole on the left is the first cold bore shot.....stay tuned...
Rick

Rick459 wrote: the photo shows a five shot group with 40 grains of Data 74 powder.

Good group! Was this at 100 yards?

that is a seriously tight group there.... very nicely done....

awsome groups thats amazing

EdgarEg wrote:

Rick459 wrote: the photo shows a five shot group with 40 grains of Data 74 powder.

Good group! Was this at 100 yards?

yes distance was at 100 yds.
Rick