223 problems

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

I shot 2 different loads this weekend.

a 55gr fmjbt one loaded with 24 grains varget the other same bullet but 25.5 grains.

the heavier charge has been cleaned 4X longer and is still dirty furthermore it has a line of tarnish in the same spot on all shells. I've managed to tumble it off in one of them but this seems odd.

I am now tumbling it 6X longer than normal in hopes to remove a surface defect. or is my problem deeper than the surface?

my load data has a nice saftey margin , I'm at least .5 grain away from the max recomended charge.

I did clean alot of copper fouling out of my gun that has been building up for the past 2 years I did that after I shot this weekend.

out of the lighter charge 2/120 show these signs. out of the heavy charge 8/10 show these signs.

anybody see this before??

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

Is it dirty on the inside or outside? i assume its outside. do you have any unfired "hot" loads left? get the calipers out and measure the empties vs the unfired and see if the shoulder is still the same spot. maybe the shoulder is back a little too far and the gas is coming back into the chamber and sort of annealing the top of the cartridge?!?!?!

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

it is dirty on the outside. I decided the safest thing to do is to condem those pices of brass and my new hot load will be 1 grain lighter than my hot loads but 1/2 grain heavier than my current loads.

it doesn't look like what i hear is headspace separation but it is not good whatever it is