Made my first batch of 12g reloads last month; shot a bunch, all went bang.
Took some to 3g camp today & found numerous (not all) shells domed at the crimp. Seem the folds are not staying flat. The 8-folds are unfolding; the 6-folds seem to be holding their shape pretty well.
These are not "overloaded; i.e. it's not the shot column not allowing the crimp to get flat nor pushing the crimp upward. (I figure this b/c I can crimp 'em back down w/o much trouble.) I think it's just the "memory" in the plastic relaxing part way back to its uncrimped state.
I used a Lee Loadall for these. I did learn to keep a fold toward the front (per the distructions) so that the new crimp followed the existing fold pattern. I held the final crimp action for 2 - 5 seconds, though how consistently it is impossible to say. I did not "skive" nor condition the hulls before reloading.
So, what are the possible/probably cause(s) and fix(es)? Would warming the hulls up with a conical bit in a drill (conditioning) help? I recall reading that skiving is mostly for virgin shell cases, but I could get a bit for that too if it would work.
Took some to 3g camp today & found numerous (not all) shells domed at the crimp. Seem the folds are not staying flat. The 8-folds are unfolding; the 6-folds seem to be holding their shape pretty well.
These are not "overloaded; i.e. it's not the shot column not allowing the crimp to get flat nor pushing the crimp upward. (I figure this b/c I can crimp 'em back down w/o much trouble.) I think it's just the "memory" in the plastic relaxing part way back to its uncrimped state.
I used a Lee Loadall for these. I did learn to keep a fold toward the front (per the distructions) so that the new crimp followed the existing fold pattern. I held the final crimp action for 2 - 5 seconds, though how consistently it is impossible to say. I did not "skive" nor condition the hulls before reloading.
So, what are the possible/probably cause(s) and fix(es)? Would warming the hulls up with a conical bit in a drill (conditioning) help? I recall reading that skiving is mostly for virgin shell cases, but I could get a bit for that too if it would work.