RGs huntin' 2007

BulletFailureFragments3-08 003.jpg Tom's Sierra jacket test 3/08

R.G. Robinett — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:03:11 GMT

BulletFailureFragments3-08 003.jpg Tom's Sierra jacket test 3/08

Here's another view of the failed Sierra jacket - the jackets were not, as some would have us believe, the "cure". . . "peening" of the meplat is plainly visible. Popular belief is that Sierra jackets are "tougher" (perhaps slightly) and THICKER (absolutely NOT). Though both Sierra and J4 state that they use an alloy of 95% copper and 5% zink, the former are, in my experience, ALWAYS of a different coloration (comparatively "pink"), & ALWAYS of THINNER jacket wall construction. Since Sierra trims their jackets to length via a single point cut-off tool, the Sierras only "appear to be" thicker: the FULL cross-sectional area of the jacket wall is exposed. On the other hand, J4s are "pinch-trimmed" - the excess is stretched off - which creats a "knife" edge, thus the PERCEPTION of thinness. As a rule, comparable J4 jackets have invariably measured from 0.0005" to 0.001" THICKER than their Sierra counterparts: this amounts to, roughly, from 2.5 to 5%.

Does Sierra anneal their jackets? Subjectively, maybe - during point-up, they are invariably FEEL more malleable (softer). I have yet to encounter a Lot of Sierra jackets which featured less than 0.0003" TIR in the walls, while for J4s, this much run-out, while right at the upper [allowable] tolerance, is unusually "bad" - most J4s run at < 0.0002" TIR. Bottom-line: it was believed, by many, that the Sierra jackets would eliminate the bullets failures - NOT IN THIS BARREL, which is, at least, proving to be a good test platform.

However, via a pair of PacNor barrels, both chambered for the 6x47 LAPUA, by Mike Bigelow, Tom did, at Pierre, SD, win a 600 Yd. TWO Gun title, using "Moly Coated", Sierra jacketed, 109 Gr. BIB FB for the HG and "MC", J4 jacketd, 98 Gr. BIB FB during the LG - both, based upon roughly the same jacket length, shot quite well. More on "Moly-coating" later. RG

RG's '07 Pronghorn joins the Mule deer herd . . .

R.G. Robinett — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:56:35 GMT

RG's '07 Pronghorn joins the Mule deer herd . . .

Ankeny, IA taxidermist, Brad Coulson, finished his work on my 2007 Antelope , which Donna and I picked up yesterday - this one is has a "show quality" cape and mount - though Brad had a couple of BIGGER "goats" ready to go also, this one, despite ," just respectable" horns, literally "blew the doors off" of the others! I thought Brad was just, "making sales talk", when he had , over the phone, told me how exceptional the cape is . . . wow - for a 14&5/8ths inch goat, I'm impressed. I had opted to shoot this particular goat for several reasons - mostly because, from every angle, he "looked good" and I decided he'd make a pretty mount . . it turns out that, for once, I guessed right! :) RG

Rg&MikeBigelowCalledCoyote2-8-08 003.jpg

R.G. Robinett — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:58:28 GMT

Rg&MikeBigelowCalledCoyote2-8-08 003.jpg

Here's a coyote, called and shot on 2/8/08, while hunting with Mike Bigelow! Thanks for taking me along and giving me the gravy, Mike! :)

The rifle is my old Rem. 722, trued by Stan Ware, featuring Stan's one-piece, full-length bolt sleeve. Al Nyhus did the pillar bedding, using a McMillan Hunter Rifle graphite &kevlar stock. Yours truly did the chambering and fitting , using a Henriksen .204 Ruger reamer, to cut the PacNor 1:12" twist SS Match barrel. The load used on this adventure was a "case-full" of Accurate 2700, ignited by a CCR-BR4 primer, propelling a 40 Gr. Hornady V-Max as something over 3800 FPS. A heart-shot resulted in a knock-down, followed by a regained footing and spinning about session, then permant sleep - maybe three seconds elapsed - the V-Max did not exit.

#9 - Close-up B&A clone. . .

R.G. Robinett — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:34:35 GMT

#9 - Close-up B&A clone. . .

In this view, the micrometer punch adjustment feature of the B&A clone is observable - this feature accommodates changing a set-up, doing another job, then returning to EXACTLY the same set-up - a GREAT feature! Each graduation on the thimble represents 0.002" of movement. These B&A clones have PLENTY of leverage for making 6MM and smaller caliber bullets. RG

#8 - Ulrich&MiesterB&A clone#1.jpg

R.G. Robinett — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:24:10 GMT

#8 - Ulrich&MiesterB&A clone#1.jpg

This is one of the excellent Biehler&Astels horizontal bullet-swaging press clones, made by George Ulrich& Ed Miester: especially for core-seating, I have found no better performer. IN fact, my sole complaint with these presses (I own two of them) is that, for pointing thirty-caliber bullets, they are lacking in leverage - but then again, so is every other press I've tried! ;) This particular press, complete with a W.B. Niemi Engineering carbide core-seating die and Niemi punch, has been dedicated to seating cores for the 118 Gr. BIB bullets, for several years; it performs flawlessly and, for this operation, is very fast and easy to operate. RG

P.S. Mrs. Biehler and Astels invented the swaging-up, single cavity method of bullet making - around 1948 - which we still use today! My initial set of bullet swaging dies was a set of B&A .224 Caliber dies, which made excellent bullets. Regrettably, when I obtained the excellent Rorschach [carbide].224 die-set from Mike Prokosch, I sold the B&As.

#7 -Core-cutter Close-up: "open ". . .

R.G. Robinett — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:53:39 GMT

#7 -Core-cutter Close-up: "open ". . .

This somewhat redundant view shows the cutter ready to cut - a stick of wire is inserted into the hole, stopped by the micrometer post and the cutter is cycled until the stick is cut into slugs. The plastic "tickler", which brushes the cut cores, thus eliminating any binding in the guied, is just visible - as viewed, at the right edge of the wire port. Once completed, this operation will require only starting the end of a roll, then coming back when the machine shuts off at the end of the spool . . . well, that's the DREAM! ;) Currently, the sticks are garvity fed, which works quite well. RG

#6 - A CLOSE-up look at the reciprocating/sliding core-cutter . . .

R.G. Robinett — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:44:58 GMT

#6 - A CLOSE-up look at the reciprocating/sliding core-cutter . . .

Here, the "slide" is at the end of the stroke: the drill-rod guide is visible and the return piston (spring-loaded) is in the compressed mode. Also visible is the "tickler", which "brushes" the cut core, asuring that it drops out of the drill-rod bushing. The micrometer setting , though not necessary, makes resetting for various core lengths/weights easy and fast. This cutter produces STRAIGHT slugs of very uniform length, without deformation - none of the banana shapes or, "belled" ends caused by most "knife" type cutters.

#5 -CoreSeaterExplodedView . . . a slight jump ahead in the process . . .

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:38:35 GMT

#5 -CoreSeaterExplodedView . . . a slight jump ahead in the process . . .

Here, we see an "exploded" view of a W.B. Niemi Engineering core-seating die. At the top, is the die body, which consists of a "carbide" insert, which was press/shrunk fit into the tool steel, threaded body. These dies, like the original B&A swage-up dies, are threaded 7/8Thsx14 TPI, thus screw into any standard reloading press.

Below, from the left, are the working parts and materials: the reciprocating stop/ejection shaft; the guide/positive STOP "nut"; a spacer, which is used to "adjust" the stop depth (lengthen/shorten the stroke); the FIXED "collar" which is the primary shaft "stop", limiting the reciprocal range; a J4, thirty caliber, 0.925" long jacket; a formed core - in this case, for a 112 Gr. bullet; a W.B. Niemi core-seat punch - probably about .2695" in diameter (+/- 0.0005" would be the "normal" punch range for this combination of jacket and core VOLUME).

The correctly cored-jacket will have COMPLETELY filled the die cavity: this requires substantial pressure. At peak pressure, the fit between core length X diameter, jacket wall thickness, and punch diameter should accommodate a small, but uniform amount of lead to "bleed" around the punch, assuring that no air is trapped between the jacket and core, while the cored jacket is expanded-up to the full diameter of the die cavity. (Note: COMPLETELY full is not actually possible - a radius will always remain at the bullet heel.) Lacking a selection of punch diameters, one must then make a core length X diameter (thus weight) which "matches" the punch diameter and jacket wall thickness (this varies from jacket "Lot" to "Lot"). Within reason, actual bullet weight is the least critical attribute - except for recoil, there isn't any difference between 100 and 116 Gr. bullets . . . or, anything inbetween. RG

#4 - The business end of Whit's Core-Cutter . . .

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:23:06 GMT

#4 - The business end of Whit's Core-Cutter . . .

Here's the cutter end of my reciprocating core-cutter . . . In this instance, it's set-up to cut cores for the 112 Gr. thirty caliber bullets (.251" diameter wire), based upon the .925" long J4 jacket. As you can see, this is about as short a core length as this machine will handle. RG

#3 - Whit'sCoreCutter . . .

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:20:57 GMT

#3 - Whit'sCoreCutter . . .

This is an over-view of a core-cutter made for me by my Uncle, Ray "Whit" Whitmore. This clever design cuts SQUARE ended cores of very uniform weight: it employs a reciprocating, "sliding" cutter, driven by a hand or belt-driven wheel - hopefully, this cutter will soon be fully automated . . core cutting is BORING! ;) RG

#2 - The Ol'd reliable CH core-Cutter

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:13:08 GMT

#2 - The Ol'd reliable CH core-Cutter

Following CLEANING and straightening, the lead wire is cut into "slugs", for sawging (squirting/forming/etc.). In this pic, an old reliable C&H lead-wire cutter is set-up to cut 6MM slugs . . . RG

#1 - One of the first steps in bullet swaging - cutting the lead-wire . . .

R.G. Robinett — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 23:10:07 GMT

#1 - One of the first steps in bullet swaging - cutting the lead-wire . . .

Here's a spool of lead-wire, ready to cut into "sticks", prior to further cutting into "slugs", which will then be "squirted" (formed) into "cores". Core forming/swaging assures the most important attribute of bullet making - proper VOLUME and, less critically, but somewhat related, uniform weight. It is worth noting that, with alloy cores - in my opinion, superior to "pure lead" cores - VOLUME and weight may not correlate as closely as with non-alloy ["pure"] lead - within reason, this is of no consequence: bullets are made by VOLUME, not weight - this will become clearer as we proceed. For a primer on some of the benifits of HARD(ER) core materials, read RIFLE ACCURACY FACTS, by [the late] Harrold Vaughn. Mr. Vaugn's findings validated one of my BALLISTIC IDIOT hypotheses: based upon my expirimenting, I BELIEVED that hard cores made/make "better" bullets . . . Mr. Vaughn confirmed my expiriments . . . but who KNOWS - for CERTAIN ? RG

RG's three best mule deer . . .

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:53:28 GMT

RG's three best mule deer . . .

The mounts on both the left and right were done by Spokane, WA, taxidermist, Scott Brewer: his work is simply very good. The center mount was done by Ankeny, IA , taxidermist, Brad Coulson; his work is most pleasing also. As viewed from the left, the first two were from NE Wyoming, shot, respectively, during the 1999 and 2004 seasons, while the one on the right was my first deer, shot in ELDORADO County, California, Oct. 1964, near Ice House Reservoir . . . yep, nothin's fair THAT was my first deer hunt! :) The book ends each (by different routes) gross about 168; the center-piece bests 170 by a solid margin. Fourty-three years have passed . . . and I'm still hooked on mule deer! ;) The cape for the right-hand buck came from Pal, Joe's 1999 Wyoming muley - lots of GREAT memories stirred up when viewing the EAST end of BIB alley! RG

Last pic of BIG MIKE's muzzle-loader buck . . .

R.G. Robinett — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:55:27 GMT

Last pic of BIG MIKE's muzzle-loader buck . . .

We didn't get a lick of work out of ~~HIM~~ - HE left before the field-dressing was completed, mumbling about, "winturen wid Bill Spivens agen" . . . RG

A well pleased BIG MIKE, home for Christmas . . . and now, gone again! ;)

R.G. Robinett — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:50:27 GMT

A well pleased BIG MIKE, home for Christmas . . . and now, gone again! ;)

Here, my alter ego, ~~BIG MIKE~~ and i pose with a nice "late season" muzzle-loader white-tail . . . he would'a-could'a-should'a been a 9-point - it appears that, based upon the brow-tine bases, they were only in the 3.5 - 4 inch range. This rack, prior to the breakage would probably have grossed about 135" - not terrible for a late-season buck in this part of Iowa. :) The main beams measure right at 20" and just short of 21", the inside spread is an honest 17"; the longest tines barely break 8 inches. This is the smallest bodied [antlered] white-tail buck I can recall shooting - no larger than a decent 1.5 year old ! Though I haven't removed his lower jaw yet, I'm betting this was a PUNNY 3.5 year old - though short on beam and tine length, the circumferences, between the burr and brow-tines (G-1s) scare the five inch mark, which would be pretty good for a 2.5 year old. Based on the latter, then, for a "good" 2.5 year old buck, I'd expect MORE of everything . . . So, again, I think this is just a poor 3.5 year old. The first words out of (my son) Walker's mouth, "he's not only SMALL, he looks emaciated" . . . It looks like rutting activity, followed by four weeks of below freezing temps took their toll. RG

P.S. It appears that the modified Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation cap has morphed into ~~HIS~~ "lucky cap" - at least, for this pic, the flap was down. ;)

Late Muzzle-loader buck where he fell . . .

R.G. Robinett — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:46:30 GMT

Late Muzzle-loader buck where he fell . . .

Here it is, Dec. 24 - no grand kids to spank, no relatives to argue with . . . and a relatively "dead" phone . . . been squirtin' cores all day . . . about three O'clock PM, the wind had died off to under 15 MPH, with a nice overcast and the thermometer almost hitting 30 Deg.! :) For lack of a better plan, I decided to step out back and try to pick off the 160 ++ buck which I've seen lurking about . . . and I thought I had him! But - the ground shrinkage gods struck again - obviously, my judgement was impaired! ;) It turned out that, on this buck, which I mistook for his larger kin, both brow-tines were broken off - which I entirely missed observing - and, upon seeing the stronger (left) side, I was too hasty in believing this one was the 160+ ten-point I'd seen three weeks ago. Still, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to have an opportunity to take another nice IA white-tail using the White muzzle-loader which I got from [the late] Dan Hackett four years ago - surely, Dan is smiling from heaven on this Christmas eve. :)

The 50 yard shot was executed with a 420 Gr. White sabot HP, driven by a pair 50 Gr. Pyrodex pellets, which were ignited by a Rem. 209 M-L primer. The steeply angled away shot dropped the buck in his tracks, but he slid down a slope several yards before stopping against a handy Osage Orange tree. This pic was snapped prior touching or moving the deer. RG

My favorite Christmas pic: (daughter) Becky and (boss) Donna, with two of my best mule deer . . .

R.G. Robinett — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:49:33 GMT

My favorite Christmas pic: (daughter) Becky and (boss) Donna, with two of my best mule deer . . .

Snapped on about this date, 2004, just after the heads came back from Spokane, WA (taxidermist, Scott Brewer's handiwork): Donna and Becky committed heresy via placing a rudolph nose on respectable muley! :( But I still love 'em . . . ;) RG

Conversion for Blackmon Dies 2007 003.jpg

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:31:25 GMT

Conversion for Blackmon Dies 2007 003.jpg

This view shows one of the Blackmon point-up dies installed on ~~BIG MIKE's~~ die body (holder) - the large threaded "nut" is an extra RCBS threaded insert, which left installed on the die body, accommodates quickly changing to other dies without dramatically altering the set-up. RG

Conversion for Blackmon Dies 2007 001.jpg

R.G. Robinett — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:25:59 GMT

Conversion for Blackmon Dies 2007 001.jpg

This is the same pic as posted on the forum. Pictured are the die body with a couple of Blackmon point-up dies: a very good 6MM (7 ogive x 0.0625" meplat diameter) and a 30 Cal. (8 ogive x 0.0625" meplat Dia.) - the bullets, out of different dies, are just for "looks" . . . Though every bit as GOOD as bullets from my Niemi and Rorschach dies, I do not sell bullets from the Blackmon dies. RG

Lee swage conversion parts - an enlarged view . . .

R.G. Robinett — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:37:11 GMT

Lee swage conversion parts - an enlarged view . . .

Here, the threaded ram opening is clearly visible: the ejection-frame base-plate rests upon the top of the ram; from the left, resting on the base-plate are the brass punch-nut, the threaded ram "adaptor" ( threads into the ram opening); the base-plate is then installed on the upper (7/8Thsx14TPI) threaded portion of the adaptor, and held in place by the Hornady 7/8Ths lock-ring (lower left). The punch (right - in this case, a Niemi 30 caliber piont-up punch) is then set in the adaptor bore and held in place with the brass punch-nut. Punch/die alignment is assured by the over-sized bores of both the nut and the adaptor: the ram/punch are run into the die, and the brass nut is tightened (LIGHTLY) against the neophrene o-ring, which is visible around the punch, at the shoulder of the punch base- the punch is held nicely in place. Hopefully, this helps clarify - if not, I'll try to answer any questions.

The ejector rod is simply 1/2 inch diameter drill rod - on this proto-type conversion, the rod was truned and threaded to match a threaded hole in the base-plate. The rod then is guided by an "oil-Lite" bushing, which is mounted in a bracket, which is held in place by two screws, into existing threaded holes (these holes were intended for mounting powder measurers, ect.) - in all, a very STURDY and simple conversion: no binding and a very positive "feel" during ejection. For the plate and bracket, I used aluminum because I had plenty of it laying about the shop . . . steel may be a better choice; however the aluminum has held up well.

For those interested, the other (large) pic more clearly displays the base-plate mount, the rod-guide, and the rod-guide bracket. The rod guide was made using "Oil-Lite" bushing material. RG