You can't do that!"

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by hot diggity, Jun 10, 2018.


  1. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    Hmmmm? I do several that are just fire formed from not-so-obsolete parent cases like .30 Remington (I bump it up to .32 and down to .25), and .348 Winchester, which is the parent case for lots of old stuff.

    I've rim turned, and cut extractor grooves in .30-30 brass to make .32 Remington, and turned down and sized .223 brass to form 7.62x28 Nagant pistol brass. I broke the frame on a Lee single stage press doing that. RCBS Rock Chucker watched that press come and go. Never complained, or felt neglected. I swore after the first 50 of the .223 to Nagant conversion that I'd never do it again, but for some reason I'm finding that those old converted cases shoot more accurately than any other Nagant brass I've tried.

    Without knowing it, I accidentally created a new unofficial caliber when making brass for a 10.4mm Italian Ordnance revolver. (The least ergonomic pistol I've ever fired, but it'll put lead on target at 100 yards, point of aim = point of impact!) This was another one that was offered with a laugh. "Hey, want to buy another pistol you can't get ammo for?" The result of making brass and sizing bullets in the cylinder that would fire was a slightly tapered case with a .422" diameter bullet. After I finally located some genuine 10.4 Italian Ordnance cartridges I found that they were actually bottle neck cartridges. Probably for ease of loading, but side by side these were clearly different cartridges....so I dubbed the tapered case the ".42 Special."

    10.4 ital ord wide.


    I can only remember two cartridges that have no parent case that they can be converted from. .22 Hornet and .357 Maximum. There are surely more, but those two were humbling, because I was sure I could make them from something. Tube and bar stock would do it, but even I'm not looking for that kind of challenge.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
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  2. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    You can't do that! You can't build your own guns. There must be a law.
     
  3. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    How about I start with a piece of seamless tubing that just happens to fit 28 gauge shot cups perfectly, and a great big grade 8 bolt. Woodgun barrel and breech plug. Machine a little bit of a cone into the combustion chamber and thread in a percussion nipple. (Fuzz Bean, the original designer of the Yooper Assault Rifle used a modified grease fitting. I've been shooting muzzle loaders for over 40 years, so I used what I had on hand.) Double cross pins were more Grade 8 bolts, press fit into place, and when the ends were turned off and the whole thing sanded I could barely detect them.

    This barrel survived a double and triple proof test. That's 2-3X the maximum powder load, with 2-3X the maximum bullet weight. (This went waaaaaay overboard, since the usual projectile is a relatively light aluminum .45ACP casing that cuts holes in paper like a wad cutter bullet.) After I found the barrel, which had traveled some 15 feet rearward when fired, I measured the breech with a micrometer and verified that it had not increased in diameter anywhere.

    And the Lowe's Woodgun was born! Woodgun complete. I really need to make a new stock from a fancy hardwood table leg. ;-)

    Who says you can't make a gun from lumber yard parts?
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
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  4. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    My case conversions are pretty mundane.
    .30-06 reformed to 8mm Mauser, .308Win.
    .270Win reformed to the same. I have no .30-06 and .270Win rifles.
    .243Win reformed to .308Win. Have no .243Win gun either.
    .284Win to 7.5X55 Swiss.
    .32-20 to a short 7.62X38r Nagant. No gas seal being a bit too short, but it shoots fine.
     
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  5. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    I found a couple pieces of .32-20 brass in my old Nagant revolver stuff, but it and the .284 Winchester are scarce around here. It'd be sweet to have a lot of Boxer primed 7.5X55 Swiss brass available! The availability of Berdan primed 7.5X55 Swiss and to a lesser extent, the 7.62x39 (brass & steel case) as range pick-up, was what got me interested in reloading Berdan primers.

    "You can't do that! It's not reloadable. It'll score your dies, you can't resize steel."

    "So I can have all your once fired GP-11 7.5X55 brass?" :) Thank you! ;-) The only large Berdan primed cartridges that I can't reload are .303 British, and only because the primer pockets on British stuff are larger. And yes, you can absolutely reload steel case Berdan primed 7.62x39. It has it's own primer size, but otherwise it expands and sizes as easily as brass. I only save steel that has just been fired, on a dry day, so no rust has formed inside or out. I expand the necks a good bit, since I size my gas checks to .314", but hard cast lead bullets in steel case is certainly possible. If you're really cheap you can reload NR (Non-Reloadable - Stamped right on the head stamp) .45ACP aluminum cases once too. Aluminum has other concerns, but in a pinch, it can be done.
     
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  6. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    KIMG2477. The learning curve is pretty steep on this tool, and at $6.00 a pop it hurts to break a pin. Once correctly adjusted this only happens about every 1000 rounds or so, which is why I set up two tools rather than constantly fiddling with adjustments to the pin.

    One for GP-11, and one for 7.62x39. :)
     
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  7. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I am still horrified when you did this: Yes, I can test fire rifles in my living room! I will not be mentioning that experiment to my boys.
     
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  8. Re:#26. I don't like messing with Berdan primers. When I had to, I filled the case with water and used a punch that fitted the case mouth very closely. Worked well. Could use oil to fill the case but that gets messy.
     
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  9. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    I just shoot pellet rifles and pistols in my home. Not a prob for a batchelor! Firearms are too loud, it would freak the neighbors.
    Even .22LR can be reloaded. During the Great Ammo Shortage, I ordered a rimfire reloading kit. But, I haven't tried it yet. Found enough ammo online to build a good stock. Need to try it though, just for curiosity.
     
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  10. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    Good ventilation and hearing protection. No worries. Neighbors are used to loud noises, strange lights and odd smelling smoke.

     
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  11. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    I've seen some really nice wet extraction set-ups. Mine always made a mess. Trouble is you don't want to get steel cases wet. The RCBS tool is a breeze once properly set up, and you can just brush the carbon from the primer pocket and reload them immediately.
     
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  12. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    I have seen three different methods for converting Berdan cases to Boxer, but generally they are good for lower powered rounds, not full pressure. Need to experiment. I have saved my Berdan Swiss GP11 and brass 8mm Mauser cases.
     
  13. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    I've seen the conversions done, and some do a fine job of milling off the original anvil and drilling a center flash hole, but there's a bigger concern. The diameter of the primer pocket is larger on most Berdan primed cases and would require a bushing. Some guys have managed to leave the outer rim of the original primer in place and just press a new primer inside of it after the other machining is done. You can do it, but it's a little fiddly for me.

    There are some things, like "never exceed" powder charges in the loading table, smokeless powder in firearms designed for black powder, and the end of a cartridge case that's toward my face that I have great respect for, and won't try my luck with.

    The smokeless in a muzzle loader is one that I see at the range occasionally. I met one gentleman who was measuring smokeless powder with a tea spoon. "Oh, it's safe, it hasn't had any problems yet." True, but I didn't want to be within range when it did, and it would. I don't know where he shoots now, but it's not at my range. You can do that. Maybe once, maybe many times, but eventually the steel will yield to the excessive pressure and the fun will be over.
     
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  14. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    "You can't hunt on Government land with a rifle."

    "Wanna bet?"

    I'd love to be able to shoot a smokeless load in this one, but the Game Warden has enough trouble with me already. Every time I step out of the truck somebody calls to report a guy hunting with an AR in a muzzle loader and shotgun only area. I was kind enough to stop by and show him the rifle after the build was complete, so he knows if I'm signed out to an area, he doesn't have to make a trip out to check on the hunter with an AR.

    It has surprisingly ordinary AR15 internals other than the barrel, bolt and firing pin. There has been a slight modification made to the front edge of the bolt carrier to permit locking on its surface, rather than the bolt face, which is now recessed inside the carrier. Uses .25 ACP brass as a holder for small pistol primer ignition via a modified 209 primer breech plug. From there forward it's .50 caliber fast twist modern inline muzzle loader. Shoots best with BP, but does okay on Pyrodex. Will hold 2" groups at 100 yards if I do my part.

    AR50ML.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2018
  15. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Cool! I once read a gun magazine article wherein a guy made a singleshot muzzle loader upper on an M1911 frame.
     
  16. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    That has lots of potential layouts. Wow!
     
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  17. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    "You can't hang that Coleman lantern upside down!" KIMG2479.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2018
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  18. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    One of my old favorite bar bets was to turn the conversation to cars and bet that my car would run without most of the ignition parts.

    I could wager away the plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, add a few side bets about driving around the block... and then do it. :)

    I had one guy looking into the exposed distributor at night. He said, "Well, it's got good spark... HEY, HOW COME I CAN SEE THAT!"

    "You can't do that!"

    Guesses on what model my car was?
     
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  19. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    I seldom underestimate anyone. Learned that lesson watching the smallest, most timid looking Marines lead teams.

    I met a local gentleman who lost both hands just above the wrist.
    He wears leather dog collars on his stumps. I've seen him get his wallet out of his back pocket and pay a cashier, and I've worked on his truck and marveled at the only modification being a ninety degree angle extension on the ignition key so it could be turned without fingers.

    Best story I've heard about him, I'm certain is true. Some fool bet him that he couldn't pick up a $20 bill off the floor.

    He licked his stump, pressed it to the bill, picked it up and rolling it up, dropped it into his shirt pocket.

    You have to be careful when you tell some people they can't do things.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2018
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  20. Zimmy

    Zimmy Wait, I'm not ready!

    Ford Focus BiFuel engine with deisel and E85 gasoline capability?
     
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