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Old April 7, 2013, 06:34 PM   #1
Cesure
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I'm getting soot...

... on the exteriors of my cases all the way down to the rim. I thought that was a symptom of too little powder, but these were loaded near the max. The brass is new MagTech .32 S&W Long. I didn't size them or anneal first. The powder was Titegroup. Any good advice for staying with the same powder would be welcome.
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Old April 8, 2013, 11:12 AM   #2
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Yes, that is usually the cause. What is your load.?
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Old April 8, 2013, 11:24 AM   #3
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New Starline .32 S&W Long brass, CCI 500 primer, 85 gr MagTech LRN, 2.3 gr Titegroup.
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Old April 8, 2013, 11:57 AM   #4
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Are you seeing any leading in the barrel? if not and the cases are not showing
any stress. I think you could move up just a little. 2.5 grains is Max for Jacketed ammo. As long as you have no leading 2.3 then ease up to 2.5 and
see if the case seals..
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Old April 8, 2013, 12:12 PM   #5
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Starline brass is notoriously "heavy-duty". In fact they specifically tell the BP shooters using their
45 rifle brass that it should be annealed prior to any use with BP. The 32S&W Long pressure standards
are akin to that: 12,400CUP and/or 15,500 psi (SAAMI provides both references)

I'm going to assume you have the same problem -- thicker brass than such pressures (or less)
will seal. I'd suggest annealing the top 1/3 near the mouth of 3-4 cases and see if that solves the
problem. (Take care with a good heat sink on the base)

Last edited by mehavey; April 8, 2013 at 12:28 PM.
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Old April 8, 2013, 12:21 PM   #6
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Note Mehavey's last sentence. You don't want to soften the head.
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Old April 8, 2013, 12:27 PM   #7
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Note also the Hodgdon's website data indicates 2.3gr TiteGroup is going to get you ~11,000CUP/13,700psi.
What are you firing it in?
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Old April 8, 2013, 12:28 PM   #8
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Re: I'm getting soot...

You should resize new brass.
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Old April 8, 2013, 01:36 PM   #9
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Quote:
Note also the Hodgdon's website data indicates 2.3gr TiteGroup is going to get you ~11,000CUP/13,700psi.
Yes, But, he is shooting Lead not jacketed.
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Old April 8, 2013, 01:48 PM   #10
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Quote:
Are you seeing any leading in the barrel? if not and the cases are not showing any stress. I think you could move up just a little. 2.5 grains is Max for Jacketed ammo. As long as you have no leading 2.3 then ease up to 2.5 and see if the case seals..
No leading yet. Shooting from two revolvers. One (.32 H&R Mag) with 3" barrel and a .327 Fed Mag snubby. Both can handle higher pressure. I worked up to the load I have, but didn't want to go higher because Hodgdon didn't have a load for 85 gr LRN. This was the closest and the highest amount of Titegroup of any of their loads. It shows 2.4 as the max.

85 GR. HDY JHP Titegroup .312" 1.160" 2.1 723 7,800 CUP 2.4 819 11,300 CUP

Quote:
Starline brass is notoriously "heavy-duty"....

I'm going to assume you have the same problem -- thicker brass than such pressures (or less) will seal. I'd suggest annealing the top 1/3 near the mouth of 3-4 cases and see if that solves the problem. (Take care with a good heat sink on the base)
I suspected heavy brass might be the case. It just seems thicker. Will try annealing and see what happens. Will heat sink in pan of water.

Quote:
You should resize new brass.
Since the unsized brass fit well in both guns, I figured one less sizing would help it last one more firing. I'm cheap that way. Didn't think sizing would have anything to do with soot except maybe harden the brass even more.
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Old April 8, 2013, 04:45 PM   #11
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Re: I'm getting soot...

Everywhere I've read said that new brass should be FL sized. Couldn't tell you why. I've never bought new brass. Just something you might try if you got a couple new cases still.
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Old April 8, 2013, 05:42 PM   #12
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Size it.
Doing so (by definition) "uniforms" everything to consistent parameters.
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Old April 8, 2013, 06:02 PM   #13
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Quote:
Size it.
Doing so (by definition) "uniforms" everything to consistent parameters.
I can see why that might be important for someone who is really fussy about accuracy or has other reasons for requiring consistency, but for plinking, it doesn't seem all that important. Do you think it caused the soot?
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Old April 8, 2013, 08:03 PM   #14
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Most likely has nothing to do with the soot, per se.

But it is the kind of good handloading discipline that pays big
dividends across the board for relatively small investment.
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Old April 8, 2013, 08:47 PM   #15
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Doesn't every trip through the sizer make the brass a little more brittle? After verifying that the brass wasn't too loose for the bullets or too large for the guns, I didn't see a reason to do that.
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Old April 8, 2013, 09:30 PM   #16
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Not really as far as your particular cartridge goes. I wouldn't be too concerned over sizing cycles.
(But then again, I even process new Lapua brass first time out.)
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