I like armageddon better than the cole-tac. The cole tac (also branded as silencerco) WILL slip forward if you don't really tighten the straps down. The geddon snugs tight behind the can, no way it can even slip forward.
That being said, I've read the cole-tac with the silicone type liner...
What were your original SDs on that brass? How bad was ES? Anything else changed in your process? I would definitely anneal each time for next couple of firings and see if things tighten back up. Keep us posted
Does your buddy have Tempilaq 750 and 450? If so, carry on with confidence. If not, maybe grab him some for letting you use his annealer... then you'll both know everything is in order.
I know it's not exact apples to apples - but my converted Lapua brass is running avg 4860 with 140 hybrids over 42.8 gr of H4350. So I would think with the small primers you could certainly get there. Just watch for pressure signs as usual
I run the frankford a full three hours with a lemishine and dawn + 5lbs of pins. Now - I only do 100 qty batches at a time - and they come out perfect. 2 hours and results are similar to the issues you mentioned
Finally broke down and ordered this setup -
Anyone have a lead on an RCBS scale pan? Everyone seems to be out or back ordered. Cheers
*update - found one.
Sooooo finally made it to the range to finish load development.
Virgin 6.5 Creedmoor Alpha Munitions Brass
Didn't turn necks - they seem silly consistent, and my chamber isn't tight
Camfered/deburred
Didn't fire form or resize, tested straight out of box
It was annealed from manufacturer...
If you really wanted to know, you could get a cheap heat gun at home depot and run some test. But as most have said, cools quicker with cover removed and bolt open.
Keep posted if you do some testing ;)
I haven't had any trouble out of the geddon because of the reasons people have already listed.
Here is my little contribution:
I have found the cole-tac WILL slip forward if you don't really tighten the straps.
Most of y'all wouldn't do this, because it looks weird and isn't tacticool...
My exact problem... one day i'm ordering concentricicty gauges, the next I'm wondering if it really makes my groups better.... curiosity killed the cat (and wallet) haha
Tagging for later. Mine arrives friday.
I have been running 42.8 in converted Lapua with the 140 hybrids. Hopefully will start development (at least looking for max) this weekend and will have some results to share.