Fire Forming With Cream O' Wheat And Muzzle Brake?

[barnesuser28]

Hey guys,
For my most recent cartridge i have to fire form using Cream Of Wheat. I loaded 16 grains of HS-6, filled it up to about 1/8" below the neck with COW, pushed it down a bit, and capped it off with some toilet paper. My question is, will i run into problems with my muzzle brake still attached? It is a 7/8" V-port vaporizer by Nathan Dagley (straightshotgunsmithing.com). I dont want to remove it if i dont have to because i think it may cause a seam where the barrel and brake meet (it is KG coated and the brake was turned to match the barrel, i can see no seam as is right now). If someone has tried it and it worked (or didnt) please chime in and let me know.

 

[Turd in the Pool]

Never done it but it sounds like a bad idea to me. I do have a question though.

Why don't you fire form with bullets?

 

[P7id10t]

Never done it but it sounds like a bad idea to me. I do have a question though.

Why don't you fire form with bullets?

Or rock salt ?

 

[barnesuser28]

Never done it but it sounds like a bad idea to me. I do have a question though.

Why don't you fire form with bullets?

Because i have a tight neck and a loaded round would be too wide to fit the chamber....

 

[former naval person]

Use bullets. Get a K&M neck expander.l Size the suckers and turn the necks. Then fire form them. JMHO

 

[barnesuser28]

I would really like to not use bullets as i have 100 pieces to form and with components hard to find already...

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Don't use COW, rock salt, grits, or any other crap to fire down your barrel that isn't a bullet. There is no logic in it, and it CAN hurt your barrel. This has been said time and again and yet....people still insist it is harmless to a bore. I know there will probably be a few who chime in and say it won't hurt a barrel. I have given some references on why you shouldn't do it in the past but I am feeling a bit lazy right now and not in a mood to argue. There is a reason BR shooters often have a barrel to form brass and a barrel to shoot. You would be better off getting a crap barrel to use COW in if you are determined to continue using COW to form brass. There have been instances of barrels being ruined with COW, look it up for yourself.

 

[biffj]

even if it wouldn't hurt the barrel it will toast the brake. Its bad enough what powder gasses do to the brake. Solids are really bad. I've seen some serious damage to brakes from seemingly innocuous material. A buddy fired about 10rds of 300 win mag with dacron filler through his rifle. It put some real big nicks and chew marks in his brake. Do it if you want but realize it will not help the brake and probably not anything else either.

Frank

 

[BuzzBoss915]

There are a few good comments above. One is having a junk barrel chambered with the same reamer and using bullets. But, I am against cream of wheat, it seems to be abrasive and it's easy to get a few kernels wedged in the chamber and then you have dents in your fireformed brass. Also, the cleaning is a real chore, and for sure remove the muzzle break BTW.

Look, you don't need the filler. Just use enough surplus pistol powder of your choice, adjust the charge progressively and forget the filler. I use newsprint, rolled into a ball and stuffed down the neck. I have my baffled chamber suspended from a rafter in the garage so that the powder in the case is vertical. Sure, sometimes the shoulder is slightly rounded, but it's not important. Make sure you have a steel backing plate because the gasses will blast through anything else. One thing to be careful about is scorching the barrel in the chamber. Wrap it with masking tape for six inches or so.

But, once you have gone through the drudgery of fireforming without bullets, with the motivation of saving barrel life....that's when you appreciate the luxury of the junk barrel with bullets, at the range. You can easily do 100 rounds an hour and no harm done to your premium barrel. What's not to like? BB

 

[Turd in the Pool]

If you're hell bent on going this route and have a 700 or such with a spring loaded ejector, remove it. Life will be easier.

 

[barnesuser28]

I fired three rounds tonight, no damage to the brake and the cases came out about 85% formed, could probably bump up the charge by 1 grain. I will keep an eye on it. Also, my smith said he couldnt see it hurting anything, and he would replace it if it did get damaged.

 

[Ballistic308]

Why not just remove the muzzle brake? It's not like the charge you have is going to be heavy.