.41 magnum gas checks

Nick, I've read your informative posts on this board with interest and appreciation. I find myself astonished (and slightly flattered) that I knew something that you didn't.

I think that the reason what I've said is so with the Hornady checks is as follows. By design, they clamp onto the base of the bullet during the sizing process. To be able to do this, they must flare out a bit on the lip. This gives them a bit of +/-.

Not too awful long ago, I looked at that "system" that a guy down in California sells for making one's own gas checks. I was a little put off that he was not selling them at a set price. At the time, he was selling them on Ebay one at a time, with a high starting price. He was metering them out slowly to keep them scarce. The recommended stock for creating the checks was aluminum beverage cans. For a number of reasons, I decided I didn't want to go that route but I admit that was before a box of checks cost $30. Based on the design of the tool and material used, the aluminum checks wouldn't've been of the clamp-on design such as Hornady. Mind you, a separate tool set was required for each caliber.

Gschwertley,

Don't be surprised. There are lots of things I have never tried, mostly because my wife won't let me.

Like Rocky, I don't use a lot of gas checks. None in handguns. Elmer Keith worked up the .44 Magnum by overloading the .44 Special in large frame revolvers. I think the hardest alloy he ever used was 16:1 lead tin, and I don't recall gas checks being part of the picture (though I read about it a long, long time ago). Rifle bullets are the only place I've put them, and .224, .264, .308 and .458 have pretty much been the only diameters I've used them for, and Hornady makes all of those.

I have no clue about how good those kits are? Was it Speer that started his business by forming fired .22 Rimfire cases into bullet jackets? There's a lot you can do with scrap metal. Aluminum cans may work, but I think I'd probably buy that 0.01" copper foil they sell for metal hammering hobbyists.

All the old gas checks had straight sides. I'm pretty sure Hornady invented the crimp-ons and they work enough better that the others gave up and just repackage Hornady checks now. The others were all held on by lube. A lot of times they didn't stay in place. A friend of mine used to paint 63:37 solder and flux paste into them and solder them on in his oven when he heated the bullets to water quench them.

I got these a couple of years ago. They measure .416. I use them inverted in my .40-65 and inverted in my .405 Win.