I have read in various places where some type of buffer stuffing is placed in a rifle cartridge to fill the air-void between the powder charge and bullet. Any thoughts on this?

Yes, it's used to keep small charges for reduced loads near the primer.

Clem I've only tried pillow stuffing and it works well good luck.

dacron or polyfill .. used in large case all the time.. WEIGH EACH ONE

And it can cause a "Ring" in the Chamber. Fillers were big topics in the NRA 50 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
And it can cause a "Ring" in the Chamber. Fillers were big topics in the NRA 50 years ago.

It won't .. just which part of PILLOW STUFFING is HARDER than Steel? Brass? and Hotter than Burning Gun powder? More abrasive than 7500FPS burning, near plasmatic state, burning gun powder and 45,000 PSI of pressure against steel?

JHC - if shotgun plastic wads and cups don't ring chambers, then how can ANYONE, with a straight face, PRONOUCE that a tuft of pillow stuffing hurt a barrel?

Oh, i get it, it was a JOKE

People used to believe the earth is flat, too

I've only used dacron filler for very light pistol powder loads in 45-70. WOrks fine, but switching to a powder that fills the case more is a better option IMO.

You can always count of jeffe to show the world that his Reloading experience, knowledge, and inability to ask about things he does not understand, is severely limited. And of course making a horse's clinton of himself in the process.
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Fillers "Ringing Chambers" is not a joke at all. All any of you have to do is ask some of the old folks that Loaded before many of you were born about them.

But of course, there will always the "Know it all (Rookie Reloader) Experts" who are clueless about Reloading History that are doomed to repeat the mistakes - even when Warned.

If anyone - other than jeffe - wants to know the specifics, PM me.

Hot Core

FYI; It's not fillers that ring chambers, it is wads. There is a difference. Dacron fillers do not ring chambers nor do dacron wads (even though I don't use wads anymore. The reason is not because of "ringing"). The wad in a shotgun is actually a filler (bit of a misnomer there eh?) and how many shotshells get fired every year with nary a "ringing" - other than ears?

The point is there have been numerous ringings of chambers over the years but all were when a hard wad was used with a large airspace between it and the base of the bullet. Also might add that wads and fillers are almost always used with cast bullets and reduced loads in rifle cartridges.

Larry Gibson

Oh I don't know, jeffeosso. Maybe you are right. But you just said yourself if I may quote you;

quote:

... just which part of PILLOW STUFFING is HARDER than Steel? Brass? and Hotter than Burning Gun powder? More abrasive than 7500FPS burning, near plasmatic state, burning gun powder and 45,000 PSI of pressure against steel?

Fast pistol powder up against the primer with a wad of dacron holding it in place, strikes the base of the bullet (after being accelerated down the cone of the shoulder) at lightning speeds... You saw what a chip if paint did to the Space Shuttle windscreen. Take a look at this;

There was enough force to dent the case inward as it was being fired - something powerful is going on inside a rifle chamber!

There are other pics of split gun barrels - split by the shock of the bullet striking an obstruction (snow) in the muzzle. But the split propogates all the way back down the barrel! Shock is the operative word here. Shuttle booster rockets are separated from the shuttle by use of explosives cutting through steel.

Kapok remains the best filler, IMO, IF one insists on using a filler in the first place. It can be found in old life presevers. I have one I've been plucking filler mat'l out of for 20 years now. Still half full.

That said, I only use filler if I can demonstrate a marked increase in accuracy with it. That is to say, almost never anymore. Switching to powders that bulk-up in the case more is the best alternative to using a filler to maintain consistent powder positioning. With cast bullets in .30 calibers I use SR-4759, 5744, and RL-7 mainly. They all fill the cases of .30/30, .300 Sav., .30/06, etc. about 1/2-way or more with appropriate loads, and that's plenty to obviate the need for a filler.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Gibson:
Hot Core

FYI; It's not fillers that ring chambers, it is wads. ...

If anyone besides the doughnut eater got the impression that I was talking about "shotguns"(aka wads), I was not. I was talking about Fillers in Rifles creating Rings in Chambers.

quote:

By gnoahhh:
Switching to powders that bulk-up in the case more is the best alternative to using a filler to maintain consistent powder positioning. With cast bullets in .30 calibers I use SR-4759, 5744, and RL-7 mainly. They all fill the cases of .30/30, .300 Sav., .30/06, etc. about 1/2-way or more with appropriate loads, and that's plenty to obviate the need for a filler.

I completely agree with this portion of the post. Way too many excellent Powders are available today that negate the Filler concept to risk damaging a firearm.