reloads for the bren

[ActionYobbo]

I have been having trouble to get my bren to run on reloads and some factory ammo
It will run fine on old cordite ammo as long as it goes bang. I used HXP and had to set the gas at 4 and highland (ppu) and also R1M3Z will run ok at 4 but when I reload the cases I am using 150 grain projectiles from the russian 7.62x54r and AR2209 but it seems to short stroke about 1 in 9 either not coming back far enough to eject and get another round from the mag or managing to eject but not getting another round from the mag.
if I load it with RG1944 and set the gas on 2 it runs like a top.
I have tried different commercial hunting ammo from remington and winchester with the gas on 4 and they were weaker than my handloads. I have also tried W760 and W748 powder. I had alot of trouble with fouling with the 760 and the 748 starts to blow primers before it makes it cycle properly.
I dont know if my problem is the projectile weight or the powder choice. The AR2209 shoots fine in my bolt guns and shoots fantastic groups from my No4 with the russian projies and 2209.
any suggestions?

on thursday I blew out 600 rounds of HXP70 with out 1 stoppage but as soon as I try my hand loads it coughs and splutters

Information

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[Woodsy]

You need to up your bullet weight to 174 - 180 grains. Nitro-cellulose pwders have a different pressure curve than cordite and you will need to experiment a bit to get the desired result. I would suggest about 40 grains of AR2208 would be the closest duplicate of the standard Mk VII cordite load. This load should also give some adjustment with the gas regulator.

[ActionYobbo]

You need to up your bullet weight to 174 - 180 grains. .

I was hoping I did not have to do that as the 174's are a tad expensive. I got 5K of the 150's that were all pulled from some water damaged (rust) 7.62x54 they seem to be consistant at .3105 to .311
I dont have any 2208 and that stuff is getting expensive too.
next time I get into town I might get some 2208 and a box of 174rn

[Brian Dick]

Sounds like the gas cylinder and/or piston or both are worn. It should cycle fine with the Mk.7 and Mk.8 ball on #2.

[Angrypirate]

46gn of 2209 behind a 174gn projectile seems to match up pretty well to the service load too.

[ActionYobbo]

46gn of 2209 behind a 174gn projectile seems to match up pretty well to the service load too.

what cases are you loading
I only get 42 grains as a safe load in the No4. Thats the same load I am using in the bren. I have tried up to 44 but was having blown primers at the firing pin

[ActionYobbo]

Sounds like the gas cylinder and/or piston or both are worn. It should cycle fine with the Mk.7 and Mk.8 ball on #2.

It works really well with any cordite Mk7 its flawless with the gas set at 2. Its when I try modern ammo like PPU or HXP I can only get it to run on 4.
the A80 stuff from SA did not have enough power to run it properly on 4. I am thinking the problem is the volume of gas produced by the powder, or lack of gas. On another board a guy suggested I use a 3031 powder because that was made for the 303 to mimic cordite. Now BM2 is the equivelent of that and I have BM2 for the 223 so I will try that and see how it runs

[Brian Dick]

My Inglis Mk.2 runs beautifully with Greek HXP, South African A80 and Portuguese FNM Mk.7z on #2. I've never fired cordite Mk.7 through it. As Peter Laidler has told us; there's really only two things that can cause problems with a Bren, not enough gas or too much friction. My money's on a worn gas cylinder.

[Angrypirate]

I use both Prvi Partisan and Winchester cases. It seems dodgy that you'd be having blown primers with just 43gn of 2209 behind a 174gn proj, since ADI lists the minimum as 43gn and the maximum as 48gn. 2208 is a completely different story - the load range is 38gn-42gn behind a 174gn projectile.

I've never used 2209 with a 150gn bullet though. Like you, I found around 42gn of 2208 behind a 150 to be pretty accurate.

[ActionYobbo]

Got it sorted
Changed powder to BM2
Used a different sizing die. I was using a lee die but it was not sizing the bases enough so I now using an old wells die
I was using vaseline as lube but I cleaned all the parts and just applied some light oil
now it runs fine with my reloads
I think it was a combination on an inefficient powder and improperly sized cases