Thank you all for the input. This thread quickly turned in to an interesting read for me. What I am trying to figure out is whether I should be concerned about shooting these shells in my vintage guns. Let me also add that Dan at Nice Shot has been a pure pleasure. Super nice guy and seems willing to provide just about anything his customer wants.
The shells I received are brand new blue shells. I'll try to post a photo of the damaged hulls in a little bit.
Here are other variables to consider, of which I have no idea what is or is not of any value:
The temperature was about 45 degrees, probably warmer.
I ordered 2-3/4" shells. They all measure between 2-3/8" and 2-1/2" and are all shorter than any of my name brand factory 2-3/4" shells, and about the same as the my 2-1/2" RST shells. I thought he had made a mistake with the order so I asked him about that. He emailed back that the hulls all measured 2-3/4" WHEN OPEN. I always thought a 2-3/4" shell was longer than 2-3/4" when open, but a little research on the 'net tells me length is based on the spent hull. He also speculated he must have had the dwell on his roll crimper set a little too high as the reason why they didn't open properly. He said it uses friction to heat set the crimp. The recipe is supposed to produce 8000psi, but I definitely recall noticing the recoil as compared to lead RST loads. Whatever that non-scientific observation is worth.
What, if anything, does the overall length of my shells (2-1/2") tell you about the crimp depth, potential pressure produced, etc? Other thoughts? I'll try to get that picture loaded.
Last edited by Jawjadawg; 01/19/16 10:18 AM.