XD casing review

Casing Review

Scot Pace’s 37MM and 40MM XD casings

This review will be on Scot Pace’s new “XD” style 37MM and 40MM casings. ( http://www.reloadableshells.com )These casings are made with a stainless steel primer insert that is held in place with a stainless steel snap ring. This snap ring holds the insert so you can insert the primer, and holds it solidly. The shape of the insert holds it against the lift charge. This is a very strong casing, meant for any kind of payload. They come in a variety of lengths, and feature the screw in vent plug system as in other Scot Pace casings. The copper wad discs used in these casings are ¾” in diameter and .010” in thickness. Other wad types and thicknesses can be used, however for testing and evaluating, I used the .010 copper wads.

Here is a close up photo of a cut-away of the base of this casing. Notice the thick aluminum around the high pressure chamber. The chamber holds 10 grains of Bullseye nicely. The stainless primer insert holds the primer perfectly. The threads are roll formed on the inside of the casing, as well as on the venthole insert. This provides a lot of strength for hotter loads.

In this photo, you can see the venthole plug in place inside the casing. The copper wad sits right under the ventholes and is not in place in this photo. When fired, the powder burns, generating pressure. The pressure quickly builds until the copper ruptures at the venthole locations. That pressure is then dumped through the ventholes, and into the main body of the casing, lighting fused payloads and propelling your projectile.

Looking down into the casing, and high pressure chamber. You can see the snap ring, and flash hole in the stainless steel insert. Once the stainless insert is in the casing, there is no need to ever remove it. The lift charge pressure does not affect the snap ring at all. The only purpose of the snap ring is to hold the insert in place while you are reloading a new primer into the insert.

To reload the XD casings, the Bullseye is loaded into the high pressure chamber, then the copper wad is placed over the powder as in the above photos.

The venthole plug is then screwed into the casing, and a long socket secured in a vise can be used to tighten it securely. No need to over tighten. Basically, hand pressure tightness is plenty.

After you fire your round, your copper wad should look like this. All six holes are cut perfectly, and all the way through. All of your powder will be burnt.

To reload a simple star cluster you can use the above items. First, a high sidewalled casing, the loaded XP base with 4-6 grains of Bullseye, a paper wad, the carrier (in this case a cardboard tube with fuse resin molded in place) approx 6 pyrotechnic stars of your favorite color, a bit of burst charge.

You simply drop the burst charge (1tbs ffg black powder) and stars into the cardboard tube, use the paper wad and some wood glue to secure the wad to the top of the tube, screw the sidewall onto the base, drop the loaded cardboard tube in, and place a ¼” thick foam wad on top to hold the tube in the casing. Done.

For the lift charge, I recommend using 4-6 grains of Bullseye. Any more, and the power of the casing may crack the projectile.

I have used these casings to fire a variety of projectiles, without a problem. They are very easy to reload, strong, and will last a lifetime. These are, without a doubt, the best casings I have ever reloaded. They are made with us, the reloader, in mind.

3LC Productions