Keeping it simple with reloading

Alex I noticed he said he was running 5 thou neck tension on a certain load. Are you testing different neck tension after a powder charge and bullet seating depth has been found? Then shooting groups at distance with different neck tension?

Excellent video! You can really get down the rabbit hole with brass prep, sorting, etc. But as long as you have a good rifle, and you know how to drive it, and give it a good, forgiving tune, your golden. I've stopped doing alot of the stuff I used to do. The less time I spend at the bench and more on the range, the happier I am.

Epirate43 said:

Alex I noticed he said he was running 5 thou neck tension on a certain load. Are you testing different neck tension after a powder charge and bullet seating depth has been found? Then shooting groups at distance with different neck tension?

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.005 is fairly common with those folks they just don't say much about it

Epirate43 said:

Alex I noticed he said he was running 5 thou neck tension on a certain load. Are you testing different neck tension after a powder charge and bullet seating depth has been found? Then shooting groups at distance with different neck tension?

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Yes

So is he shooting solids? And jamming to the lands?

Mainly the take away from this video is what can be achieved with basic loading practice and good stuff. Obviously you need to start with good components and even though the process is simple it still has to be done right. Consistent shoulder bumps, case lengths, powder charges, and seating depths. Nothing is done sloppy. You can also weigh, sort, measure, and uniform every possible thing. Its not going to hurt you and if you enjoy that bench work and have the extra money for the tools, go for it. One thing we did not go over is initial case prep. I just asked him how he reloads a fired case. He does turn his necks and trim the brass to even things up after the first firing. Many are doing no turns though. With a 40 degree shoulder the brass doesnt grow so trimming is not a normal part of the routine.

nealm66 said:

So is he shooting solids? And jamming to the lands?

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No, its a lead core bullet. He is jamming pretty hard, most of us dont seem to have the luck he does that deep into the lands. Its worth trying but its more common to see guys between .010" in and .010" off the lands.

Great info. I am a KISS guy probably to a fault. I think if a rifle well put together then most of the "extra" process is a waste of time. We do very much the same process. We go just a bit more simple for hunting rifles as we full length size everything. This is the easiest way to get your brass back to the same place each time. No fuss. Just consistent. Also we stay off the lands in hunting rifles.

Thanks for the post. Glad to see very successful shooters point out it's not rocket science.

Alex Wheeler said:

Mainly the take away from this video is what can be achieved with basic loading practice and good stuff. Obviously you need to start with good components and even though the process is simple it still has to be done right. Consistent shoulder bumps, case lengths, powder charges, and seating depths. Nothing is done sloppy. You can also weigh, sort, measure, and uniform every possible thing. Its not going to hurt you and if you enjoy that bench work and have the extra money for the tools, go for it. One thing we did not go over is initial case prep. I just asked him how he reloads a fired case. He does turn his neck and trim the brass to even things up after the first firing. Many are doing no turns though. With a 40 degree shoulder the brass doesnt grow so trimming is not a normal part of the routine.

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This is a very good point. The more experience I gain and the more I learn, I start to understand that adding more processes or making my reloading technique more complicated doesn't help if the basics aren't done right. Over the past year I have tried to simplify my processes and focus on being consistent and becoming a better shooter. I'm still learning and I'm no where near the shooter I want to be. I think many shooters, including myself, start trying to overthink and over complicate reloading and the equipment to try and make ourselves better. You and Glenn really make it apparent that all the specials gizmos and over complicated processes aren't really necessary when you have a top notch rifle, great tune, and a really good shooter. My main take away is to spend more time at the range becoming a better shooter and getting my load tuned correctly and less time messing around at the reloading bench looking for the secret sauce haha.

One question I would have is does he lube inside neck for bullet seating? Since he is shooting so frequently, 0.005 neck tension and jamming..probably not?

Alex Wheeler said:

Theres 15 firings on that brass as of now and it could go another 100. I treat all my hunting cartridges the exact same way. The only other thing I ad is to trim on occasion if need be. We pay pretty close attention to the details.

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Use an RCBS 'X' die and only worry about trimming the cases ONCE ... when you start ...

Also, to me the real lesson of what Alex posted is that ... all of the fancy brass prep and reloading gizmos and care means NOTHING if your load isn't 'tuned' to the rifle/scope/rig/you!, so that the bullet exits whilst on 1 of the nodes.

I myself use Dan Newberry's OCW or Optimal Charge Weight method. And with that done, my reloading can be as simple as deprime, clean (if needed), reprime, add powder, seat & crimp ... then go back shooting! Nothing else needed ...

I was drinking coffee no. 2 (way behind @FEENIX 6 cups/day) and interesting thought popped up. There are so many different perspectives on reloading steps that it can become so overbearing, time consuming and cumbersome that it might be influencing our ability to turn out a "consistent" load though some might say it is the ONLY way to turn out a consistent load. Although retired for 10 years, a flashback occurred to Lean Manufacturing, 6 Sigma etc where you try to streamline, remove waste and improve efficiency in manufacturing processes. Why wouldn't we do the same to our own reloading processes? Eliminate those steps that do not provide "value" to the load's performance. Seems like this was done in the video based upon the simplified process he is using.

You mean to tell me that for 35 years I was doing it right, I wasn't just lazy?

Alex Wheeler said:

I have been shooting 1k for a long time. There are so many rabbit holes you can go down. My opinion is that 99% of your rifles accuracy is the tune. Sorting and measuring help but not until your at a certain level. Glenn Kulzer shot 8 new records in 2021, no other feat has come close in 1000y shooting

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Alex can you tell us what caliber that Glenn is shooting. I live close to a 1000k benchrest range and have been contemplating having a light class gun built and I am thinking 6mm Dasher for myself but I'm curious what you and the other pros are shooting and winning with? Any recommendation?