Brass Prep for long range accuracy

[shawnb]

I would have thought shooting east on either side of the equator would do the same thing?!

I like your style of cleanliness and prep for brass. If i was loading lots of casings in rotation for the rifle i probably would do the same type of prep work you do to an extent. I only use 50pc at a time and id be to impatient to wait for them to be clean/tumbled, etc.

Its always good to hear others routines for reloading so thanks for sharing.

0.5 moa at 1000 is a good accomplishment. Congrats.

 

[338 dude]

I would have thought shooting east on either side of the equator would do the same thing?!

I like your style of cleanliness and prep for brass. If i was loading lots of casings in rotation for the rifle i probably would do the same type of prep work you do to an extent. I only use 50pc at a time and id be to impatient to wait for them to be clean/tumbled, etc.

Its always good to hear others routines for reloading so thanks for sharing.

0.5 moa at 1000 is a good accomplishment. Congrats.

This is just a guess on my part but as far as Coriolis think of it this way if you're aiming south and north of the equator the earth spins to the left I believe if you were south facing north it would been to your right it all has to do with the rotation of your bullet which most barrels would be right hand rotation therefore it would act differently but just a guess I'm not sure, Also look up the Magnus effect it may further explain this phenomenon

 

[MLN1963]

Ha im on the complete opposite end of you. I take my brass out of the bag, full length size, and shoot them till they cant hold a primer. I do anneal every other firing. I wipe them with a cloth before lubing and wipe them off after sizing.

Different strokes i guess.

Shawn, do you clean inside the neck in any way before dragging the expander ball through the neck?

 

[shawnb]

I dont. I have a custom whidden full length die, non bushing, that gives me 2thou neck tension so no need for an expander. I wipe them with a cloth, lube and size, wipe again, and load more powder.

 

[SealT5]

The original video.

Joe S.

 

[338 dude]

The original video.

Joe S.

It's boils down to whatever works for you but remember he may compete against people who believe what he says which is advantage for him

 

[MLN1963]

I dont. I have a custom whidden full length die, non bushing, that gives me 2thou neck tension so no need for an expander. I wipe them with a cloth, lube and size, wipe again, and load more powder.

Okay. I used to do it that way but ran into some issues with my brass getting dinged up around the necks. I had to start running something through them to make sure the inside of the neck was round, especially near the mouth. I started with a mandrel and eventually went to an expander ball. In my application and use I couldn't see any differences on paper or steel. FLS w/ neck bushing and expander ball is just faster and more convenient for me. I don't grossly under size the necks, just enough that the expander is pushing any imperfections back to the outside that were pushed inside by the bushing. I think that is key to the expander not doing bad things to the neck alignment. YMMV

 

[Barrelnut]

Ahh, come on. He was giving em all free jugs of RL26.

 

[wildhawk]

How many people clean their brass after every firing?

I do

 

[jrock]

We'll I'm in the camp that the more prep and procedure you have the more consistent performance you'll get. I have a full custom that I shoot Norma brass through and it is 1/4 MOA consistently out to 1100 yards. My brass prep for that rifle is much less than most peoples. Sometimes you just get a barn burner.
When I first started reloading, I didn't anneal or clean and had 5 or 6 shots on brass that still shot 1/2 MOA at 100. Of course I wasn't shooting long range back then but had to start somewhere.
I always start with minimal prep and if my gun doesn't shoot well enough, I keep adding steps until it does.

 

[JCow14]

Coriolis will come into effect shooting north or south, but has a horizontal effect instead of vertical. Pair this with a right hand twist barrel/ spin drift in the northern hemisphere say North Alaska or Canada and you have a POI shift right- big time.

I always went by

Horizontal correction
Northern Hemisphere POI right+ spin drift (right hand twist barrel)
Southern Hemisphere POI left
Poles max deflection
Equator zero deflection

Vertical Correction
Shooting East POI high
Shooting West POI low
Poles zero defection
Equator max deflection

 

[Remmy700]

ok he finally said it -- the reason bench rest shooters do not neck size is that on a hot day a round may not chamber or worse yet it won't eject and that might cost them a match. If I were in a competition I would also full-length size. These guys spend thousands of dollars a year and have custom made dies (I am sure) to get .002 uniform full size. I know that when I neck size my groups got smaller. I suppose if I wanted to spend the cash I could get custom dies but I am a hunter, not a bench rest shooter. I have never had a round stick or refuse to chamber because when I hunt it is always cold. Great video but more detail would have been helpful.. Thanks for posting that.

This is not a valid argument. If BR guys FL to ensure they don't loose a match why would a hunter not FL size also. BR is a way, way more controlled environment than hunting. On a hunting trip who knows what you are going to get in your chamber. I used to do that Neck sizing thing and I always seen problems. Bolt close resistance different from round one round to another was all over the place and the dreaded rounds that would not even chamber. There is nothing more accurate that a quality FL sizer set up correctly. I have tried about every practice in brass prep there is and I do a lot of steps to brass now. But the best money I ever made was stopping neck sizing and running FL with all the guts out followed by a Sinclair expander. To each their own of coarse and whatever works for you. But this is just my experience.

 

[Rick Richard]

How many people clean their brass after every firing?

I do

 

[Huntz]

I have been reloading for some time and have been shooting 1000 yard targets on my own ranch range. Not fancy by any means, but very effective. I am tired of seeing big bulls walk away at 900 yards not to be seen again.
I have been shooting every day for some time and have gotten my 1000 yards groups with my .338 LM to about.5 MOA or 5 inches.
Some of the things I have learned about brass prep I want to pass on.
1. Neck size only
2. chamfer and flash hole clean all brass
3. Use Nosler or Norma they are the same brass, or my favorite is Lapua you will not have to trim for several reloads.
4. soak in acetone or alcohol before going into the tumbler/vibrator/ultrasound wipe off
5. remove cleaned brass from cleaner and take a brass brush and clean the inside of the necks.
6. Blow each piece of brass out with an air compressor first the inside then primer pocket look inside and make sure primer pocket is clear of obstruction.
7. I use micrometers for seating bullets use ogive to lands measurements only do not use COAL is it useless especially with plastic-tipped bullets.

Shoot a lot.

Steve

Do what ever makes you feel good with brass prep.The only really important thing is having a straight neck.I do not waste my time with the minutia.I would spend more time learning how to get closer.Too many variables with shooting 1000 yards can cause an animal to be wounded rather then a DRT shot.I am not saying it cannot be done,but rather I get more satisfaction with a successful stalk that may or may not end up in a kill.Too much emphasis is being placed on the only successful hunt is one where you come home with an animal.Once you learn that ,you will always be a successful hunter.Kill or not.Huntz