Need help reloading
- Thread starter a_savage02
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If you want to keep your magnetospeed on while you test, wiser precision sells an attachment that removes it from your barrel and connects to your stock just fyi. Also, when you collecting data on your rifles and the numbers were high, were they within the first 100 to 150 rounds?
a_savage02
Well-Known Member
Yes my 6mm creedmoor only has about 140 rounds through it. My 6.5 creedmoor has around 300 rounds through it now.
Mike Matteson
Well-Known Member
Screwed brass when annealing isn't the first time, and won't be the last either. I would look at getting a balance beam scale. Primers are hard to come by presently. Mixed brass doesn't help. There are problems in the reloading set up. Not bad, but not great either. There is a lot to clean up on brass care, but that may not be all of it.
Question: How are your rifle set up. Action bedded? Barrel floated? Correct tension with mounting screws with action and stock? What's your trigger pull lbs. A heavy trigger pull doesn't help a bit.
Reload Question or things that need to be looked at, and help: Flash hole deburring, Case length all the same not longer or shorter (All one length) Annealing to set neck tension. Cases from the same lot.
Depending on how deep you want to get into reloading: Trim your neck thickness to be all the same. Necks are not even all the way around. Checking your case volume by weight. Not weighting the brass. It will help some, but not the answer.
It's a combination of all to get where you want to be.
I might add, be careful on exchanging primers. Some are hotter than others, but primers can change things on how your powder burns.
I would take ButterBean first step to start with.
Question: How are your rifle set up. Action bedded? Barrel floated? Correct tension with mounting screws with action and stock? What's your trigger pull lbs. A heavy trigger pull doesn't help a bit.
Reload Question or things that need to be looked at, and help: Flash hole deburring, Case length all the same not longer or shorter (All one length) Annealing to set neck tension. Cases from the same lot.
Depending on how deep you want to get into reloading: Trim your neck thickness to be all the same. Necks are not even all the way around. Checking your case volume by weight. Not weighting the brass. It will help some, but not the answer.
It's a combination of all to get where you want to be.
I might add, be careful on exchanging primers. Some are hotter than others, but primers can change things on how your powder burns.
I would take ButterBean first step to start with.
BigNate
Well-Known Member
I think you've gotten a truck load of good advice here. One thing is to be sure of is take good notes. On everything, for each session.
I didn't see a couple things answered. Basics matter.
1. Is the bedding correct?
2. Torque the action screws with a torque wrench.
3. Check crown
4. Clean barrel
If you're watching E.C. videos your on the right track. The thing is if you can't get good factory ammo to group well you may be spinning your wheels.
I didn't see a couple things answered. Basics matter.
1. Is the bedding correct?
2. Torque the action screws with a torque wrench.
3. Check crown
4. Clean barrel
If you're watching E.C. videos your on the right track. The thing is if you can't get good factory ammo to group well you may be spinning your wheels.
I have been told that speeds will fluctuate on a new barrel up to 150 rounds while using the same load or factory ammunition (barrel break in period). I have not tested this theory out yet as most of my guns or older but I will find out within the next month when I receive my new rifle from the gunsmith.
a_savage02
Well-Known Member
all rifles are stock minus the ruger american i put in a magpul hunter stock. action is torqued with a wheeler torque screw driver. both rifles are free floated barrels and I try to always clean my rifles after every use specially during the break in. I will say I never had taken off the the muzzle breaks off and cleaned the crown intel recently so that's a new step in my cleaning process lots of carbon build up when I took the muzzle breaks off. So now I take the breaks off when i clean the barrel. every day I'm learning something new in the process. I am gonna try and pick up some quality factory ammo for both rifles and shoot some groups and see what happens. Along with not using the magneto speed for a while and taking butterbeans advise on the dies.
a_savage02
Well-Known Member
That Makes sense i have about 40 cases left for both 100 round batches i have already resized for both rifles I'm going to continue to play around with the 40 rounds left and then next resizing im going to change up a few things. Thanks everyone for all the advise and i will continue to take in everything has said to me so far. Keep it coming its all opening my eyes to a lot of stuff.
Rocketeer77
Well-Known Member
How do you measure your powder for each case. Do you have more than one brand of brass, have you tried just neck sizing. Same primers etc.
Powder charging has to be 100% perfect that's if you want consistency with velocities. This takes time but I have a range here that measures projectile velocity at 200 metres. My .243 had a spread of 120 FPS @ 200 metres, by ensuring powder charging was spot on we're now down to a 12 FPS maximum spread measured at the muzzle. The further from the rifle that spread obviously widens further. I was naïve thinking my powder throw was repeatable & consistent because it was a reputable make.
Powder charging has to be 100% perfect that's if you want consistency with velocities. This takes time but I have a range here that measures projectile velocity at 200 metres. My .243 had a spread of 120 FPS @ 200 metres, by ensuring powder charging was spot on we're now down to a 12 FPS maximum spread measured at the muzzle. The further from the rifle that spread obviously widens further. I was naïve thinking my powder throw was repeatable & consistent because it was a reputable make.
a_savage02
Well-Known Member
I use an electronic powder dispenser to get close and then I recently started hand trickling the last few grains on the scale because i kept getting a lot of overthrows with the powder dispenser. I have checked the scale with multiple other electronic scales and all read about the same. I may try and check charges with a beam scale to insure it is accurate. I have to way of checking velocity ant distances. I was just trying to get in the teens at the muzzle and I would be happy. I'm not trying to get into competition shooting mostly just ringing steel at hopefully 1000 yards one day. I'm hopefully gonna be able to get a load one day that will shoot under 1 moa consistently and I will be happy with decent SD.
I load both for 30-06 and 300 Win Mag using a variety of different brass, all the same lot numbers and not mixed. Cases are tumbled for cleaning, primers punched out and pockets cleaned. Currently using Federal Large Magnum primers in both hand seating using a Lyman hand seating tool the use IMR4350 usually trickled to just below max and use 165 gr Barnes TSX for both loads. I use standard RCBS dies set to the recommended settings without trying to improve on the factory settings. Bullets are seated so the maximum length is a bit below SAMMI specs. The 300 WM also gets additional crimping using a Lee factory crimp die (per Butterbean) which did drop my group size down from 0.9 to 0.75. The 30-06 shoots 0.65 without any additional crimping. It has been my experience that if a particular load is not working the chances are that the barrel simply does not like the bullet you are trying to shoot. You can play with it all you want, change primers, powders, use all the ladders you want to and it won't help much. My current go to bullets are Nosler Partitions, Sierra Game King and Honady Interlock. 165 gr and 180 in the 300 WM. All shoot under 1 MOA all day and from cold to hot barrel (these days from about 10 degrees F to whatever the barrel heats up to firing either 4 or 5 rounds in just a few minutes) without enough of a MOA change to make a difference. Sometimes I think that overthinking is more of an issue than simply using standard reloading methods.
nealm66
Well-Known Member
If you take my advice and measure a few of those Berger bullets you will see very quickly why it helps to sort them. The eol's are way more forgiving but impossible to find. A .02 powder ladder will find a forgiving accuracy node with that scale. Worry about the es/ds later. You're change of hold on the rifle can screw with es/ds as much as anything, work on it later. Use some brass you haven't annealed. After you find accuracy, then try the annealed brass and see if it's ok. Definitely switch to h4350 to start. If you could see the difference in charge that 1/10 scale makes with staball 6.5 you would understand
nealm66
Well-Known Member
About 60-100 rounds before cleaning on the savage is what I've found competing. Just a mild cleaner. No idea on the ruger but once you get load and shooting, it will tell you. About 4 to fowl on the savage
