Kevin Thomas
Well-Known Member
Once again, dittos to Dan's comments, but I'd expand a little bit, too. Redding makes an Instant Indicator that works quite well, and L.E. Wilson, Midway and Dillon, all three sell very similar chamber type gages. Sinclair makes a set of bump gages to measure shoulder set back, and of course, there's the RCBS Precision Mic he's already mentioned. Doesn't make much difference which one you use, but USE ONE. I'm firmly convinced that 99.5% of all reloading problems associated with gas guns could be cured if more people would just use the damned gages. Along those same lines, Dan mentioned .003 set back, which is fine. I'd use that as a minimum number, though. Call it .003" to .005" to give some tolerance range here, but don't go less than .003" in any case. I see well intentioned suggestions here all the time about setting shoulder back no more than .001" for a bolt gun, and that a gas gun is no different than a bolt gun. Don't believe it. They're different, and they need to be treated differently. I've seen guys trying to use Benchrest techniques in their Service Rifles, since that will make them "more accurate." They're easy to pick out on the line; they're the guys shooting all alone on the alibi relays, hoping their gun doesn't jam like it did during their first string, and that they've got enough ammo to get through the match now. Not pretty, and you don't want to be "that guy."
His advice on the Win primers is good, and that really pains me. They used to make the best primers going for Service Rifles, and the WSR was pretty much a standard component for this game. I used them religiously. Then, for whatever reason, they decided they needed to improve sensitivity, and thinned the cups. Big time problems, lots of pierced primers, many replaced firing pins . . . wasn't pretty. I'm using Wolf now, but the 7 1/2's, CCI's or others are all good.
Lastly, his comments on the Dillon swager need to be chisled in stone. Far and away the best stand alone tool on the market for this task, and the only way to fly. There's other tools on the market, and they do a great job if you're doing a handful of cases for a varmint trip. For the numbers you'll be doing for the HP game, you need the Dillon. Unlike tthe others, the Dillon will give you perfectly swaged primer pockets, every time. Read the instructions, set it up properly for the cases you're doing (they take some minor adjustment) and you'll be using it for years. The only one better, is the built in swager on their RL-1050 presses, if you ever decide to go whole hog. Hey, loads ammo AND swages primer pockets on every stroke? Sweet!
I think you'll find most any experienced HP shooter will be more than happy to help you get into the game. Pretty friendly bunch, and always happy to get new folks in the sport.
His advice on the Win primers is good, and that really pains me. They used to make the best primers going for Service Rifles, and the WSR was pretty much a standard component for this game. I used them religiously. Then, for whatever reason, they decided they needed to improve sensitivity, and thinned the cups. Big time problems, lots of pierced primers, many replaced firing pins . . . wasn't pretty. I'm using Wolf now, but the 7 1/2's, CCI's or others are all good.
Lastly, his comments on the Dillon swager need to be chisled in stone. Far and away the best stand alone tool on the market for this task, and the only way to fly. There's other tools on the market, and they do a great job if you're doing a handful of cases for a varmint trip. For the numbers you'll be doing for the HP game, you need the Dillon. Unlike tthe others, the Dillon will give you perfectly swaged primer pockets, every time. Read the instructions, set it up properly for the cases you're doing (they take some minor adjustment) and you'll be using it for years. The only one better, is the built in swager on their RL-1050 presses, if you ever decide to go whole hog. Hey, loads ammo AND swages primer pockets on every stroke? Sweet!
I think you'll find most any experienced HP shooter will be more than happy to help you get into the game. Pretty friendly bunch, and always happy to get new folks in the sport.
