Suggestions for Reloading Excellence?

[WildRose]

"The dullest pencil is better than the sharpest memory".

Sounds like my granddad.

He also had a good one, "Never try to remember anything you can write down instead, Memory is limited, paper is cheap".

He too was an engineer who earned his degree through correspondence courses and the US Navy. He was a surveyor in the 1st CB's Battalion.

I miss him.

 

[DartonJager]

Sounds like my granddad.

He also had a good one, "Never try to remember anything you can write down instead, Memory is limited, paper is cheap".

He too was an engineer who earned his degree through correspondence courses and the US Navy. He was a surveyor in the 1st CB's Battalion.

I miss him.

Oriental version of same saying goes:

"The weakest ink WILL last longer than the strongest memory"

 

[rcoody]

Many different reloading methods produce accurate ammo. Just read about all the different methods by our top competitive shooters. None are the same.

But consistency and record keeping are an important aspect of all of.them

 

[lesvoth]

With a nod to Les Voth, who wrote a very good article on shooting excellence in the December online issue of LRH, I'd like to ask what everyones' secrets are to Reloading Excellence?

What do you feel are the most important steps that need to be taken to make sure that you get every bit of accuracy out of your reloaded round?

Is there anything that you've learned from others that is a bit unusual but effective?

I'd like to include suggestions for testing of the loaded rounds, since that is a vital part of the reloading process, as well.

Thank you, in advance, for all the helpful suggestions!

Ron

Hey Ron,
Thanks for your kind words. I've been quoted a couple of times before but it wasn't quite as complimentary . . .

 

[gohring3006]

When I first started reloading, I had a press, scale and the cheapest dies I could afford.
I didn't do seating test, I loaded to recommended book length and stayed below max.
Fortunately I had a good rifle (only one rifle) and it produced 1 to 1/2 Moa groups and I was satisfied with that because I was a beginner.

Now.... I have several rifles, and although I do have some cheaper die sets for some, I have other tools to help be get good results.
Like, Chronograph, this is one of the most important tools I use. I can measure ES and get a idea what the loads are doing.
Case tumbler, this allows me to get my brass clean to inspect for problems like split necks and excessive case stretch.
Quality scale, this is just as if not more important than the Chrony. Consistent powder charges is everything or you have nothing.
Concentricity gauge, this allows me to set up my equipment to get the least possible run out.
Overall length guage, self explanatory
Bump gauge, allows me to set my dies up for my chambers.
Reliable calipers...
And of course, my data book.
I'm sure I left some things out, and these are not in a particular order, I'm just typing as they pop in my head.

 

[MtPockets]

Hey Ron,
Thanks for your kind words. I've been quoted a couple of times before but it wasn't quite as complimentary . . .

You're welcome, Les!
I really liked the article and the quote that I have in my signature is, in my opinion, words to live by- not only in shooting or reloading but in life in general.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like years ago when you wanted to learn how to do something you learned from those who already excelled at it.
Somewhere along the lines, that was lost in a lot of us.
Thank you for reminding me of something so simple and important, yet so easily overlooked!


Ron

 

[MtPockets]

When I first started reloading, I had a press, scale and the cheapest dies I could afford.
I didn't do seating test, I loaded to recommended book length and stayed below max.
Fortunately I had a good rifle (only one rifle) and it produced 1 to 1/2 Moa groups and I was satisfied with that because I was a beginner.

Now.... I have several rifles, and although I do have some cheaper die sets for some, I have other tools to help be get good results.
Like, Chronograph, this is one of the most important tools I use. I can measure ES and get a idea what the loads are doing.
Case tumbler, this allows me to get my brass clean to inspect for problems like split necks and excessive case stretch.
Quality scale, this is just as if not more important than the Chrony. Consistent powder charges is everything or you have nothing.
Concentricity gauge, this allows me to set up my equipment to get the least possible run out.
Overall length guage, self explanatory
Bump gauge, allows me to set my dies up for my chambers.
Reliable calipers...
And of course, my data book.
I'm sure I left some things out, and these are not in a particular order, I'm just typing as they pop in my head.

Thanks for the reply, '06.
I actually started reloading quite a few years ago, but it was only for handguns and I wasn't a good enough shot to know a good load from a bad one!
A few years ago, I finally gave into the centerfire rifle bug and now I'm working on the long range bug, too.
I still don't have what anyone would consider a long range rifle but I'll work on shooting the farthest I can with what I have until a better one is aquired.

Can you tell me about the "bump gauge"? That's not one I'm familiar with.

Thanks again!

Ron

 

[gohring3006]

Thanks for the reply, '06.
I actually started reloading quite a few years ago, but it was only for handguns and I wasn't a good enough shot to know a good load from a bad one!
A few years ago, I finally gave into the centerfire rifle bug and now I'm working on the long range bug, too.
I still don't have what anyone would consider a long range rifle but I'll work on shooting the farthest I can with what I have until a better one is aquired.

Can you tell me about the "bump gauge"? That's not one I'm familiar with.

Thanks again!

Ron

You're welcome Ron!
The bump gauge measures shoulder set back in a case. You attach it to your calipers and it will measure the shoulder setback as you adjust your FL or body die to set your shoulders back t a desired length. I usually go for .001" to .002" of set back.
John Whidden has a video to explain how.
Jeff Brozovich (Broz) does a excellent job of explaining it in his video on you tube as well.

 

[MtPockets]

Ok, thanks for the explanation! I'd never seen or heard of that before!
It sounds like just one more step in the quest for precision, and I've still got a LLLOOONNNGGG way to go.

I'll check out those videos later tonight after I get my bike put back together.

 

[Greyfox]

As a kid in the late 60's I had a Winchester Model 670 30-06 with Weaver K4. Loved to shoot, but couldn't afford the amount of factory ammo to feed my habit. I'm not even sure if it's still available, but I bought a Leeloader kit(red box) for about $5. It was a crude affair requiring a plastic mallet to drive the cases in and out of a dye, and seat the primers and bullets. A scoop was supplied that happened to work well with IMR3031, CCI primers, and a box of Speer 165gr spitzer soft points(based on Jack O' Connors writings). After a bit of practice, what became obvious was that while the cost was less then half, my group size shrank to the size of a quarter at 100 yards. This was a big deal as most all the factory ammo I had shot produced groups at least twice the size. I was hooked, but found the key to success was the consistency of the components and each step of that crude reloading process. Today, over 40 years and thousands of dollars in reloading equipment and measurement tools later, nothing has changed. IMO, the key to reloading excellence is consistency.

As an aside, I thought about that Lee loader this morning because I used the same plastic mallet to remove a detached de-priming pin from a case! I still have my old Lee Loader kits in 30-06 and 38spcl.

 

[rcoody]

As a kid in the late 60's I had a Winchester Model 670 30-06 with Weaver K4. Loved to shoot, but couldn't afford the amount of factory ammo to feed my habit. I'm not even sure if it's still available, but I bought a Leeloader kit(red box) for about $5. It was a crude affair requiring a plastic mallet to drive the cases in and out of a dye, and seat the primers and bullets. A scoop was supplied that happened to work well with IMR3031, CCI primers, and a box of Speer 165gr spitzer soft points(based on Jack O' Connors writings). After a bit of practice, what became obvious was that while the cost was less then half, my group size shrank to the size of a quarter at 100 yards. This was a big deal as most all the factory ammo I had shot produced groups at least twice the size. I was hooked, but found the key to success was the consistency of the components and each step of that crude reloading process. Today, over 40 years and thousands of dollars in reloading equipment and measurement tools later, nothing has changed. IMO, the key to reloading excellence is consistency.

As an aside, I thought about that Lee loader this morning because I used the same plastic mallet to remove a detached de-priming pin from a case! I still have my old Lee Loader kits in 30-06 and 38spcl.

Yeap me and my buddy bubba started out the same way about.50 years.ago

He had a 35 remington and i had a 30/30