What's needed to obtain hunting accuracy in reloading??

[User4302021]

The number one thing that beginners fail to do is trim thier brass....this one mistake can make a mild load an explosive one, so don't be that guy and trim you brass. The quickest, cheapest surest way is to use the Lee trimmer stud and cutter. They are cheap and they work. They are also reasonably fast. Get the cutter with the big wooden ball for the handle.

Two... If you use a balance beam scale, make sure you double and triple check the balances to make sure they are right. If you use an electronic scale, calibrate it every time you use it and check it every ten rounds or so with a check weight. Repeat as necessary.

Three...Only have one single powder (hopefully the right powder) out at any time on the bench. NEVER leave powder in the powder measure. Empty it all and put it away before walking away from the bench.

Four...Follow the manuals.

Do these things and you will be fine.

 

[ATH]

Bare basics:
Press
Dies (expander ball type is fine)
Good caliper
Comparator for OAL to ogive
Comparator to measure shoulder placement
Chamfer tool
Brass trimmer
Scale (highly recommend Chargemaster or similar)
Loading block(s)
Priming tool

I would never go back to manually throwing charges. A lot of people will tell you a Chargemaster is not accurate enough, you have to measure concentricity...weigh brass/bullets...IMHO if you are not shooting benchrest forget about it. I took 3rd in a competition to 2000 yards last year with Chargemaster thrown charges and no special prep, my vertical was no worse than the guys who are competitive in F-class...

Yes in 1000 yard F-class they were a bit tighter, if you care about a couple points you need to do it at that level but a game animal will never notice. I have yet to have a well-built rifle I could not get down to .3-.4 MOA with handloads..

 

[MountainBlacksmith]

Sticking with one load and shooting in heat and cold and wind and humidity and get used to it.

Consistently be consistent or else you'll spiral down the infinite black hole of possibilities in the reloading world and you'll be an old man still looking for the flattest shooting lightest recoiling hardest hitting magic recipe for a bullet....

Actually that sounds like a ton of fun, but really consistency is important and when you stick to a load you can eventually work out any human error in your shooting techniques

Congratulations doing this with your two sons, you are a greater man for it

 

[Capt RB]

If you want great accuracy you need quality brass. In the past that meant Lapua then every one else. Today Peterson Alpha and ADG make brass that is at least as good. Just look at the ELR crowd. Peterson is the goto in 408 and it's getting noticed for 338 Lapua based cartridges also. To make first shot hits at 1.5 miles means great consistency
I used the 6.5 creed brass and it is very nice. That rifle shoots 1/2moa with all bullet weights. The 147's will shoot 1/3moa out to distance and hold less than 2 inches of vertical @ 700 yds. Most of that is me and my 14x optic. 500 yd vertical is a bullet width. Unfortunately my wind reading isn't.
I just ordered 308 peterson brass. The 1/2-3/4 moa loads in fed brass should tighten up in both size and SD by a bunch with adding this brass to the mix

 

[FEENIX]

Lots of excellent advice thus far. The best advice I can give is to take your time and enjoy the learning process and always with safety in mind. Safety, safety, safety ... there is no substitute for safety.

Happy safe loading, shooting, and hunting.

 

[Skimafia]

What I did was read, read, read. Find out what makes sense for you then adapt as needed.
One thing I found useful with my Creedmore was finding a good factory round that performed like I liked and essentially reversed its specs. I used a factory case to find good overall lengths and some other variable like base to ogive. Then I referenced loading books to see what powders and charge amounts work for the bullet I chose. Then do load development off of that until you get the groups that are best for your gun.

 

[GregBFL]

I just read through this thread and now I have the reloading bug going through my mind. Back in the late 70's early 80's I was a young teenager and my father was heavily into rifles and reloading. One evening he came home from work and told me to get ready.... we were going to look at some reloading equipment for sale. We met his shooting buddy and drove over to Orlando and arrived at this gentleman's home and walked around to a small shop behind his house. What I saw when I walked in the door was nothing short of amazing.

Long story even longer, the gentleman was going through a divorce and needed money for his attorney's fees. I don't know how much they wrote the check for but I was told it was a steal. That was on a Friday night, the following day we returned with two trucks and loaded the entire contents of the building into the trucks (it took one more truck load to complete the move). Luckily my Father's shooting buddy had a large building on his property, slightly larger than the gentleman's.

When we were finished building tables, shelves, etc., we had an array of 6 RCBS Rockchuckers, 3 Dillon progressives, and a shotgun shell loader (Lee, if I remember correctly). There was 100+ dies, case trimmers, tumblers.... everything you could imagine. Evidently the gentleman it was purchased from had contracts with some of the Law Enforcement Agencies in the area and did a LOT of reloading. I remember spending countless hours with my father reloading rounds for our hunting rifles and spending even longer at the range finding out how the latest reloads turned out. My father had stacks and stacks of reloading books - Lyman, Hornady, Hodgdon and so on that he would refer to and show me how to use.

Thank you to the OP of this thread and those who contributed. I haven't done much reloading since my father passed away but I think I will start again. I need to catch up on what to purchase and start buying things up a little at a time. It's not that I need to reload to squeeze the last little bit out of a round or save money. Nope, I remembered how much fun it was spending time with my father and I have a daughter that loves to shoot as much as I do. I think it will be a good opportunity to spend time with her and perhaps work up a few good loads.

 

[Lahunter76]

Hello! Have enjoyed reading this thread!! I have a quick question, if someone (ME) was to start from nothing and was thinking about a starter Kit to by to start out with. What Kit/Brand would be yalls go to starter kit? I know I could pc it all together but was thinking about just getting a starter kit to get started and then add as I could. Also If I need to start a different thread I will be happy to.

 

[just country]

morning, read, read ready and ready more. use youtube for
instruction and info on reloading fundamentials sp.
patience, be safe. read more justme gbot tum

 

[birdiemc]

I think the most exciting time in handloading is firing that first round you make yourself. Have fun.

I dont know what you're talking about, that's the only time I've ever fired a rifle in my life with my eyes closed, lol

 

[birdiemc]

Hello! Have enjoyed reading this thread!! I have a quick question, if someone (ME) was to start from nothing and was thinking about a starter Kit to by to start out with. What Kit/Brand would be yalls go to starter kit? I know I could pc it all together but was thinking about just getting a starter kit to get started and then add as I could. Also If I need to start a different thread I will be happy to.

I'm not entirely sure which one to reccomend as I only have a Lee press and I have to say unfortunately I dont recommend it. There are many things Lee does right, but I just do not like their quick change bushing system in the press I have. I'm sure many out there use it and produce very good ammo, but I do not like the stacked tolerances you get with the bushing screwing into the press and the die into the bushing. I ordered their hand held press about a month ago thinking it would be nice for depriming, but even that has the quick change bushing now so I can see myself probably buying something new this year now that I know what I'm looking for.

 

[Lahunter76]

Thanks Birdiemc, I have talked to a couple ppl around me that reloads and they have also expressed there unhappiness with Lee. the Hornady starter kits and the RCBS starter kits are two I have really started to narrow it down on. One buddy of mine that reloads uses the Hornady kit and likes it, so i may go with that since i know someone that uses it. Will have to check with my cousin to see what he has also.

 

[LaHunter]

Hello! Have enjoyed reading this thread!! I have a quick question, if someone (ME) was to start from nothing and was thinking about a starter Kit to by to start out with. What Kit/Brand would be yalls go to starter kit? I know I could pc it all together but was thinking about just getting a starter kit to get started and then add as I could. Also If I need to start a different thread I will be happy to.

RCBS is a good kit to start with. The Hornady Lock n Load comparator kit for measuring CBTO and base to shoulder is very useful. I also use Redding FL die, Redding Competition bullet seating die, and Redding Competition Shell holders.

Good Luck

 

[birdiemc]

+1 on the hornady comparator