Loading levels. Plinking, hunting, match.

[gdcpony]

As I came up through reloading, I came to realize that we spend a ton of time on it. Many times I read through how much time you all spend and while I do as well sometimes, I had to ask a question as I watched my kids clean their AR's after the last range day and I threw their brass in my tumbler.

Do we need to? When I load, I have “levels” of prep depending on the use of the round. There are those for my kids’ rifles. These can also be what I use for my reduced recoil and “minute-of-deer” loads for woods hunting. My pistol loads fit this category as well. I also have some for the mid-range loads I use for predator hunting, maybe some target shooting at close to mid ranges. Then I have the holy grail of loading. These are the ones I will be shooting at 1000yds at something and must remove every variable I can. This is where I myself am still learning and evolving as I continue to explore this discipline of shooting.

Why not look at the basic level that I use. When my kids bust out their .223’s for the range, I admit to cringing a little. My son has an AR and is looking to watch clay pigeons burst at 25, 50, and 100yds at near a cyclic rate. Then my wife and I bust out or CCW’s and shoot the little .380’s at a max of 20yds at paper plates (these are great cheap targets). Finally, my younger daughter has a 30-30 and I have a 45-70 which have the express purpose of being close in (for rifles) deer slayers and fun to shoot plinkers. I am happy to see all shots on the a paper plate at 250yds (Though I'd like to get them down to 1.5 MOA at that range later). Though these I am still working with so they will eventually get a load specifically for plinking and another for deer.

So how detailed do I get prepping these plinking loads? Well, in general the brass are mixed pieces ordered in bulk cheap batches and range pickups of different head stamps. That adds some time to the initial first loading.

I don’t sort these. I have yet to find that it makes enough difference for this application to warrant it. The shooters, targets, and expectations are not there right now. They need to meet the minimum requirements for safety, bust a can at 100yds or so, and that is it. Let's go though loading them. I have notes for what parts I don't on next loadings. This speeds things up a lot.

1. Decap- I use a Lee universal for the first time due to the potential for crimped primers and the ease of moving through different cartridge types after a range clean up. After the first loading I use my turret press and do it as I resize.

2. Tumbling- I think this is a safety thing if you are using brass you don’t know what firearm it came from. I dry tumble in a cheap Harbor Freight vibratory tumbler and it has worked for 20 years for me. I want to be able to see any issues. I do it after decapping the first time and before each time after for time. I can more easily find issues with a piece of brass when they are clean. I do not aim for new looking, just clean. I throw in the brass, fill it with media squirt some clearance car polish on top and run it for a couple hours. Then I dump them through a kitchen strainer which puts the media back into the bucket. Make sure you dump the media out of the brass as you are picking it out. of the strainer.

3. Lubing the cases- I spread them out on cookie sheets stolen from the wife and spray them with lube. Shake the pan to turn the brass over and spray again.

4. Sizing- I full length these all. 5 min later I am sizing away on my press. For the first loading they come back off the press now. Meanwhile, the tumbler is going in the garage.

5. Trimming- You can tell I am cheap. I use the Lee trimmer set and chuck into a drill. The ball holder they offer helps if you are doing hundreds at a time. This trimmer trims to the minimum length. In 99% of instances this will hold for about 4 firings. I measure samples just to be sure in subsequent firings and if I get one over max, I trim the batch again.

6. Chamfering/deburring- The brass is still on the chuck of the drill. A quick hit chamfers the inside. The outside I simply remove the ridge that forms during trimming. I caution you not to form a knife edge as that will cut into your bullet later on.

7. Primer pocket cleaning- Crucify me if you disagree, but I only clean these when I end up trimming on this level of prep. So on the first loading at least and not the next. Yes, clean pockets matter, but at this level of volume over accuracy it is not as important. You will still hit your pop can at 100yds and your pistol will still hit at 20yds.

8. Powder charging- Here is where I can tell you there are as many opinions as there are loaders. This is my method for this type of loading. It is not all encompassing. I am loading for different kids’ guns and our practice rounds for pistols, not match winning in a PRS shoot.

a. Powder choice- I like a powder that is on sale. Ever taken 3 kids and a wife with AR’s to the range each weekend for even one month? If it can work and I can get enough of it to use for a few months at least, then I have no issue with it. I then take that one, load a few in .5gr increments, and shoot them out of each rifle. I stay away from max charges since I am saving money and using a mix of brass. I pick a good compromise load and go with it for that cartridge. I am usually in the middle by the manual.

b. I also mass throw these from my powder measure. I set the measure and go to town. If I am skipping steps 5-7, I do this on the press. Otherwise I dump the charge into the case and then put it back on the press. Which ever way is faster for your set up.

9. Expanding- This only applies to pistols, straight wall cartridges, and those shooting cast bullets in rifles. Do not bell you case mouths so much that they look like French horns. You need just enough to allow the bullet to go in without shaving. Set your die appropriately.

10. Bullet seating- I generally am shooting the cheapest bullet I can at this level. I do use soft point bullets for all .223 because my daughters and my son varmint hunt with me and may get that 150yd shot at a yote and I want the same load to be in their gun as they practiced with. Cast bullets feed the .380’s, and .45’s. I use the book for this again due to the different firearms. I set the die and go. Check your length every 10 or so.

11. Crimping- I use the Lee Factory Crimp Die. Why? Because I like it. It has never given me an issue. I have also found that some rifles tighten up their groups with a bit of crimp. Maybe it uniforms neck tension? Either way, I have never seen it hurt precision, so I do it on all my loading. Do not crimp so tight you are deforming the bullet. I do just enough to see a very slight mark on my brass.

12. Boxing- Well, now we can get into another fight. If I am loading 3k .223 rounds with the same load, I send them loose into an ammo can, not boxing them individually. I then label it with that load. Currently, I have cans with H335 or 4320 or H332 in them depending on what was on sale that day. They mostly have the Hornady 55gr SP pills, but a few have the Midsouth 55gr HP’s in them. So long as I know to sight the rifle in (kids need that skill anyways) as I transition from one to another, it is good. To be honest these loadings have all shot better than the shooters they were made for. I do the same with .380 and .45. Though I have learned to wait on one particular powder for them due to a picky Glock in the house. You may find that you end up with just one load for all of them, but still label it. You never know when you will change. I still have ammo from years ago when I found a good sale on Unique for my pistols. Now the bullets have changed though. Wait till you mix that up!

There the process for loading plinkers is done. Your tumbler is now ready with the next batch of brass. Your will be surprised how much quicker the second loading of this brass will be. Probably over 100 in the time it took you to read this.

My oldest has left this level and now we load hers to the next “level” of prep and loading work. I will go over that in another post in a bit. This level here can serve as a beginner steps too. Crawl, walk run maybe?

 

[hdwhit]

gdcpony wrote:
My son has an AR and is looking to watch clay pigeons burst at 25, 50, and 100yds at near a cyclic rate.

And if Dad is paying for the ammunition, that's what my oldest would do, too. That's why on days he goes shooting with us, he gets one 30 round magazine (with 28 rounds in it) from Dad every hour. If he wants to shoot faster, he can buy his own ammunition. If he shoots his 28 rounds carefully and accurately, the magazines come from Dad more frequently.

 

[gdcpony]

And if Dad is paying for the ammunition, that's what my oldest would do, too. That's why on days he goes shooting with us, he gets one 30 round magazine (with 28 rounds in it) from Dad every hour. If he wants to shoot faster, he can buy his own ammunition. If he shoots his 28 rounds carefully and accurately, the magazines come from Dad more frequently.

If he wasn't 10 (now 11), I would 100% agree. My daughters are 17 and 19 and they buy their own components. The loading time though... That is what this first post saves many new/ high volume reloaders.

 

[gdcpony]

So, I mentioned a middle level. That is the bulk of my own ammo. This is a step up (or a few) from the basic blasting ammo we just built to get started. The numbers tend to be lower. I shoot more than any one member of my family, but a ton less myself than the rest of the family combined. I am also a prior competitor in a few disciplines and feel confident I can wring the most out of a particular gun in most cases. Also, my firearms tend to be of higher quality than the starter basics my family gets to start off with. (they can buy/ upgrade their own later.

So why not step up to the max level right off the bat? A couple reasons.

First, the firearm/load set up. My favorite AR for hunting has a 16” barrel and with full prepped ammo can regularly put 5 rounds in a 3/8” group at 100yds. Great for bragging rights. However, the sight on it is not set up for long range shooting being a 1.5-5x32 (speed is a factor in its selection, but that is another topic all together). The ammo also starts running out of steam then. I use 50gr Zmax/Vmax pills that start drifting a bit much out that far. It is a purpose built own a field hunting rifle that happens to have match precision. Without modification to the load, rifle beyond what I want it to do, there is no need for better than what I get at this level.

Next, we must look at application. We’ll use the same set up. It’s most common use is song-dog elimination at less than 400yds. Using just the steps below, I get .5” groups and that is more than good enough if that ‘yote hangs up at 450. I shoot it mostly off shooting sticks for hunting, and most matches it has competed in with me have involved move-shoot scenarios, off hand, and targets under 200yds. Is there a need to do better?

I caveat this with each shooter/reloader is their own person. Please do not think I am saying you are wasting your time if you go above and beyond. I am not saying that at all. But many out there may get over whelmed by steps that really aren’t needed for the purpose they and their rifle are going for.

These are modification’s and additions to the above post so apply as needed.

1. Brass selection. I still use range brass when I can like for the AR. However, it is sorted and much more closely matched. Some of my rounds by their very nature require bought brass. You don’t find .257 Roberts brass laying around. In fact, I must make it from 6mm Remington and running it through the die. We’ll get there. For now, just know that at this level Lapua brass is not needed. So long as the brass is reasonably consistent, you will be good.

2. Sizing. Ok if you have a bolt gun and are reading this, please look into neck sizing (NS). My daughter’s .223 Savage Axis gets another 1/8’ tighter group vs full length sized brass. My old Mauser in .257 Roberts gets up to 20 firings out of a set of brass this way. To do this you need to know that the brass must first be fired from that gun. In the case of my .257, I first full-length (FL) size the 6mm Rem brass I bought for it, load that, use it (the sight setting is the same for both FL and NS brass). After than I can neck size it for future loadings. I did play with NS for my AR’s too. Yeah, they chambered them, Yep, they shot very well. No, I could not get the bolt back open to eject an unfired round without “mortaring” it. Just a little warning for you guys out there.

3. Trimming. I still use the Lee here. The big difference is that if you are NS your brass, there will be maybe 10 firings between trimmings. Yep, 10. I still check it each time though.

4. Primer pocket cleaning- At this point I clean every firing. Also, on the first case prep I take a drill bit (.080 I think it is) and uniform the flash holes too. This is a one-time thing. I run a swage through them as well which is also a one time thing. Lyan sells a kit that is great for do this quickly.

5. Powder charging- This time I have worked up my loads to .1gr. I know the best one, I have my “pet” load. I may experiment some, but mostly each of this level gun has its own load. These are still thrown into a pan, but each is weighed before going into the case. The little Lee dippers that come with each die set are great tricklers if you are cheap like me. I use a jewler’s scale, but there are many out there. A .1gr difference (+/-.05) will not kill the group so don’t spend too long on it. The biggest change is coming.

6. Bullet seating. Here you are. To me this has made the most difference in the precision of a given rifle. You need to find and use the best “off-the-lands” (OTL) for your rifle. Then set the die to that. How? Let’s look at a couple ways.

a. Cheap way. Make a dummy round with the bullet not even close to fully seated and apply a crimp to it. Throw that in your chamber and close the bolt. Note I did not say magazine load. The exctrator as it pushes over the rim of the bullet will push the case as far forward as it can go seating the shoulder of the case against the chamber. The lands will push the bullet into the case. Eject the case and you have a round that is .00 OTL. Don’t start there especially if you are near max loading! Take a note of the length. Now, load some rounds with your best powder charge varying the OTL (making the length shorter) by .01 increments. I also have a homemade tool to measure this to the outer diameter of the bullet. They are sold too. It makes things easier.

b. Buy a tool to do this for you. It is basically a device that threads into the back of a modified case and pushes the bullet forward until it hits the lands. You then use that as above.

Now, something that I have noticed, that maybe someone else can prove me wrong on, but I have done 50ish rifles this way and it has worked. Once I find the OTL a rifle likes, I have been able to swap in any bullet, set it the same, and found it to be also the best. I have played with this and am still wondering why it works out that way.

7. Boxing. these get put in little storage boxes of some sort. You did spend a bit more time with them so give them better treatment.

Now, will these steps get you to 1000yds at this point? Not likely with consistency. It’s possible though. I took on a challenge with my .257 to hit paper plates every 100yds till I missed. Got to 700 and missed the 800 three times. (only did this once so take that for what it is worth). It was loaded using nothing more than this and is a Mauser, not a chassis new age PRS rifle. Don’t ask me to try that with my AR though. (Funny though since the AR shoots tighter at 300 and less). This is just to get you to reliably know that you can go out and plaster some pasture poodles on the prairies this summer. It get’s that round to that deer at range with knowledge you will hit it where you want.