Loading Methodology

[D.B. Cooper]

For those of you reloading rifle cartridges for precise accuracy, what preparatory steps do you take prior to loading your cartridges? Do you...

1.) Weigh all of your projectiles and then sort them by weight? If so, what is your range of tolerance? (+/- 0.1, so, with a 100 grn projectile, anything weighing 99-101 goes in the same batch?)

2.) Same question for your brass. Also, do you sort by lot numbers, or exclusively use only brand of brass?

What case prep do you do? Do you...

3.) Clean primer pockets and/or touch holes before or after tumbling? (Or do you clean them at all?)

4.) Do you trim to length every single reloading?

5.) Do you do this for bolt guns where your brass is fire-formed to your chamber?

Finally, what benefit do you believe, or have your observed or measured, comes from any or all of this?

Thanks in advance for your time. It has been decades since I loaded for rifle, and all I've done lately is some high-volume (meh, it's close enough) reloading for revolver, where I Just kind of assemble ammo with little attention to the minutiae.

 

[Blue68f100]

I don't shoot competition but enjoy shooting long distances. Those shooting 800 yrds + are doing any and all they possibly can.

I don't sort bullets but buy good quality ones. All my work is in brass prep. On new brass I will turn necks before I even fire them. I chamfer, debur the necks and the flash hole. Run them through my bushing sizing die, check ID, may end up running a expander too, to get the size want. On once fired brass, I deprime with a universal, clean with SS pins (this cleans the primer pockets), anneal, size, trim, chamfer, debur. I check primer pockets for uniformity, clean if necessary. Prime, dispense powder, seat bullet. Now ready to go fire them. I do this on all my guns I shoot long distance with, including AR's. All my AR's have min spec match chambers. A lot of time though I use a bobsled instead of the magazine.

 

[Axis II]

FWIW I only shoot 100yards and have a cheapo savage axis heavy barrel 223rem but on more than say 5-10 occasions I've been able to put 5 shots either almost in the same hole or literally in the same hole at 100yards.

Size with 1-2thou shoulder setback, clean primer pocket, trim, chamfer, debur, brush out neck, trickle to desired powder, cci mag primer, same LC case year, check seat depth with a Ogive tool and shoot em. I also use the OAL tool or bolt pull method to get about 10-15k off the lands.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

1. I have weighed all my bullets when competing but don't bother for hunting. I don't shoot past 300yds these days.
2. I just use the same brand from the same era of when they were made. If it is just for hunting I don't worry about it.
3. I clean my brass in a ultrasonic cleaner after they are de-primed. Then tumble, I like clean primer pockets.
4. I trim one time and check the OAL on my brass with calipers before reloading again. I trim one time only for revolver rounds, period. Don't trim for auto pistol rounds at all.
5. see 4
6. My handloads work flawlessly and are accurate. I check the trim length with rifle and often after a lot of loadings I find I will have to trim again.
To me the most crucial thing is getting your case to fit you chamber, then start worrying about how far the bullet is from engaging the rifling. So I will start out loading a little short on the bullet and once I have the cases dialed in to the chamber I start worrying about COAL.

 

[Toprudder]

Accurate at what distance? If you only shoot 100 yards, then a lot of what you list would not be necessary, IMHO. As you start to reach out farther, then more things in your list become important.

If only shooting to 100 yards, the most important thing will be finding an accuracy node, using something like OCW technique. Low standard deviations in velocity are not nearly as important as they would be shooting at longer ranges.

 

[someguy2800]

I used to do all of the above, now I do none of the above. I stopped doing a lot of that kind of stuff and could never tell any difference when I stopped.

I gave up a long time ago trying to make my sporting rifles into benchrest guns, the efforts are often wasted. If the bullet you want doesn’t shoot try a different powder. If no improvement try a different bullet. The right powder and the right bullet for the combo is 80% of it. I’m sure it all pays dividends for competitive shooters with the right equipment, but my guns just don’t seam to appreciate the effort I put in.

 

[someguy2800]

It reminds me of one day I was in the store picking up some 223 bullets for my varmint gun. I had a savage 223 with a criterion barrel and some bedding and trigger work that was a real shooter. Pretty much anything you put in the chamber was 3/4 moa and 1/2 moa was easily done with a bit of tweaking with most good 50-55 grain bullets.

I take a couple boxes of 53gr v max’s to the counter and the guy asks me what I’m loading so I give him the rundown. He asks what press are you using? I say a lee turret. He says oh you need to get a single stage, your concentricity will be better. I say I have one but the turret is faster and it didn’t make any difference when I sorted out the less concentric ones and shoots 1/2 moa anyway. He says well you should get some lapua brass. I said I have a million lake city already and they shoot 1/2 moa. He says you need a Redding bushing die and turn all the necks for consistent release. I say I use a collet die and it shoots 1/2 moa.

And so forth for 10 more minutes until I just finally just turned and walked away. He is probably right and I could do all that and drop my group sizes by another .1” but it would also quadruple my reloading time and wouldn’t significantly improve my odds of hitting something because by the time you get out far enough to make a difference the wind and ranging are a way bigger factor.

So moral of the story is nerd out over stuff as much as you want but don’t expect to be able to tell the difference unless your really at the top of your game.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Accurate at what distance? If you only shoot 100 yards, then a lot of what you list would not be necessary, IMHO. As you start to reach out farther, then more things in your list become important.

If only shooting to 100 yards, the most important thing will be finding an accuracy node, using something like OCW technique. Low standard deviations in velocity are not nearly as important as they would be shooting at longer ranges.

I expect to shoot 300 yards over flat, open (tundra) terrain.

Could you explain "OCW technique"?

 

[D.B. Cooper]

...I could do all that and drop my group sizes by another .1” but it would also quadruple my reloading time and wouldn’t significantly improve my odds of hitting something because by the time you get out far enough to make a difference the wind and ranging are a way bigger factor.

So moral of the story is nerd out over stuff as much as you want but don’t expect to be able to tell the difference unless your really at the top of your game.

You're essentially asking "How good is "good enough?" I totally understand. You can spend inordinate amounts of resources chasing fractions of an inch. At a certain point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

FWIW I only shoot 100yards and have a cheapo savage axis

While I don't have any experience with the Axis, don't underestimate the Savage brand for accuracy. All of these questions I'm asking are centered around a Savage 110 Flat Back (pre accu trigger) with a trigger job and glass bedded action in the factory wood stock. 20 years ago, it would shoot 10 shots into the same hole @ 100 yrds using Sierra Match King HPBT. (243 Win.)

 

[Toprudder]

I expect to shoot 300 yards over flat, open (tundra) terrain.

Could you explain "OCW technique"?

Sure. Better to get it from the horse's mouth, though.

http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com

 

[Nature Boy]

I don’t sort bullets by weight, bearing surface, base to ogive or overall length.

I don’t weigh cases

I do trim every time, deburr and chamfer

I also anneal every time

I spend a good bit of time finding the optimal charge, seating depth and primer

Edit: others do sort cases and bullets and swear by the practice. In my case I’ve not found enough benefit to do it to justify the time and I shoot competitively out to 600 yards

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Sure. Better to get it from the horse's mouth, though.

http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com

Thanks.That's an interesting theory.

 

[RecoilRob]

You can tell a lot about your ammo by checking the runout. If excessive...and it's from inconsistent neck thickness, then they need turned. If they're OK...then leave them alone. Weigh every charge and be sure the primer pockets are uniform...then load and check the runout. I cull all 'precision' ammo at .005" from the 'plinkers' and have found the really concentric ones to outshoot the wobblers by a margin worth the investment of time to find.

 

[lightman]

The ammo that I shoot in my benchrest rifle gets the full treatment. I trim the cases and turn the case necks. I anneal them about every 5th loading. I debur the flash hole and uniform the primer pocket and then sort by weight. I weigh the bullets and segregate them by weights of .1 grain. Finally I check the run out. I weigh the powder charges. I seat the primers by hand. The cases are neck sized and the bullets seated with Wilson dies on an arbor press.

For my hunting ammo I do the case prep minus turning the case necks and skip the weighing. The rifle cartridges that I shoot the most of get the bullets seated with a competition seater on a single stage press.

Pistol ammo gets tumbled and loaded, usually on a Dillon. I only trim pistol brass if the length is random enough to cause the crimp to vary.