Barry loyd
Member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2018
- Messages
- 291
Go to YouTube and find Gunblue490. The man is a wealth of information.
That sounds like outstanding results to me.Well fellas I finally grew a pair and tested out my first batch of .308’s. I’d really rather I had someone with me as the spot I go to is in BFE and preferably for this individual to have some sort of emergency medical training in case of a catastrophic miscalculation on my part.
I’ve been including my 100 round box homemade goodness the last 3 times I’ve been out there along with several boxes of the super bulk deal I got on some Winchester 180 gr soft points I’ve been burning up. After about 40 rounds of the store bought trying to connect with my full size steel silhouette with my AR10 at roughly 440 yards out hitting about 70% of the time I said screw it and decided to give my creations a day in court.
I drove back to my target, which looked like I’d been tagging it with 12ga 00 from 50 yards out and laid down a fresh coat of white with a crude bright orange circle roughly 6” in diameter in the middle of the chest. Back at my spot I loaded up. Not going to lie I was sweating/shaking a little for the first pull but once it was gone and I still had all fingers and my face was still there I settled down.
First shot pinged the bottom left of the target (assuming the nervous shakes I made no adjustments) and second came in low middle. The rest of the mag was spent walking the shots upwards into the orange. Once on point I’ll be damned if the next 30 rounds didn’t leave about a 3.5” inch area of bare metal inside my rudimentary target.
At that point I was starting to lose day light and I questioned if my hand loads were really THAT much better or was it me focusing, breathing and controlling the trigger more efficiently. I repainted the target and using the same technique as I did with the handloads I put another 40 rounds of the Winchester softies down range and it again looked like I was using the scatter gun.
Next weekend I’ll set up at 100 yards and actually do some 5 shot group testing but I am feeling A LOT better about my hand loading venture and a lot of thanks needs to go out to all of you that took the time to guide me.
So...thank you all.
and there are some, like Perfecta, that are notorious for having off-center flash holes.
This not a cheap "hobby". You will be compounding problems and frustration unless you start fresh.
I’ve been thinking about getting into reloading since the great ammo famine of 2012/2013. Especially since and this leads to arguments every time I say it but off the shelf stuff is not as good as it was when I got back into shooting in 2010.
I’ve found every excuse not to do it. Initial cost, too technical, lack of free time, lack of space, need and since I’ll be trading states next year so I figured it’d be more stuff to move. For the last year I’ve been stockpiling everytime I see ammo on sale as here in Californistan we can no longer buy ammo online without having it shipped to an FFL for pickup and by the time the shop you send it to charges to “handle” your shipment it negates the savings you were trying to get. Next year the rules change again and rumor has it I’ll have to get a license to buy ammo and the seller will have to report large quantity purchases to local authorities. Reloading circumnavigates all this mess.
^^^This is in my opinion the big thing about handloading. I think a lot of beginners to handloading are obsessed with saving money and as a fringe benefit get more accurate ammo. It is true that you can get started handloading on a budget but to get everything you really need and works well and robust in construction is for most of us going to require writing out a few checks. And while the mechanics of handloading are basic as the OP is finding out it can take considerable time to educate yourself on the minutia depending on what level you want to take this hobby. The negative is that once you get an understanding of what exactly you want to accomplish it is almost impossible to revert back to factory ammo.
I think most of us here have a similar experience sans the California lifestyle. The problem is of course we start accumulating the gear and components needed for just about every conceivable situation imaginable. Only on a handloading forum is it safe to admit that I own tooling to handload for calibers that I don't have firearms for LOL!
I was just about to tell you that you need to find a new circle. Good work, and keep the faith!I was mocked heavily in my circle for being the first to take the plunge into making my own rounds.
Saturday night I sent out a group text message with a pic of my grouping stating I finally used my rounds. “Big whoop” was the response followed by LOL’s.
Then I told them it was at 440 yds (my friends shoot a max of 200, I’m the only one with aspirations of 1000+) and the LOL’s turned into requests to come by my house so I can show them what I’m doing.
Saturday night I sent out a group text message with a pic of my grouping stating I finally used my rounds. “Big whoop” was the response followed by LOL’s.
Then I told them it was at 440 yds (my friends shoot a max of 200, I’m the only one with aspirations of 1000+) and the LOL’s turned into requests to come by my house so I can show them what I’m doing.
This gives me satisfaction.
It's not for everyone.there is a huge shift in leisure time allocation
Regarding your RCBS hand priming tool: Contact RCBS, I believe they will ask you to return it and will replace it (maybe repair it) for no charge. I have a lot of RCBS equipment and they have never let me down when I have had an issue.The RCBS hand priming tool that came with my kit is crap, and I’m open to suggestions for an upgrade. I thought it was bad jamming up with small rifle primers every 10 or so a few nights ago until I did large rifle primers today and only on out of 10 went smoothly. It took an hour and a half to seat 100 primers. If this is normal please let me know so I can throw all my equipment on craigslist....kidding.
Regarding your RCBS hand priming tool: Contact RCBS, I believe they will ask you to return it and will replace it (maybe repair it) for no charge. I have a lot of RCBS equipment and they have never let me down when I have had an issue.
With that said, my current favorite priming tool is the Lee Auto Bench Prime. Inexpensive and it works very well mounted to 1x3x7 a piece of oak. Be aware there is a generous use of plastic in its design and it can be broken by applying too much pressure to the press' lever. (Please do ask how I discovered this...) Also, mine came with the pot metal body halves over tightened. It's a simple thing to save a little frustration by loosening the screws holding the halves together and then snugging them up, but not tight. If you buy one, save yourself a headache and buy the set of shell holders for it. They are cheap will will fit all but a few chamberings.
BTW, I am one of those guys that have used a multitude of priming tools from RCBS, Lyman, Lee, Lachmiller, Dillon, Redding and probably a couple others. Most I still have, some I have given away or traded off. So far, the LEE Auto Bench Prime gives me the pain-free use (arthritis) and good feel for fully seated primers. And it is pretty quick, too. Primers that get in sideways is a rarity, but has happened a few times.
I will throw in two inexpensive tool suggestions: 1) Buy a stuck case remover - You will eventually stick a case in a die. (We all have done it.) 2) Buy a universal decapping tool. Comes in real handy when you really need it.
Enjoy the obsession! The rest of us do!
I shoot exclusivly LC 308 brass. Commercial data is fine. I’ve chronod loads at max in lots of different 308 brass and even converted 243 and still get low SD. It’s very forgiving.How do you feel about their .308 brass? I’ve got a grocery bag full of it that I’d love to make into match grade quality food for my AR-10 but I’m not 100% sure on powder charges for milsurp brass.
Sometimes a variation like you describe will be caused by a dirty seating die or stem button. Try disassembling the die and cleaning it well. Then reassemble with an extremely light coat of gun oil. Then check your variances again.So loaded up another 100 rounds of .308 last night shooting for an OAL of 2.8” and ended up all over the board from < 2.790” to > 2.810”. Not sure where I went wrong because my first 100 were mostly 2.8” with a few over or under by .002 at the most. Bullets are all from the same box the last 100 came from and everything fits the mags. I’m thinking of pulling anything that’s off .005”+ in either direction tonight and trying again, thoughts?
EDIT: I guess I wouldn’t pull the longs, I’d just run them through the press again.
Sometimes a variation like you describe will be caused by a dirty seating die or stem button. Try disassembling the die and cleaning it well. Then reassemble with an extremely light coat of gun oil. Then check your variances again.
Sometimes variance can be caused by crud in the shell holder, but usually that much crud will make placing the case in the shell holder problematic.
Some seating dies are more consistent than others. My Redding competition die is probably the most consistent. Running neck and neck in second place are my RCBS Competition Bullet Seating Die and, believe it or not, a Lee bullet seating die of the specific caliber being loaded. (The seating die included in my Lee 6.5x55 die set is every bit as consistent as the RCBS Competition die.)
Regarding your RCBS hand priming tool: Contact RCBS, I believe they will ask you to return it and will replace it (maybe repair it) for no charge. I have a lot of RCBS equipment and they have never let me down when I have had an issue.
With that said, my current favorite priming tool is the Lee Auto Bench Prime. Inexpensive and it works very well mounted to 1x3x7 a piece of oak. Be aware there is a generous use of plastic in its design and it can be broken by applying too much pressure to the press' lever. (Please do ask how I discovered this...) Also, mine came with the pot metal body halves over tightened. It's a simple thing to save a little frustration by loosening the screws holding the halves together and then snugging them up, but not tight. If you buy one, save yourself a headache and buy the set of shell holders for it. They are cheap will will fit all but a few chamberings.
BTW, I am one of those guys that have used a multitude of priming tools from RCBS, Lyman, Lee, Lachmiller, Dillon, Redding and probably a couple others. Most I still have, some I have given away or traded off. So far, the LEE Auto Bench Prime gives me the pain-free use (arthritis) and good feel for fully seated primers. And it is pretty quick, too. Primers that get in sideways is a rarity, but has happened a few times.
I will throw in two inexpensive tool suggestions: 1) Buy a stuck case remover - You will eventually stick a case in a die. (We all have done it.) 2) Buy a universal decapping tool. Comes in real handy when you really need it.
Enjoy the obsession! The rest of us do!
I shoot exclusivly LC 308 brass. Commercial data is fine. I’ve chronod loads at max in lots of different 308 brass and even converted 243 and still get low SD. It’s very forgiving.