Reloading Rituals

[Dick284]

With the Sheephuner and I totally hi jacking the thread about 308 Ammo. It got me to thinking.
What sort of prep work do you do to wring out the most from your rifles.
All mine are glass bedded, and the triggers tweeked, if it can be done, without breaking the bank.
Scope rings are lapped.
For the ammo, I usually take it in steps increasing the amount of fine tuning until I get the results I desire for a given rifle.
For example my 358 BLR, gets trimmed cases, reamed flash holes, and uniformed primer pockets. Dies are set for minimum sizing to allow reliable functioning of the action. Bullet seating length depending on bullet is either 4 thou off the rifling or to fit in the mag. box.(diffrent bullets)
While my 25'06 gets about as much as I can muster. Cases are formed from 30'06 brass, necks turned enought to true up the neck thickness. Flasholes de burred, pockets uniformed, trimed religeously. Primers are crush fitted, bullets seated to 4 thou off the lands, all bullets are moly coated. Neck sized and a BR competition collet seating die is used for assembly.

What are some of your rituals

Best shooting rifle that I own is a Sako M995 in 7STW.

The entire ritual involved giving the guy at Russel's $550.....slapping a Zeiss scope and Leupold rings on it and shooting factory 150 grain ammo.

Sometimes you just get lucky but with the quality of rifles now adays and the consistency of some of the factory ammo, there no reason that you can't expect sub MOA rifles off the shelf with factory ammo and truthfully, for hunting situations, that's all you need.

I appreciate guys that love to tinker and gain .25 of an inch but I think sometimes we bog rookies down too much with these details when the truth is, you can get near custom rifle and handloading accuracy right off the shelf of your favourite gun shop without breaking the bank.


I know some Albertans that are crazy about hunting Anas crecca crecca will be surprised I didn't say Encore but I do have a few of those that will shoot sub MOA as well.

[Dick284]

I agree in part TJ.
But I'll wager good money that if I took an already fine shooting factory rifle, tweeked the trigger and bedding, and did a bit of load development with it the groups will shrink. And by more than a 1/4 inch too.
Not everyone reloads and not everyone needs to reload, thats as obvious as the nose on buddies face. But if you want to venture into the relm of reloaded ammunition, do you want to make handloads, or precision reloads?
If you havent figured it out by now, as I know TJ has, it's just not a thing I do this shooting and reloading, it is a hobby, and more.
I take it quite seriously, and enjoy wringing the most out of a given rifle, be it my front stuffer, or my best centerfire rifle.
My 44 mag lever gun gives me just as much pleasure as my 22-250 heavy barrel, they both do what they are designed to do, but with the tweeking and tinkering they do it much better.

Definitely no slight against those that love to tweak as it is a skill like any other but I just think sometimes that new hunters get so bogged down in that stuff that they miss the big picture and factory ammo accuracy has increased so much in recent times that the average reloader doesn't gain much in the accuracy department. Note word of average.....Certainly there are many other reasons to reload but for the guy that shoots a hundred rounds a year there really isn't much to gain.

[aulrich]

Ritual this has nothing to do with rituals, a proper ritual need a sacrifice of some sort,
like a chicken. Though I have been using KFC since the wife won't let me into the house with a live one anymore

[Dick284]

Yes I agree TJ:
Alot of these guys need to get good with what they have before moving on up to the next phase.
I've seen some outstanding results from factory fodder in mostly stock rifles, but the individuals usually wont leave it at that for a while. They read about the hottest and latest, and ruin a good thing, when the old stand by old fashioned factory fodder would have done just as good. For 1/2 the cost.

[Digger]

I love to hunt , I love to shoot paper. If you answer yes to these in my opinion the sooner you start to reload the better your going to feel.

[Huntnut]

With me it's getting the same satisfaction out of using my handloads to shoot and animal as it is using hand tied flies to catch rainbows.

As far as rituals I weigh and trim and carefully inspect all brass and measure powder by hand 1 at a time.

[Cappy]

I merely trim to length, clean the primer pockets and chamfer and debur the mouths. Then each load is individually weighed. On my .308's and .223 I only neck size. Works for me.

[catnthehat]

My ritual usually starts with realizing I have beeen doing gunwork and loadin g for everyone else.
then it progresses into the garage wher I knok my head on the loading bench looking for a box of brass that has been prepped , then put away during the wee hours of dawn three months ago.

Amisdst the mumbling it is then realized that said brass has already been shot - finding the log book and double checking confirms .
Next step is to grab some lapua brass for an irons rifle and furiously load 100 rounds for myself and my son, making sure to change OAL for the two rifles.

While this is going on, said Youngster is seating bullets , then loading stuff into the truck while I look for something else I have misplaced.
I then take off to the range in a mad rush because we are either burning daylight for practice or behind schedule for getting down the road to the big city.

Once at the range I proceed to get out my gear while the kid posts targets , or takes the quad out to paint the gongs.
About that time it is realized that
A: I have forgotten my one point sling
B: I have left my newly loaded ammo at home
C: left one of 5 rifles I wanted to shoot at home ( the one I was loading for)
D: All of the above!
I am then regulated to shooting the one rifle I have 10 rounds for and is already zeroed!

is that a ritual , or maybe "old folk's desease"?
Cat

[Grizzly Adams]

I worry more about the guy pulling the trigger. All that prep work isn't worth a hill of beans if you don't do your damdest to make that shot go where it's supposed to.
Grizz

[ruger300]

For me, cases are sized to fit MY guns, trimmed to length everytime, measured, measured and measured again. Each powder charge is weighed and OAL is checked again and again. For me reloading isn't about making cheaper ammo, it is about making precision ammo. Every shot counts.

ruger300

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Dick284

I agree in part TJ.

If you havent figured it out by now, as I know TJ has, it's just not a thing I do this shooting and reloading, it is a hobby, and more.
I take it quite seriously, and enjoy wringing the most out of a given rifle, be it my front stuffer, or my best centerfire rifle.

Those that know also know that it is more than a hobby for me, it is a very big part of not only my life but my heritage, one that could very well be lost as far as the national and international shooting goes, once my older brother and I go to quieter ranges.
My son likes shooting the rifle rodeos, but has no interest in other shooting sports and I do not have the time to put into smallbore or fullbore conptetition the way I did many years ago.
This part saddens me, but the saddness goes away as soon as I start messing around with a rifle or shotgun or my loading tools, especially if they were some that my my father owned.
Handloading an accurate load that will put 5 rounds into a tiny cluster at a distance is always fun.

handloading is very good for the soul as well, becuase it lets you forget about the day's stress - sort of like cutting the grass - NOT!!
Cat

[Rugersingle]

For myself I break the "rituals" down into three seperate sections: the rifle, the load and then load development.

The rifle - any new gun gets inspected for trigger pull, bedding , scope mounting, crown issues etc. then a really good barrel cleaning - all before I fire any bullets down range. I usually dont change anything at this time, lets try er out first.

The load -
- all brass is sorted by headstamp , even though they are all stamped the same calibre each manufacturer is just a bit differant in actual case capacity. This variance can explain why a perfectly deadly load in say Federal brass will shoot just a little differant in Winchester brass. Each case is inspected for cracks, pressure rings, deformations etc, anything suspect is trashed.
- if I have fired brass it is then neck sized only, new brass gets the full pass. I check the first one or two in the gun, just to be sure, and then run the whole lot through the press
- then onto the trimmer, I use the book trim size. I'm sure I could go longer but this is how I shown 20 years ago and old habits are hard to break. Then inside and outside chamfer and then into the tumbler for an hour or so. After the tumbler, clean the primer pockets and deburr the flash hole.
- primers are individually seated with a hand primer. I try to apply the same amount of "squeeze" each time and any cases that have a "loose" feel as the primer seats are marked and set aside for low power loads. I inspect each case for primer depth as it is done and moved into the loading block.

Load development - A huge discussion by itself... I decide on the bullet I'm going to use, read all the data I can can find, decide on a powder and pick a load about mid scale. I used to measure each charge with a balance beam and trickler but I have a new elec dump that I am trying now. It does speed up the process and when checked against the beam is very accurate. I set COL so the ogive is just off the lands...and off to the range.

That first trip to the range is just to get a "feel" for things. The trigger may suck, the barrel bedding may need to be tweeked, the scope may need to be adjusted etc. I pass a few rounds over the chrony to see what the actual speed is compared to the book value. I'll zero the gun and then fire about 20rnds to see what type of grouping I get. Then pack er up and take em home.
And in the end...most times I do a bedding job and adjust the trigger. After making these changes I'll take it back down to the range and try another 20 rnds. No load changes yet..one area at a time. If I am happy with the way the rifle is set up ....then I move onto the actual load development.

It may seem long and drawn out but like Cat said..it's a heck of a lot better than cutting the grass !!

[Papershredder]

On my rifle, a smooth breaking, light trigger is a must. On the bench; every charge is weighed to the 1/10 grain, and COL is checked on every round. Quality before quantity.

[209x50]

Back when I used to frequent public ranges I'd shudder watching most people shooting. I quickly realized that the vast majority of shooters out wouldn't know if they had a MOA rifle nor the capabilities to shoot it well enough to find out. I totally agree with Sheep that most are best served by buying good equipment and ammo and learning how to make do with that.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by ruger300

For me, cases are sized to fit MY guns, trimmed to length everytime, measured, measured and measured again. Each powder charge is weighed and OAL is checked again and again. For me reloading isn't about making cheaper ammo, it is about making precision ammo. Every shot counts.

ruger300

Doesn't everybody who makes handloads do it forr ech rifle individually?
The thought of jamming a bunch of ammo together thinking it is going to be accurate is not in my realm, however, one cam make super accurate ammo that is still cheaper than buying it, and in some cases you can't buy the ammo that I handload.
Don't get me wrong, everything I do is measured , checked and logged, it's just that I tend to get disorginized these days!
Cat

[Rugersingle]

double post

[Rugersingle]

Not to worry Cat..there is a differance between "disorganised" and "disfunctional". Disorganised means you did everything right...you just cant remember what the heck you did with it !! Disfunctional means you cut every corner in the book and on top of that..... you still cant find it !!
And you are correct .....each gun gets its own load. I load for 4 differant 303's, even though sometimes I may use the same bullet, each gun has it's "best recipe" and it's own brass. Could I use the same load in every gun..certainly. And I would achieve acceptable accuracy in each. Just like buying a 20 rnd box from CT, it will produce acceptable results, no problem. As a matter of fact, when I was younger thats all I did. But then a friend showed me how to reload, and "better" accuracy was there if you wanted it. The last box of factory ammo I fired was some 500gr .458's that dick284 found gathering dust on a back shelf here in FN. We didnt shoot for groups so I cant tell you if they were superior to handloads or not. But I did benchrest some handloaded 350's from that same rifle and at 75yds I cut a ragged hole with 4 shots, using the iron sights. Are handloads better than the newest factory offerings...dont know...but I'm gonna keep reloading... cus I like it.

[Silverado]

I suppose it is more ritual than process; I like reloading every bit as much as shooting (up 'till the point I have a panic attack realizing that I'm running out of components... again)!

First the spent cases go in the tumbler overnight. I use walnut with rouge mixed in, and they coming out looking so shiny I squeal like a teenaged girl.

With the exception of my AR15, I neck size only with Lee Collet dies, whether it's target or hunting ammo I'm making. FWIW, I've never had a failure to feed a neck sized only cartridge in a bolt rifle. (The AR, however, laughed at me uproariously the day I accidentally neck sized 100 rounds for her... note to self, must by a collet bullet puller).

On that note, ALL my presses and dies are Lee, and they work darn well for me (but I'm not trying to open THAT can of worms LOL).

As I'm a gear junkie of the first order, I've got lots of gadgets and trinkets associated with the process; I spend at least one coffee calibrating and re-calibrating my digital powder measure. Then I let my little RCBS rig that turns the case prep tools for me humm for a while, while I uniform the flash holes, ream the primer pockets, inside and outside chamfer, then polish the necks with steel wool.

Then I pour over the reloading data AGAIN, even though I've made the same loads dozens of times. I usually have my laptop in the garage so I can RECALCULATE the same loads over and over again on QuickLoad. (I sure like those purdy graphs...)

Then I spend too much time measuring every bullet in the box to find the one with the same exact length I used to set the die last time, so I can re-set the seating die again...

About the time I start to feel like I'm obsessing, I look at the target on the wall above the bench with the tiny (.651") group I shot with my 308 at 200y using precise reloads, and carry on.

As I'm charging and seating, I measure every load, even though I know that bullets vary considerably in OAL. It bugs me every time, but I do it anyway, perhaps just to reassure myself that it's not me...

Finally, into the box they go.

As for rifles, I have and will go either way. By that I mean my precision/tactical rig is glass bedded, free floated, trigger tuned (and waiting for a higher end replacement actually) and action screws torqued with a torque wrench. It shoots great. One of my hunting rifles is done the same, although it came to me in that condition from the previous owner.

Another of my rifles (thanks catnthehat) is bone stock. I haven't touched a single thing on it, nor do I intend to. It shoots well under 1" (closer to 1/2" actually) at 100y with handloads. I have a couple of other guns in various stages of tuning.

As for cleaning, I use a bore snake, sometimes dry, sometimes with a shot of bore scrubber first. Every couple hundred rounds, I usually give the rifle a proper cleaning with a rod/brush/patches, but I'm not religious about it. The only time I hit 'em with copper cleaner is if I plan to work up a load with Barnes bullets, or once a year otherwise.

I enjoy the whole process so much, I have and do reload for a couple of buddies who don't do it themselves. It's satisfying to see someone else shoot a good group or knock over a game animal with ammo I made. I find it reassuring that the process is sound, and the time well spent.

[LongDraw]

I measure each thrown charge with an Acculab scale (1/200th of a grain) and measure each loaded round with a bullet comparator ( off of the bullet ogive). Kinda Type "a" when it comes to reloading, but I like to remove all excuses when I am on the bench. Don't get me started about brass prep, checking runout etc....

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by LongDraw

I measure each thrown charge with an Acculab scale (1/200th of a grain) and measure each loaded round with a bullet comparator ( off of the bullet ogive). Kinda Type "a" when it comes to reloading, but I like to remove all excuses when I am on the bench. Don't get me started about brass prep, checking runout etc....

I'm more type 'A" when it come to wind doping and the shot sequence myself, not that I don't build accurate ammo, but my form will put me inot the crap basket faster than anything!
Cat

[Silverado]

Dave, you forgot to mention how out of sorts you get when you realize you haven't primed any of those loads you just built... LOL

[flipper62]

Good one Silverado..It shows that most of us are reading and disecting the great advice from all those that have posted.

I like to keep the same brand of brass (usually winchester) and weigh them all seperate out the ones into + or - 5 grains in difference.

Decap the fire ones and into a case tumbler with corn cob media and shake for at least 3 hours, makes them nice and shiney, keeps the dies cleaner not to mention easier to inspect the cases.

I prime with an RCBS hand priming tool, you can really "feel" the primer seat in and avoid crushing the primer.
I also debur flash holes and trim each case 10 thou under max lenght and will get two reloadings before having to trim again.

One reloading ritual that I have incorporated in to my routine is case neck annealing. For those not familiar, it involves heating the case neck and part of the shoulder of the resized brass to 475 degrees F and quenching the case in cool water. This restors the original hardness properties of the brass which gets harder with each resizing. This procedure will make your cases last longer and tests have shown that with each resizing and reloading the pressure has risen by several thousand copper units of pressure (C.U.P) as the hardened brass will hold onto your bullet more thus causing the rise in pressure.
I have gotten 6 firings out of my load testing brass for my 300 win mag and they all look like they have been once reloaded with the exception of the decolouring of the necks from annealing. Primer pockets are still as snug as ever and no signs of case head seperation.

Hornady sells these kits on their web site

Dick284, you must have ran across this discussion. Rick Jameison covered this several years ago when he still wrote for Shooting Times.
Not to shoot holes in your post (couldn't resist that one) but in your first post you said that you seat bullets to 4 thou to the lands, did you mean 40 thou? I usually set my bullets between 50 to 70 thou.

My wife says that I am "anal" about this stuff but I prefer to be called "Detail or Accuracy Orientated"

Regards
Phil

[catnthehat]

My bullets are usualy either inot thhe lands or just touching, although some riflees like to be shot abbout .010 off.
Barnes usually start at .050
I never quench my brass when annealing, I hold the brass over the flame and turn it at the same time untill it is too hot to hold, then lay it down on a soft cloth.
I was taught that annealing then quenching actually hardens the brass too much.

lapua brass very rarely needs it however....
cat

[Dick284]

Flipper:
Nope, 4 thou off the lands, in other words almost into the lands. At least that is where I start and for the most part those that will function through the magazine or provide enough bite in the case neck have stayed that way.

[ABDUKNUT]

Here's my ritual;

Go to Cabela's once a year, and buy about 10 boxes of ammo. My .270 WBY and .300 WSM both shoot sub 1" groups with premium ammo, in the exact bullet I like. I used to reload when I did more varmint and target shooting with more different calibers, but at this stage I've already got too much junk laying around my house.

When somebody starts selling decent flies for as cheap as I can tie them, I'll clear some space, and start reloading again.