|
10-07-2020, 09:45 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 56
|
|
Reloading Question
My rifle is a Bergara B-14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmor, I am really happy with the way it shoots but when I am reloading I am having a lot of inconsistencies with the head space measurement and not just a little. The longest is 1.5415 and the shortest is 1.5380, should I be concerned with this and what should I bump the shoulder back to when resizing?
|
10-07-2020, 09:49 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Dreadful Valley
Posts: 14,621
|
|
Your base to datum line is varying that much?
If that is what’s happening, it would mean you’ve got varying pressures or brass hardness.
__________________
There are no absolutes
|
10-08-2020, 03:52 AM
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Alberta
Posts: 2,580
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSPHunter64
My rifle is a Bergara B-14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmor, I am really happy with the way it shoots but when I am reloading I am having a lot of inconsistencies with the head space measurement and not just a little. The longest is 1.5415 and the shortest is 1.5380, should I be concerned with this and what should I bump the shoulder back to when resizing?
|
Are you using more than one brand of brass for your rifle...?
|
10-08-2020, 08:54 AM
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 56
|
|
Yes I have used Hornady, Nosler and Lapua ammo (trying to find what works best), but it’s not like all the Hornady ends up being the same or all the Nosler ends up being the same, etc. it just seems random. I would have thought (but don’t really know) that regardless of the case or pressure they all would have expanded to the chamber the same. Really all I need to know is what I should bump the shoulder back to, I would assume .002 from the longest case would be correct, or should they be shorter just to be safe.
|
10-08-2020, 09:00 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Near Edmonton
Posts: 15,054
|
|
If the empty cases chamber properly with no resistance then I would neck size them and NOT bump the shoulder at all. I have cases that have 15 firings on them, always neck sized, never annealed and have never needed a shoulder bump. I test fit all reloads BEFORE taking them hunting, but I have never found ones that didn't fit, though my hunting rounds only have a max of 4 firings before they get put into the target round rotation.
|
10-08-2020, 09:23 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ft. McMurray
Posts: 38,585
|
|
If you are using a FL die and not being consistent on the speed and force you are using on your press it is possible to get those variances .
However if you are happy with the way it is shooting do not get bent out of shape about it, little stuff like that will drive a person to distraction at times .
Cat
__________________
Anytime I figure I've got this long range thing figured out, I just strap into the sling and irons and remind myself that I don't!
|
10-08-2020, 09:50 AM
|
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Parkland County, AB
Posts: 4,257
|
|
If you have a Comparator, measure BTO ( base to ogive) rather than COAL.
using the same brand of brass.
__________________
When applied by competent people with the right intent, common sense goes a long way.
|
10-08-2020, 10:05 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Near Edmonton
Posts: 15,054
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Salavee
If you have a Comparator, measure BTO ( base to ogive) rather than COAL.
using the same brand of brass.
|
He is measuring to the shoulder, and from the measurements I see he is trying to measure the shoulder datum line and getting quite a variance. That can actually be caused by all sorts of things that are very hard to diagnose unless you were right there doing the measuring, but long and short, what matters is if the case fits in the gun.
|
10-08-2020, 10:21 AM
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,851
|
|
A couple of things. What tool are you measuring with, and are there primers in the cases?
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
|
10-08-2020, 10:26 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,248
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by chuck
A couple of things. What tool are you measuring with, and are there primers in the cases?
|
Wait, what? You're back! Welcome home black sheep!
__________________
'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
'You can accomplish a lot more with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.' Al Capone
|
10-08-2020, 11:41 AM
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 56
|
|
No I removed the primers because I though that might have been giving me an inconsistent measurement. I'm using the Hornady head space comparator with a good high quality set of calipers.
|
10-08-2020, 11:53 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ft. McMurray
Posts: 38,585
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSPHunter64
No I removed the primers because I though that might have been giving me an inconsistent measurement. I'm using the Hornady head space comparator with a good high quality set of calipers.
|
Primers should be properly seated slightly below the case head anyway .
Is the caliper a vernier scale, dial or digital?
I know most machinists and millwrights have a very big disliking for digital calipers because they can give inconsistent tea finds .
I would like to see how well that rifle shoots before anything else however .
Cat
__________________
Anytime I figure I've got this long range thing figured out, I just strap into the sling and irons and remind myself that I don't!
|
10-08-2020, 12:20 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,851
|
|
These are fired cases cat. That can change things with primers.
There should not be this much variation in measurement. Three thou variation can happen between brands of brass, but with same lots I don’t think I’d see more than one thou.
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
|
10-08-2020, 12:27 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ft. McMurray
Posts: 38,585
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by chuck
These are fired cases cat. That can change things with primers.
.
|
Ah yes forgot about that!
Cat
__________________
Anytime I figure I've got this long range thing figured out, I just strap into the sling and irons and remind myself that I don't!
|
10-08-2020, 01:33 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,374
|
|
Are these cases being measured coming from the chamber after firing or coming out of the resizing die?
__________________
“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.”
Thomas Sowell
|
10-08-2020, 06:51 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,851
|
|
Are you spinning the case in the comparator?
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”
-Billy Molls
|
10-08-2020, 07:05 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 1,841
|
|
Calipers are not designed to measure accurately to 100thousandth if an inch. Need a good micrometer for that
|
01-28-2022, 06:10 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 56
|
|
I just wanted to give an update, I have gotten into reloading a lot more than I thought I would, and I really enjoy it. I ended up doing a lot of research and got myself an annealer (Annie Fluxeon Annealer) this seems to have made the biggest difference in resizing consistency and shooting consistency that I have tried.
|
01-28-2022, 08:43 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ft. McMurray
Posts: 38,585
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSPHunter64
I just wanted to give an update, I have gotten into reloading a lot more than I thought I would, and I really enjoy it. I ended up doing a lot of research and got myself an annealer (Annie Fluxeon Annealer) this seems to have made the biggest difference in resizing consistency and shooting consistency that I have tried.
|
The big question is has your accuracy on target improved
Cat
__________________
Anytime I figure I've got this long range thing figured out, I just strap into the sling and irons and remind myself that I don't!
|
01-29-2022, 11:33 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 319
|
|
I am assuming the measurements are done on 1 time fired (not sized) brass and no caliper or other tooling problems.
The virgin brass does not always get fireformed to full chamber length. Variances on pressure, different trim lengths, or different brass properties cause the brass to be stretched differently.
Take the longest spent brass and chamber it. If it chambers OK, this is most likely your chamber length.
|
02-04-2022, 08:41 PM
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 56
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by catnthehat
The big question is has your accuracy on target improved
Cat
|
Yes accuracy on target has improved, as well as SD's and ES's have gone down.
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:45 AM.
|