Acceptable variance/runout???

[rcoody]

I should say that at some point I may neck turn and sort all components but for now I don't have the tools and really don't want to spend the time to do so. Kind of looking for the steps to focus on to get the biggest accuracy/ consistency gains and skip the other's. However if I don't see the gains I'm looking for I'll continue to add steps till I get there.

Well i will give you my list

Good quality full length sizing die. Forster is what i like but there are several others. Don't mess with neck sizing

A quality seating die. Again i like the forster but there are many others

Buy lapua brass. It eliminates most of the problems with brass and all the unnecessary brass prep.

Buy quality components. I use CCI BR primers exclusively but there are many others. For bullets i like the Bergers and MK's but again there are many others

For load development i like the OCW method for finding a wide accuracy node. Then do seating depth test. The berger method works for me. Then after finding your seating depth you can fine tune your charge.

Weighing powder is very important during the load development stage. I use 2 gempros. One to trickle on and one to check the charge on. After load development especially if you found a wide node powder charge variations can be less important unless you are a 1000 yrd shooter.

Don't be one of those looking for their max charge. A little less is usually more accurate and has much less wear and tear on your brass and equipment.

All the other stuff is just for fun.

 

[rcoody]

Going back through your post I have some questions

What cartridge are you reloading?

I am a little confused about your case measurements. 1.6215-1.6225 My calipers only read to thousands. where are you getting the fourth digit.

Are you using the hornady headspace gauge for your headspace measurement?

Are your reloads difficult to chamber? If not you are bumping the shoulder sufficiently.

Is this new brass. Could be the cases are not fully fireformed and that is causing the variation. The ones with the longest headspace are probably the correct ones. you could easily already bumping your shoulder too much.

get you some dry neck lube and lube that neck. I see you are using an ultrasonic. I use one too. You must lube the necks not only for sizing but bullet seating too. The benchrest guys like to leave the carbon in the neck for lubrication and consistent neck tension for bullet seating. those super clean necks need lube. So does new brass.

you can apply it with a neck brush pretty easily.

 

[Lonewolf74]

I'm reloading for a 243.

I am using the hornady headspace gauge and the caliper I have will read in 1/2 a thousandth ie. .0005-.0010-.0015 ect.

I am using forster dies and gonna get that neck lube system from them too

 

[rcoody]

So what brass and how many times fired.

 

[rcoody]

243 is an awesome round. Once very popular for long range shooters. Light recoil and inherently accurate

 

[Lonewolf74]

The brass I'm using is all the hornady brass I've collected from shooting there factory ammo through my rifle over the years so once fired brass.

I haven't got any completely reloaded yet so I'm not sure if it will cycle easy.

I did measure out and compare some of the factory loaded ammo and there's a variance of about .006 in there shoulder and the stuff on the high end was about .002 shorter than my resized brass shoulder (headspace). So with any luck the die may be about perfect for my rifle

 

[Lonewolf74]

Had to do a search on the OCW cus I didnt know what it was. I like the idea but I did get a lil confused with everything being said, the one guy had already figured out the powder and seating depth to use before doing the OCW test.

How do you go about it?

 

[rcoody]

Had to do a search on the OCW cus I didnt know what it was. I like the idea but I did get a lil confused with everything being said, the one guy had already figured out the powder and seating depth to use before doing the OCW test.

How do you go about it?

Well the Optimum Charge Weight system is really the.first step. What you are.looking for are 2 or 3 charge weights that shoot to the.same point of impact. You ignore the horizontal and look for.the least vertical dispersion. This will give you an accuracy node that might be 0.3 gr or more wide. At this point your charge weights can be anywhere in this range and be accurate. Here is.a pretty good explanation.

OCW instructions - Dan Newberry's OCW Load Development System


Now my favorite they call a ladder but it.is pretty similar. This guy explains it pretty well. You don't have to go to 1000yrd but the.longer the.better

Long-Range Load Development

 

[Lonewolf74]

Also rcoody; what set up do you recommend for lubing the body of the brass?
I try to stay away from oils and petroleum products cus I've seen how superior the non petroleum stuff is on my firearms so just to avoid contamination I try not to use any petroleum products

 

[rcoody]

Also rcoody; what set up do you recommend for lubing the body of the brass?
I try to stay away from oils and petroleum products cus I've seen how superior the non petroleum stuff is on my firearms so just to avoid contamination I try not to use any petroleum products

Actually i already answered this above

Imperial sizing wax. Just get a little on your fingers and apply it to the case as you are putting it in the shell holder.

As to how much? You can tell pretty quickly by how easily the case sizes. Better to error on the side.of too much to start with. Don't want you sticking a case. Then you can keep cutting back till you feel the difference. I have been reloading over 40 years and i have never stuck a case. With a small case.like..223 i might lube one and.then size.2 more before.applying lube. 270 and 308 i lube.every case but it only takes a.little.

 

[Lonewolf74]

Thankyou for all your help rcoody and I have just a few more questions.

I finally got some rounds loaded up last night and for know I sorted my brass based on the headspace measurement I had 30 out of 50 that where within .001

I then measured where the bullet touches the lands with the hornady comparator. I have enough mag length so I decided to first seat the bullets to just touch the lands, then loaded with 1 grain above min through max charge in .5 grain increments. Is that a good place to start or should I have started with some jump?

The other thing that kind of bothered me is my forster seater die had some sort of issue. I would sometimes get a click on the return stroke and some tiny metal particles on the bullet. I took it apart and it seams the problem was some burs and the end of the seater stem being a lil rough. It seamed to clear up after several rounds and all the bullets seated within . 001, but I'm worried it could be damaging the stem or possibly gulling the sleeve. Idk if I need to worry about it but I'm thinking I should contact Forster and see what they say.

 

[rcoody]

Thankyou for all your help rcoody and I have just a few more questions.

I finally got some rounds loaded up last night and for know I sorted my brass based on the headspace measurement I had 30 out of 50 that where within .001

I then measured where the bullet touches the lands with the hornady comparator. I have enough mag length so I decided to first seat the bullets to just touch the lands, then loaded with 1 grain above min through max charge in .5 grain increments. Is that a good place to start or should I have started with some jump?

The other thing that kind of bothered me is my forster seater die had some sort of issue. I would sometimes get a click on the return stroke and some tiny metal particles on the bullet. I took it apart and it seams the problem was some burs and the end of the seater stem being a lil rough. It seamed to clear up after several rounds and all the bullets seated within . 001, but I'm worried it could be damaging the stem or possibly gulling the sleeve. Idk if I need to worry about it but I'm thinking I should contact Forster and see what they say.

First thing. Anytime you get a new die first thing you should do is disassemble it.and clean it good with gun cleaning solvent. Hoppes #9 is a good one for.that but that is the only cleaning it is good for.

Is the tip of the seating stem where it contacts the bullet dinged up? If so call forsters and have them send you another seater stem. Pics would help.

Is the die scratching your brass?

Personally i start about mid range of the reccomended loads. You aren't going to use those low loads anyway. And i go one load past max. May not shoot it. Every barrel is different. You just have to watch your pressure signs. For me it is primers, ejector swipes and sticky bolts.

I shoot most of my range rifles with a .010 to .020 jam. Starting right at the lands is a good spot for a hunting rifle but i am sure you are going to want to find a mag length load eventually. Do the berger seating depth after you find your load and you will have a mag length load. After that you can fine tune your load

 

[rcoody]

that clicking sound is the alignment sleeve at the bottom of the die. If you have the die screwed in where it is jamming against the shell holder that sleeve will stick. The seating die doesn't need to go down to the shell holder. Back it up a bit where the sleeve is just touching and screw your seater stem down for your seating depth.

 

[rcoody]

another thing that is very important with the forster sizing die is the location of the expander ball. There is a little hole in the side of the die and the expander ball needs to be just like shown in the die instructions to work properly. this is how the forster die keeps runout so low. the expander ball is just at the bottom of the neck sizing part of the die. This is extremely important.