Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
I went back to dry tumbling, then quit cleaning all together.
Keeping it simple with reloading
- Thread starter Alex Wheeler
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Creedmoor shooter
Well-Known Member
I don't clean unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes in a prs match you're brass lands in the mud and grime so I'm not left with much of a choice. When I do clean I throw them into the vibratory cleaner for a couple hours in a corn cob media
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
Our match season just began. I just wanted to update the thread. Keeping it simple still works. These targets were shot back to back in the same day in a registered IBS 1k BR match ( 1.6" & 1.5"). 6BRA, 103 vapor trail .008" in the lands, 31.1 of H4895, non annealed brass, .005" neck tension, primers seated by feel with a 21st century seater, FL bushing die, no mandrel, .0035 bump with an ejector, didn't even clean the carbon out of the primer pockets 
Tune the gun guys, all the anal stuff doesnt mean a thing if you not in tune. Buying the high dollar tools will not help an out of tune rifle!
Tune the gun guys, all the anal stuff doesnt mean a thing if you not in tune. Buying the high dollar tools will not help an out of tune rifle!
Last edited:
Nice nice shooting.
Dang fine shooting Alex! Do you believe more neck tension is more forgiving as far as annealing vs non annealing?Our match season just began. I just wanted to update the thread. Keeping it simple still works. These targets were shot back to back in the same day in a registered IBS 1k BR match ( 1.6" & 1.5"). 6BRA, 103 vapor trail .008" in the lands, 31.1 of H4895, non annealed brass, .005" neck tension, primers seated by feel with a 21st century seater, FL bushing die, no mandrel, .0035 bump with an ejector, didn't even clean the carbon out of the primer pockets
View attachment 356931View attachment 356932
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
I dont know about that. Some combos just respond well to higher neck tension. It shows up more at long range. I could not tune the vertical out of my 300 PRC at 1k until I increased the nt to .005" it shot well at 600 though. My 338s have all like very light nt. You just have to shoot the groups with different bushings to know.
Hoppsing55
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2015
- Messages
- 137
Qustion regarding neck tension: considering the extensibility of brass to resist deformation when a bullet is seated? Each piece of brass will yield a specific amount of hoop force - grip depending on the amount of interference, along with the condition of the brass.
Hardness - softness of the brass, and surface condition.
How do we keep neck tension consistent, without keeping the properties of our brass consistent? Annealing seems to be the answer.
Hardness - softness of the brass, and surface condition.
How do we keep neck tension consistent, without keeping the properties of our brass consistent? Annealing seems to be the answer.
RUFFIAN R - NY
Well-Known Member
Good shooting and keep it up, keep us posted from time to time,
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
In theory your correct. In practice I know this brass will continue to shoot well with the same neck bushing for the life of the brass. The life of the brass is actually longer than I typically keep it. I usually make up 100 cases for each new barrel and just retire them once the barrel is shot out, but theres nothing wrong with them. If I was to anneal this brass it would not shoot as well. I dont anneal it because I have tested it enough times to know that. If you find a combo that likes light neck tension, that will be a combo that will respond better to annealing. While annealing does keep the cases consistent it also softens the necks, in many cases that hurts accuracy far worse than a little inconsistency in the neck tension.
Last edited:
I've been that average Joe over the decades to load for the 100-200 yd shot. It was not until I started hunting in Nebraska that some of those shots stretched out to 4-500 yds and that's when I started paying closer attention to the details. I always loaded to get 1/2" or smaller groups, but since the range has stretched out I have been paying a lot more attention to a few people on this site and it has improved my downrange shooting.
I loaded my first Peterson 300wm long brass yesterday and I liked what I saw. The brass oal was on the money as was the wall thickness. My first load with the virgin brass got me about a 2" group. 68grs of H4350, Rem mag primers (because I have a lot of them) 180gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets. After shooting those 5 loads I cleaned the powder residue off the neck, set the shoulder back 2 thousand, and up the powder to 69grs since there were no signs of pressure on the first rounds. Besides the brass, the one upgrade that I've done was to buy a Forester 300 wm micro bullet seater. Do I need one for shooting under 500 yds, idk, but what I do know is when I used it yesterday this was the first time that I had loaded rounds come out of a bullet seater than measured all the same length. I've used Redding dies forever and I have never had that kind of consistency in any of the dies I've used in any caliber. Again I may not need that type of consistency for under 500 yds but there is no way it cannot make what I shoot, shoot better imo.
I loaded my first Peterson 300wm long brass yesterday and I liked what I saw. The brass oal was on the money as was the wall thickness. My first load with the virgin brass got me about a 2" group. 68grs of H4350, Rem mag primers (because I have a lot of them) 180gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets. After shooting those 5 loads I cleaned the powder residue off the neck, set the shoulder back 2 thousand, and up the powder to 69grs since there were no signs of pressure on the first rounds. Besides the brass, the one upgrade that I've done was to buy a Forester 300 wm micro bullet seater. Do I need one for shooting under 500 yds, idk, but what I do know is when I used it yesterday this was the first time that I had loaded rounds come out of a bullet seater than measured all the same length. I've used Redding dies forever and I have never had that kind of consistency in any of the dies I've used in any caliber. Again I may not need that type of consistency for under 500 yds but there is no way it cannot make what I shoot, shoot better imo.
nealm66
Well-Known Member
How far from the lands and what bullet in the 300 prc? Curious because I've found longer jumps like more neck tension but it's a small sample compared to your experience and maybe it had something more to do with my tuning
The only neck tension theories that count, are the ones field-proven down range.
I've read endless neck tension theory on this Forum. None worth as much as your experiences, proven on 1K targets.
odoylerules
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2016
- Messages
- 605
No annealing was a surprise
Thanks for the info.
1. What are things a person can try to tune out vertical? You mention neck tension.
2. Horizontal?
