Recent content by jimirwin

'Tis puzzling how folks want a big blood trail to help them find their game that didn't drop dead right there. I sorta thought the purpose was the kill, not the tracking! To each his own.

I got the message below from Walt Berger himself in 2009. My query to him is copied below his answer. Hi Jim, Our original VLD bullets were used by long range match shooters. It was then determined that they were a good hunting bullet. The long range target shooters were abusing the bullets by...

What the heck?!! You say you've tried Berger 215s...OK...what bullet? Specifically??? A target bullet is designed to hold together through routine handling, fly true, and put a nice round hole at point of aim in a piece of paper, or splash mark on steel ... nothing more. Sierra says don't use...

Buzzyb’s second target shows as tilted right compared to the first target. If it was tilted and he tilted his rifle/scope to align crosshairs to target, then he would induct the type and magnitude of error he got. Seems to me a likely case of a loose nut behind the (rifle) butt! He set his...

I suspect the moderate loads....too light ... insufficient velocity.

Bloody incomplete question without WHICH Berger bullet you're talking about! There are many types for the various sports. Certainly one can get poor results using the wrong design for a given purpose.

There's a LOT of bad responses here!!! Most ALL are saying to over-anneal! A slight glow in a darkened room is too much. Red glow is crazy too much! Red glow dropped into water will, indeed give you the "dead soft annealed" condition you'd want if forming new cases from slugs of case metal...

Did you take velocity readings? Assuming good discipline in loading..... I have always found this to be an effect of inconsistent shoulder pressure when firing. Hold tighter and shots go higher. Hold softer and they go lower. Also consider consistency of hold on foreend. Consistency...

Shiney bores are pretty. Tight groups on targets are best. Savages seem to share this characteristic. Pretty is as pretty does.

I have used H4350 in 300WSM with 175 & 210gn Berger VLD bullets. There was a time when you had to buy whatever you could find, or do without. So I ended up with several lots. Never saw any differences, so I hit on an "averaging" strategy. I dumped it all into a big container and mixed it...

Brass or most all other non-ferrous alloys do not heat treat like ferrous alloys (steels). Heat then quench anneals non-ferrous alloys. Air cool gets you some effect, but not annealing. Heat to red hot and some say you've ruined the alloy. Don't know about that, but you're seriously close to...

Seems everybody wants one simple rule that works for every reloading question. Life ain't like that! What works best in mine may not in yours. Case in point is the 308 Win. Gold standard is Federal Gold Medal Match in either 168 or 175 gn SMK. These are a bit slower than max, but seem to work...

Your smart to recognize something's amiss here. Trust me, you don't want to deal with a stuck case if you can avoid it. Are there any scratches on the cases after sizing that weren't there before? Have you removed the primer unseater, neck expanding stem and cleaned out the die with solvent? Are...

Be advised that any of these will leave clean dry parts. i.e. no lube at all. Seems to be what Jewell hisself recommends, so go for it.

I want to see this, too. Thanks