Recent content by SakoShooterSD

So, JE Custom, what weight increments do you sort your brass into? 5 gr? 2 gr? 1 gr? 0.5 gr? 0.1 gr? I just bought 100 pieces of Norma for my 7mm Rem Mag, measured their trim length and weighed them all. I found one "reject", which was shorter than the rest (and had a pinch in the neck and...

So, JE Custom, what weight increments do you sort your brass into? 5 gr? 2 gr? 1 gr? 0.5 gr? 0.1 gr? I just bought 100 pieces of Norma for my 7mm Rem Mag, measured their trim length and weighed them all. I found one "reject", which was shorter than the rest (and had a pinch in the neck...

I just measured 100 pieces of new Norma 7mm Rem Mag cases (bought last week because I couldn't find any Nosler available) and here is what I got: avg= 215.07 max=215.96 min=214.24 range=1.72 stdev=0.382 (Measurements made on Sartorius AY/VIC-123, and spot checked with RCBS 5-0-5.) These...

+1 on visiting Hodgdon.com. If I had done that before, instead of just reading the Barnes Reloading Manual (and getting input from the Sierra manual) I would have chosen a different powder. I am shooting 150 gr TTSX bullets, and chose Retumbo. GREAT accuracy (0.35" groups), and really...

Very nice! I just glanced over this article quickly, and it appears to be just the sort of info I was looking for. Between this and the Jason Barney article from 6mmBR.com, I think I'll have all the information I could want. Thank you, Dr. Vette.

Thanks, KRP. I will read it through. I'm really interested to hear about some of the physics behind the method, and hope this article will address that.

I have the 150's seated about 0.011" off the lands, according to my RCBS Freebore tool. I didn't have the freebore/headspace/micrometer tool when I did my very limited C.O.A.L. test; i based my COAL choice on a comparison of just 3 different 4-shot groups. I only tested COAL of 3.300" (over...

BountyHunter, I would love to read the details on this ladder/Audette method, . . . but I can't seem to get to the page. I get the following message: "Forbidden You don't have permission to access /l.moeller/Laddertest.htm on this server." Can this be posted somewhere when I can get to it?

I've put about 200 Barnes TTSX and MRX bullets down the 24" barrel of my 7mm Rem Mag in the past year, and been very happy with their performance. All of my hand loads have been MUCH MUCH better than factory ammo I was shooting before. (I was getting ready to get rid of the gun, producing 2"...

Not too hot. I was purposefully being conservative on this one. Earlier, during some load development work, I identified two powder charges with the Retumbo which produced good groups. This was the lighter load. I chose this lower powder charge because the groups seemed to change less...

Very interesting! Thanks, Gene. I'm inclined to try a hotter load first, or maybe try annealing the case neck & shoulder. How much should I expect to pay a smith to scope/measure the chamber? Sounds like it may be expensive. Also, it seems that, if that were the root cause of this...

Thanks, CRNA. I think the neck should be free from fouling, too (It is also intended to form a seal with the chamber) though I think it is less surprising if/when it shows some powder residue. I believe the shoulder sees pressure before the neck does (and for a longer duration), so it has a...

Reloader222, thanks. I had not thought about the bullet seating depth, but it makes good sense. I have these bullets seated for maximum recommended COAL of about 3.290", which seemed to produce slightly better groups than 0.015 and 0.030" shorter COAL. I don't yet know how far off the lands...

Str8shoot, I think you may be correct! Of course, the powder is just part of the question in this "multi-variate" problem. Yes, i think 68.9 gr is below the max recommended charge for Retumbo (though it is not listed specifically for 150 gr bullets in my Barnes manual), . . . but seems to...

Thanks for the feedback, Justgoto, Gene and Boomtube. I really appreciate your thoughts. So, . . . here is some of the rest of the story . . . I bought three other sets of dies: Neck only sizing die set from Forster Neck only sizing die set from Lee Full length sizing dies from Forster...