Hunting Loads with Virgin Brass.

[General RE LEE]

I'm going to swing by the range on the way to the lease to shoot some new brass and fire form. I'm hoping it's accurate enough for hunting.

Have you all found your preferred load with new brass be good enough for hunting.

 

[TopPin]

I'm going to swing by the range on the way to the lease to shoot some new brass and fire form. I'm hoping it's accurate enough for hunting.

Have you all found your preferred load with new brass be good enough for hunting.

My experience is you will find a more than accurate load for hunting on new brass. Depending on what you're after but I consider it to be 3/4 minus for hunting. Now it also depends on the rifle I.e factory, custom, rebarreled, new ext.
if your hand loads are new brass, or if your shooting factory 1 inch minus is a perfectly acceptable place to be. To be honest you can have a rifle that shoots 2 inch groups and be just fine to 300.
Handloads should be much better than 3/4 sometimes single hole groups will happen depending on rifle shooter. Typically you will start to see your best ES, SD numbers and accuracy out of twice fired brass. But do not think you can't get great accuracy out of once fired. Attached is once fired ADG brass 196 gr copper out of a 300 RUM. SD of 9. These groups were shot in load development on a brand new barrel, shots 6-9 left target 10-12 right target.

 

[TopPin]

I will also add that if it is a new barrel, at some point it will speed, and a pressure change will occur. Typically around 70-90 rounds down the barrel. Sometimes it's 120 in smaller calibers 6mm 6.5 as an example. When this occurs sometimes you have to re work the load back into its best accuracy. When I work loads up on new barrels I'm not so much concerned about how fast I can run them, but how consistent the SD and ES is. If you can find that sweet spot, you are going to have a very consistent load thru the life of the barrel. Typically it's around the max charge in my experience, to minus 2 grains, somewhere in that neighborhood. There is a lot of experience here, so I'm sure you will be blessed with many responses.

 

[Dot_3]

I'm so lazy with my brass prep that I usually wind up with better SDs with virgin brass

But seriously I FL size and my chamber dimensions usually mean I'm back pretty dang close to the same size they were before they were ever fired. Just run a mandrel thru the new stuff to uniform the necks. Rattle rattle here come the cattle

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

I have tight 300 prc chambers on two rifles so i prefer to hunt with virgin brass.

Both rifles are all day under 0.4 moa out to however far i want to shoot.

With adg and lapua brass

 

[Ken61]

Factory loads are virgin brass.

 

[Dot_3]

 

[General RE LEE]

Factory loads are virgin brass.

Yep I loaded up 50 loads of 143 ELD-X with 41.5 grains of H4350. I essentially loaded up 50 rounds of the Precision Hunter.

 

[bamban]

Virgin brass, 140 rounds ~ 1 inch at 200, 28 five shot groups, 2 barrels

 

[Texis]

I FL, headspace and mandrel ever new brass to the same numbers as my old brass and see little (if any) difference in accuracy.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Nonway would I trust virgin brass on a hunting trip. Absolutely not.

4 shots @ 100 yds, fire forming virgin Lapua brass to an improved chamber. This would not make the cut for a hunting rifle...(cartridge coming soon to a gunsmith near you)...

23 shots fire forming virgin ADG brass to an improved chamber. Again, no love here for hunting...out of the question.

 

[General RE LEE]

Nonway would I trust virgin brass on a hunting trip. Absolutely not.

4 shots @ 100 yds, fire forming virgin Lapua brass to an improved chamber. This would not make the cut for a hunting rifle...(cartridge coming soon to a gunsmith near you)...
View attachment 410575
View attachment 410576

23 shots fire forming virgin ADG brass to an improved chamber. Again, no love here for hunting...out of the question.
View attachment 410578
View attachment 410579

You really need to step it up Lance lol.

 

[LaHunter]

That would be a really nice group without the flyers

 

[Beluebow]

New brass is good to go!