Newbie Questions

[Blacktail]

Finally getting my equipment. Loading for my 7 MM STW and got a lot of good info from guys but have a couple of what may seem silly ?'s. 1) How often should u tumble the brass and with what media? 2) I noticed in book max charges were lower for the heavier bullets how come? 3) I am going to try the 140 accubonds first then the 160's. some guys listed 82 gr for powder charge with H4831 yet in the book max is 74.5? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gifAny help greatly appreciated. Thnx

 

[jeffbird]

On the brass cleaning, I had a tumbler and have replaced it with an ultrasonic cleaner which works dramatically faster and results in far cleaner brass. Check the article "Ultrasonic Case Cleaning" by Jason Baney aka jb1000br at accurateshooter.com. Also, as a still pretty newbie myself, buy Zediker's Handloading for Competition. It has much more detail on "how to" than the Sierra manual and the like.

 

[300win]

I tumble the brass each time it is fired. I prefer to tumble before sizing to cut down on build up in the dies. After sizing I throw them into some untreated media to take of any excess lube and give them a bright polish. If you do not tumble after each firing the cases become hard to clean. Several types of media work good, maybe just for starting out get a jug of Lyman pretreated stuff. I use allot of untreated media and add treatment as needed. As far as less powder for heavier bullets, that is the rule. Heavier bullets have a longer bearing surface (as a general rule) which means more pressure. Max loads are something that has to be found for a particular rifle/load combination. Never use a max load from someone else! I shoot a 7 stw with 120 ballistic tips at nearly 3900fps, but I would never try this load in another rifle without working up to it.

 

[Blacktail]

I talked to the guy that worked up a load for my gun when he built it. Used IMR 4831 with the 140 accubonds at 74.5 grains pushing 3350 fps. Havent shot the loads yet but supposed to be holding around .5 to .75" I would love to keep that kind of accuracy but get up around 3500 but a little worried since it seems it would take a lot bigger powder charge than listed as max. I know some guys on this site have been going a hair over 80 grains. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif