Redding Micrometer Seating Stem on Lee or RCBS

[SidecarFlip]

I'm assuming I don't need that bullet comparator tool for now right?

In reality, no. Headspacing, Ogive and Meplats and pointing are all later on. Get a good manual for the specific bullets you use, ie: Sierra or Hornady or Berger or Speer or Lapua or whatever and follow the book's recommended loads, lengths and specifications. Thats the best way to start and the cheapest.

Always load halfway between maximum and minimum recommended loads, never start at a maximum load. Bad things can and will happen...to you.

Back when I started handloading, arms manufacturers didn't put those cross drilled holes in the receiver. They are there for when you inadvertently overload a round. They let the 'fire' out without the fire consuming your face or worse, a nice safety touch on a modern firearm.

 

[SidecarFlip]

You can literally spend thousands on reloading tools, dies and equipment, I have but then experience lends itself to becoming more and more accurate in your reloading. The tighter the tolerances become, the more expensive the tools become.

Wait until you get an annealer....A good one (Benchsource) will set you back 500 bucks.... Just teasing....lol

 

[CleanShot]

I should have never gotten started with this . I think my biggest accuracy problem is me, not the rifle or the ammo. I'm guessing at this point I have everything I need work on my marksmanship without being able to point the finger at factory ammo.

 

[rcoody]

You can literally spend thousands on reloading tools, dies and equipment, I have but then experience lends itself to becoming more and more accurate in your reloading. The tighter the tolerances become, the more expensive the tools become.

Wait until you get an annealer....A good one (Benchsource) will set you back 500 bucks.... Just teasing....lol

This is mine

New Page 1

 

[rcoody]

I should have never gotten started with this . I think my biggest accuracy problem is me, not the rifle or the ammo. I'm guessing at this point I have everything I need work on my marksmanship without being able to point the finger at factory ammo.

Dude we are all crazy. You don't need all this fancy stuff to put together very accurate reloads. Don't get discouraged. I started over 40 years ago. For 25 of those years I used an RCBS rockchucker and RCBS dies. Still have it. My grandkids will inherit it. I turned out great reloads with it. In fact I used to shoot benchrest. Had handloading dies like the Wilson but homemade we used a hammer not a press. Shot in the 0.10's with that.

Just start reloading and shooting. It is grand fun!

One thing I will say. Stay away from berger bullets for a while. They are very accurate but very difficult to get that accuracy out of. They were designed for target shooting and being jammed into the lands. Very difficult to get them to shoot mag length.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Dude we are all crazy. You don't need all this fancy stuff to put together very accurate reloads. Don't get discouraged. I started over 40 years ago. For 25 of those years I used an RCBS rockchucker and RCBS dies. Still have it. My grandkids will inherit it. I turned out great reloads with it. In fact I used to shoot benchrest. Had handloading dies like the Wilson but homemade we used a hammer not a press. Shot in the 0.10's with that.

Just start reloading and shooting. It is grand fun!

One thing I will say. Stay away from berger bullets for a while. They are very accurate but very difficult to get that accuracy out of. They were designed for target shooting and being jammed into the lands. Very difficult to get them to shoot mag length.

Thats a fair and accurate statement with this exception... Bergers have a unique secant ogive that lends itself to extended (not SAMMI) seating length, however, every firearm 'likes a different seat depth. SAMMI specification was originally set up to standardize ammunition made primarily by manufacturers. Consequently Bergers lend themselves to handloading, however, manufacturers like Hunting Shack load Bergers in the ammo, but they will also seat to your loaded length specification if you want them to.

Just starting out, I too would avoid Berger Bullets and use something else. Gaining experience will allow the use of Bergers. For me, they shoot lights out and I don't 'jam them TTL'. Loading to the lands allows no jump and no jump on initial ignition can cause extreme pressure in the case.

 

[rcoody]

Thats a fair and accurate statement with this exception... Bergers have a unique secant ogive that lends itself to extended (not SAMMI) seating length, however, every firearm 'likes a different seat depth. SAMMI specification was originally set up to standardize ammunition made primarily by manufacturers. Consequently Bergers lend themselves to handloading, however, manufacturers like Hunting Shack load Bergers in the ammo, but they will also seat to your loaded length specification if you want them to.

Just starting out, I too would avoid Berger Bullets and use something else. Gaining experience will allow the use of Bergers. For me, they shoot lights out and I don't 'jam them TTL'. Loading to the lands allows no jump and no jump on initial ignition can cause extreme pressure in the case.

I love my bergers. Shoot the hunting vld in my hunting rifle. Took me 2 months to find that jump that is less than mag length. It is about 15 hundredths off the lands.

I can shoot target vld's into one hole but I do jam them 0.01 into the lands.

 

[CleanShot]

I hear lots of great things about the VLDs. But I did notice many of the seating stems, like the Redding micrometer that this thread started about, make VLD specific and then standard versions. Clearly they are unique.

Personally I wanted to use the Barnes TTSX for hunting so I don't consume lead. But for practice (and experimentation) I was looking at loading some lead core bullets.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Got to be careful with no jump far as powder content is concerned. When the propellant first ignites, it pressurizes the case and with no jump, the pill cannot move freely so pressure increases way past what the case with wirhstand (if you load full house) Thats what jump is about, letting the pill move out of the neck and the initial pressure spike to recede.

Interestingly, with Berger 168 30 cal VLD hunters in my 2 308's 0.012 yield the best groups too.

I tend to caution newbies not to start with bergers and especially discount the chapters on case fill as it relates to jump (in the Berger reloading manual) If you are inexperienced.

Esperience has also taught me to only use bushing dies when trloading. I can dontrol the initial movement and integrity of a round in your pocket by altering the resistance the neck imparts to the pill.

I machine my own bushings btw. You can make a ton of bushings from a stick of drill rod.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Got to be careful with no jump far as powder content is concerned. When the propellant first ignites, it pressurizes the case and with no jump, the pill cannot move freely so pressure increases way past what the case with wirhstand (if you load full house) Thats what jump is about, letting the pill move out of the neck and the initial pressure spike to recede.

Interestingly, with Berger 168 30 cal VLD hunters in my 2 308's 0.012 yield the best groups too.

I tend to caution newbies not to start with bergers and especially discount the chapters on case fill as it relates to jump (in the Berger reloading manual) If you are inexperienced.

Esperience has also taught me to only use bushing dies when trloading. I can dontrol the initial movement and integrity of a round in your pocket by altering the resistance the neck imparts to the pill.

I machine my own bushings btw. You can make a ton of bushings from a stick of drill rod.

I never seat more than .004" to the lands with a bullet of 24 caliber or smaller. Usually in the .002" range, and actually jam some 22's. But anything larger really needs the jump. I often go with .010"in 30 caliber alone.

Glad you can make Bergers shoot cause your the only one I know that can. Can't get them to shoot consistently. On the other hand, I have no problems with Sierra or Hornaday Amax bullets.

gary

 

[SidecarFlip]

Takes some fiddling Gary. They are a bitch to seat and I point every meplat.

Problem with LTL or just off is bolt wipe and hard extraction. I don't need either....

 

[rcoody]

I never seat more than .004" to the lands with a bullet of 24 caliber or smaller. Usually in the .002" range, and actually jam some 22's. But anything larger really needs the jump. I often go with .010"in 30 caliber alone.

Glad you can make Bergers shoot cause your the only one I know that can. Can't get them to shoot consistently. On the other hand, I have no problems with Sierra or Hornaday Amax bullets.

gary

Bergers are a pain in the ***. My question is have you read their description of how to find the berger jump? Have you tried it? I wanted to use the berger hunting VLD mag length. Bought 500 of them. Tried everything I could think of I thought. Then I read about how to find the jump and tried it. If you do you will think it is crazy but it works? Find the lands and back of 0.030 to 0.040 three or four hundredths not thousandths and load up about 4 three shot groups each one 3 hundredths deeper. I found my jump at 0.173 off the lands.

Match Kings and Amax are extremely forgiving on COL and they shoot nice groups.

Now the new Berger Hybrid hunting is also very forgiving on COL. For me they shoot very consistent 3/4" hundred yrd groups.

Now after I found the jump the berger hunting VLD shoots better groups but you never know when they will just get wild.

 

[rcoody]

Got to be careful with no jump far as powder content is concerned. When the propellant first ignites, it pressurizes the case and with no jump, the pill cannot move freely so pressure increases way past what the case with wirhstand (if you load full house) Thats what jump is about, letting the pill move out of the neck and the initial pressure spike to recede.

Interestingly, with Berger 168 30 cal VLD hunters in my 2 308's 0.012 yield the best groups too.

I tend to caution newbies not to start with bergers and especially discount the chapters on case fill as it relates to jump (in the Berger reloading manual) If you are inexperienced.

Esperience has also taught me to only use bushing dies when trloading. I can dontrol the initial movement and integrity of a round in your pocket by altering the resistance the neck imparts to the pill.

I machine my own bushings btw. You can make a ton of bushings from a stick of drill rod.

If you notice berger load data in their reloading manual is very conservative. They tell you to seat the VLD bullets 0.01 or 0.02 into the lands. Start low and work up watching for pressure signs.

you are talking about 50 or 55 thousand psi. A brass case can't stand that. It is plastered/melted to the wall of the chamber, which is built to withstand it, during the milliseconds it takes for the bullet to leave the barrel

 

[SidecarFlip]

I'd sure like to know where in the Berger loading manual they state to seat 0.001 or 0.002 into the lands... I have it right here on the desk and I cannot find that.

You must jump a pill or you'll overpressure the case, but then, thats what the cross drilled holes are fot...lol