Reloading steps questions

[maninthemaze]

Not really accuracy issues, the gun shoots 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. I've just been trying different bullets and different powders in an effort to gain a little velocity. I figured that since I was sort of starting over with my load development, I would make sure the brass is as consistent as possible. In the past I would simply FL size and pretty much call it good enough.

That and there is a rifle range here close that has a 500 yard friendly competition I was thinking about joining. I figured that 1/2 at 100 would at least spread to 2 1/2 at 500, and there's no way that would be good enough. Like I said earlier, just really trying to improve on every aspect of shooting, whether it's behind the gun or at the reloading bench.

The brass I'm using was some once fired that I had bought from a member here as well as some new brass purchased here and gunbroker.

I guess I'll weight sort my brass into batches as well. Hadn't thought of doing that, but that's an excellent idea.

Thanks

 

[rcoody]

Not really accuracy issues, the gun shoots 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. I've just been trying different bullets and different powders in an effort to gain a little velocity. I figured that since I was sort of starting over with my load development, I would make sure the brass is as consistent as possible. In the past I would simply FL size and pretty much call it good enough.

That and there is a rifle range here close that has a 500 yard friendly competition I was thinking about joining. I figured that 1/2 at 100 would at least spread to 2 1/2 at 500, and there's no way that would be good enough. Like I said earlier, just really trying to improve on every aspect of shooting, whether it's behind the gun or at the reloading bench.

The brass I'm using was some once fired that I had bought from a member here as well as some new brass purchased here and gunbroker.

I guess I'll weight sort my brass into batches as well. Hadn't thought of doing that, but that's an excellent idea.

Thanks

keep all the same headstamped brass together. Also keep all brass together by times fired. sorting brass by weight has never done much for me. Maybe discard the cases that are way out of the norm. But then again I quit using anything but Lapua brass long ago.

 

[Short Case]

Unfortunately, none of the good brass manufacturers makes brass for my cartridge, 7WSM. I would have to buy 300WSM, neck it down, then fire from it before I could begin loading for my rifle.

And if I cut out step #8, how would I remove the case lube before loading ammo?

It might be better to buy some 270 wsm Norma brass and neck it up with your 7wsm
dies and then fire form it.

 

[Predator 22]

After I size my brass I clean the lube off with rubbing alcohol or acetone. I put them all in a jug and swirl them around for a minute. Works great and dries quick.

 

[rcoody]

I just finished tumbling my second batch of cases and for this batch I decapped them first thinking it would clean up the primer pockets. Well, it sort of cleaned the pockets but not really. I also just discovered the joy of picking the corn cob media out of the flash holes for the last ten minutes!

lightbulb

~Robert

yep

I switched to the ultrasonic to clean the inside of the cases and the primer pockets. Had big flakes of burnt powder coming out in my tumbler.

I like tumbling in corn cob media to remove the lube. It leaves the brass all pretty and shiney. Picking out the media makes me check the primer pockets and flash holes. A once over for condition of the brass. That is when I check trim length too. Kind of a quality control check before prime, charge and load.

 

[Timber338]

I just started reloading this week so I have nothing to contribute here but I do have a question:

If the Winchester brass is causing you so much extra work, time and expense for something to turn the necks, etc plus a $180-$250 +/- set of certified calipers, why not just buy a better brand of brass to start with? I'm not saying the Winchester is bad brass because I don't know, but from reading some of the other comments here it sounds like you're trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

I'm not being judgemental just trying to understand where you're coming from.

Thanks! ~Robert

This is the exact thought process that drove me to never shoot Winchester brass again. Any of the Winchester WSM brass I have ever owned had awful neck wall thickness consistency. The time I spend turning necks, sorting cases, etc, and I just would rather buy better brass up front. I understand if you cannot find good brass, 7mm WSM is a good example of this. And also partly why I sold my 7mm WSM years ago.

To the OP, you seem to be right on track to make great reloads, the only thing that sticks out to me is you are working your case necks an awful lot. Your necks are going to become work hardened very quickly and if you want to get several firings out of your case, each consecutive reload is going to grip the bullet harder and harder and you will likely get larger variations in muzzle velocity compared to your first 1 or 2 shots out of the brass. Not to mention very short case life.

You might consider annealing your case necks every other shot. From an accuracy perspective you might not notice any difference out to 200 yards, but if you plan on shooting longer distances you will notice vertical stringing from large variations in muzzle velocity which often times is caused by inconsistent neck tension. Definitely add some kind of lubricant to the necks before you seat the bullet like others have mentioned. I use Redding Imperial Sizing Wax applied sparingly to the inside of the neck with a qtip. I also do not tumble my brass and like to leave the gunpowder residue as a first layer before the wax to help prevent cold welding of the bullet to the brass.

 

[Barrelnut]

I use Redding Imperial Sizing Wax applied sparingly to the inside of the neck with a qtip. I also do not tumble my brass and like to leave the gunpowder residue as a first layer before the wax to help prevent cold welding of the bullet to the brass.

Timber, do you clean the primer pockets? If so how?

 

[Timber338]

Timber, do you clean the primer pockets? If so how?

I am a little unconventional when it comes to cleaning primer pockets. With brand new brass I like to use a Redding Primer Pocket Uniformer tool with the included #8-32 threaded shank in my power drill.

Each time I fire the brass I still use the Uniformer tool, but I simply use just enough hand pressure on the case to scrape out the powder residue.

I have never liked those primer pocket cleaning flat screwdriver looking tools. The primer pockets never seem to be perfectly flat like the tool, and they never get the pockets clean to my satisfaction.

I would guess that my uniformed primer pockets would be flat enough to use the cleaning tool, but I like how fast using the power drill is with the uniformer tool. Even when I get a bit of brass out along with the powder residue, I have never found this to be any kind of detriment. I am getting about a dozen firings out of my brass including my max pressure 338 RUM cases, along with excellent accuracy to the last firing.

And to clean the outside of the cases, I will either use fine steel wool to lightly polish off the dirt, or sometimes I just use isopropyl alcohol on a rag to wipe clean the outside of case. Both seem to work just fine.

 

[Barrelnut]

WOW. That is almost exactly what I do. LOL

I use the Redding Primer Pocket Uniformer for clean primer pockets too. I also use fins steel wool to polish the case. I use the 3 Jaw Chuck from Lee to spin the case with a cordless drill and polish with the steel wool that way. I also leave the residue in the neck to reduce friction seating the bullet.

 

[maninthemaze]

Wow guys, thanks for all the tips and opinions. That's exactly what I was after. I'll definitely anneal my brass at least every other time. And I will definitely be using the dry graphite on the case necks prior to loading.

And I guess when I run out of or use up all my Winchester brass I'll look into Norma brass. I've been working with 150 rounds of brass and I've still got 170 brand new pieces.

Thanks again!!!

 

[Timber338]

That 3 jaw chuck is a great idea, I never knew that tool existed. I just ordered one up and going to use it to spin my cases to clean them now. Probably find a bunch of other uses for it too. Awesome tip.

As far as brands of brass, I have been using Nosler (rumored to just be Norma brass) with excellent results. It is all trimmed to length, necks chamfered, flash holes deburred and sorted by weight. And all the necks have wall thicknesses between .0135 and .0145. All the case prep is easy to do yourself, but the reasons that justify the cost for me is the weight sorting and neck wall thickness consistency. You can get there by sorting other brass, but that takes time and in the end you cull so many brass to get to the same point Nosler starts at that cost per useable brass is about the same.

 

[maninthemaze]

In all my research looking for answers about reloading techniques, I came across an article that is very interesting. It goes with what BountyHunter said about inconsistent neck tension using the SS Media to clean rifle brass. Anyways, I thought I'd share.

The Perils of Ultrasonic Cleaning — Some Advice on Bullet Seating « Daily Bulletin