Replicating factory ammo performance

[J-B welder]

Ran my first loads through the barrel. 42.5 grains seems to be the sweet spot and produced a 0.5" group. Loads with more or less than that grouped at 1.25" or more. I'll load up five more with 42.5 gr and see if I get the same spread and go from there. Hopefully I have myself a nice hunting load.

Seating depth was tough to keep consistent, due I assume to the fact you use a mallet to seat the bullets. I was trying for 2.650" as per the Sierra recommendations, but my COAL varied from 2.645" to 2.660". Would like to remedy that. (I know, I know, buy a press.)

I can see how OCD types can get hooked on this stuff. It would be fun to tinker around with different combos. But in reality even some of the less accurate loads I put together would be suitable for where I hunt (max shooting distance 300 yards).

Anyway, thanks for all the help. I think a reloading manual may go on my Amazon wish list for Christmas.

 

[JMW67]

The manual is a great idea along with a cheap press even a handheld if for nothing else but seating 15 thou. is a huge difference I am glad you found a good load

 

[crkckr]

Welcome to the tinkerers wonderland! Reloading is a fine hobby and can be very addicting, especially when you find some small change can make a difference you see in accuracy. But do beware, it can be highly addictive, which means, ultimately, costly, especially when you start chasing that last Nth degree of accuracy! When you start weighing bullets, you're already over the point of no return! Still, there's enough of us that love doing it because we just have a hard time leaving well enough alone!

Remember that different powders have different burning characteristics, so there are times when changing to a slower or faster powder can have a big effect on accuracy, even if the velocities are the same. Same with using heavier/lighter bullets. The holy grail for many reloaders is finding a load that uses a cheapo bullet that shoots to the same poa/poi as our premium hunting load. So what if we burn up a few hundred rounds and a couple of pounds of powder trying to find it? It's fun! To an addict, anyway!

You will probably also find that after a few reloadings, you might have difficulty chambering the brass (always check that after you resize a case, before you prime & load!) because the Lee basher dies (as I like to call them) only neck size. This will be the excuse you need to buy a nice RCBS Rockchucker press and dies! You've now swallowed the hook, soon it will be set and it's off to the reloading races!
Cheers,
crkckr, certified reloading addict

 

[J-B welder]

Welcome to the tinkerers wonderland! Reloading is a fine hobby and can be very addicting, especially when you find some small change can make a difference you see in accuracy. But do beware, it can be highly addictive, which means, ultimately, costly, especially when you start chasing that last Nth degree of accuracy! When you start weighing bullets, you're already over the point of no return! Still, there's enough of us that love doing it because we just have a hard time leaving well enough alone!

Remember that different powders have different burning characteristics, so there are times when changing to a slower or faster powder can have a big effect on accuracy, even if the velocities are the same. Same with using heavier/lighter bullets. The holy grail for many reloaders is finding a load that uses a cheapo bullet that shoots to the same poa/poi as our premium hunting load. So what if we burn up a few hundred rounds and a couple of pounds of powder trying to find it? It's fun! To an addict, anyway!

You will probably also find that after a few reloadings, you might have difficulty chambering the brass (always check that after you resize a case, before you prime & load!) because the Lee basher dies (as I like to call them) only neck size. This will be the excuse you need to buy a nice RCBS Rockchucker press and dies! You've now swallowed the hook, soon it will be set and it's off to the reloading races!
Cheers,
crkckr, certified reloading addict

Well thanks for the warm welcome!

For me, this is about needing to shoot more to become a better shot and more ethical hunter, not about making clovers on paper off the bench. If I'm practicing from shooting sticks or off my knee, the resulting groups are a better diagnostic tool for assessing my need to practice if I know the spread is my fault and not the gun's.

So yes, I want to find an accurate load, but an extra eighth-inch reduction in group size isn't critical for me. But it is easy to see how someone could get wrapped up in trying keep improving their recipes just that little bit more. (I do have to come clean here, though: I already went back online and saw some TTSX 80 gr bullets available, so I bought a box and a pound of StaBALL 6.5. I think I might be a high risk reloading addict candidate.)

I have a question regarding neck vs. full-length re-sizing. Let's say my cases go five reloads before showing chambering stiffness. If I could get someone I know who reloads to full-length re-size them, will they likely last another five neck re-sizes, or is metal fatigue going to have enough effect that they'll only be good for three or four? I know cases don't last forever.

Update on my Sierra loads: the next five I loaded up shot a lot worse than the initial three. I'm chalking it up to a different, less stable rest and me not taking as much time with each shot. The only difference I can think of between the two batches was that I crimped the first ones and not the second bunch. From what I've read so far, there are differing opinions on how much difference that should make. I wasn't whacking them very hard, so I don't think I really crimped them much. I'll load another five to double check, and maybe bracket them with a group each at 42.3 and 42.7 grains of powder.

 

[crkckr]

Trying to guess what your cases will or won't do under a whole lot of different conditions is a bit of folly but what the heck, that's never stopped anyone (especially me!) from throwing in their 2 cents worth anyway!

To be honest, .243 is one round I've had the most trouble with over the years, probably because I don't spend much time shooting light loads on pretty much anything I reload for. I usually try to squeeze the best performance out of any cartridge I shoot. Trying to do that while maintaining accuracy can be a slippery slope indeed! Generally, I get two loadings out of a .243 case, then it gets relegated to the practice case bin. I check for case head seperation every time I size them, even if neck sizing. Buying high quality cases, such as Lapua, will definitely help in the case life department!

Your loads don't seem to be too near the max so I would guess (and keep in mind it's just that - a guess!) that you should be able to get between 3 and 5 reloadings per case just neck sizing before you start to have chambering issues. Or it could be just 1 or 2. Or a lot more, it's really hard to say since it can depend on the brand of brass, your rifles chamber size, how hot your loads are, even the style of bullet you shoot, flat base or boattail! Can you hear the echo from the rabbit hole?

For me, case head seperation has always been an issue with the .243 so I've gotten pretty good at checking the cases with the old bent wire method (take a 3 or 4" piece of relatively stiff wire - I use .040" safety wire - and put a small 90 degree bend in the end. Smooth the end out with a bit of 400 grit sandpaper and slip it inside the case, feeling for a low spot towards the bottom of the case). That low spot is usually case head seperation, which can also be seen as a bright ring on the outside of the case, although it's also usually right about where the full length sizer leaves it's mark as well! That can confuse things, although not when you are are neck sizing. As I have a borescope, I can confirm it pretty easily but way back when, I just cut a few cases in half with a hacksaw (length wise) to confirm what I thought I was feeling. In every other rifle caliber I have I can control this by setting the sizing die so the case shoulder isn't bumped back too much but in the case of the 2 different .243's I've owned, I would have to set the die hard against the shell holder just to get the dang thing back in the rifle! Grrrr! I have the exact same problem loading for a buddies 22-250 but so far no case head seperation issues, so again, it's hard to say!

Anyway, once the cases are FL resized you should be able to get pretty close to the same number of reloads as with new or once fired brass, maybe one less (perhaps more if you anneal the cases but that's really digging into the reloading rabbit hole!). When FL resizing, I set the dies so that no more of the case is sized than is needed to get the cases to chamber easily again.

There are lots of little tricks that can be used to extend the case life but there's that dang rabbit hole again. It might be easier to just buy new cases (if you can find them!) after reloading them until they're hard to chamber, depending on how much you shoot (being really cheap, I use everything until it can't be used relatively safely any more!). Ok, let's say "economical" instead of cheap? Even if I do make Jack Benny look like a compulsive spender (oh dear, did I just date myself? Yikes!).

Good luck and step carefully around that rabbit hole... it can be really deep!
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[J-B welder]

This is getting a little frustrating. Loaded up five more of the Sierra 85 gr HPBT load that grouped well at first and took them out to the shale pit and shot them. Set up a nice stable rest and took my time. Group was even bigger than the last five. First three rounds grouped at just under 0.5". Next five were 1.89" and this last five were 2.23". I've only re-loaded those cases twice, but since I'm only neck re-sizing, maybe the cases are getting stretched to the point that the volume has increased enough to affect pressure and therefore accuracy? The only other obvious thing I can think of is that maybe this gun is finicky about fouling. I've only put about 75 rounds through it since I broke it in, but everyone says your gun will tell you when it needs to be cleaned. So last night I cleaned it and we'll try another five rounds.

On a lighter note, you guys are going to think I'm a nut, but I built a press for the Lee reloader kit. Not a fancy machined aluminum press; if this thing was a middle school shop class project it probably would get a C-, and only that good because it actually functions as intended. I guess the closest it comes to is an O-style press. The two uprights are made of plywood, and the base and ram guides are made of oak. The ram is a piece of round stock that was a weight from the inside of a jump rope handle, and the lever is the traveler arm from an old mower deck. All stuff I had lying around in the garage. This set up is probably a little slower than using the hammer, but it lets me apply more even and consistent pressure at each step. My COAL variation has gone from 0.015" down to 0.004". Being the son of a mechanical engineer who was also something of a tightwad (and a Jack Benny fan, crkckr), I sometimes find it fun to make something instead of buy it.

But wait, there's more. My boss is a big-time reloader and shooter. Has been for years. But I work for government and I try to avoid talking about non-work stuff during office hours, so I haven't pestered him much with questions. I mentioned to him last week that I had tried a few loads with the Lee kit, and brought it in for him to see because he wasn't familiar with it. When he asked me if it was fun I responded that it seemed pretty cool. He said "buy a press." When I came into work today there was a three-die RCBS set sitting on my desk. I asked him what I owed him for them he said "Nothing. I don't have a .243 anymore." (I'm not at all surprised. This the same guy who drove two hours each way to attend my father's funeral last year, and he never even met the man.) So I guess I'll be checking the internet for a used press.

The gravitational pull of the rabbit hole is getting stronger.

 

[Tac-O]

One thing to keep in mind, is that if you're practicing a lot and plan to use the factory loads your gun likes for hunting, your gun might not like those factory loads after shooting 500 rounds in practice.

The erosion of the lands within the throat over time will change your bullet jump for those factory loads. Many reloaders will gradually change their seating depth to be longer, to "chase" the lands so that they can keep the same bullet jump for the accurate load they worked up.

I have one rifle that I hunt with and shoot for fun. My load that I hunted with this season is no longer accurate as is. I cleaned my bore and found that the lands receded about 0.007 since the last time I measured, which was before I worked up that hunting load.