What I Learned About Reloading Today!

[clunker]

I did my very first batch of handloads several months ago and finally made it out to the range to try them out today. Here are the things I learned.

- Testing your loads is completely worthless if you haven't been to the range in 18 months. My form was disgusting, and the results were embarrassing.

- Don't try to sight in a new scope on the same day that you try new loads if you only brought 15 rounds with you. The scope was mounted at least a full inch too far forward, and I burned all 6 of my generic rounds before I came close to dialing in my scope.

- Don't tell your buddy how poorly you shot at the range if you didn't invite him to go shooting with you.

- The good news! Rounded primers indicate I have a lot more room for powder. Every round fired flawlessly. Twice-fired Lapua cases look perfect. I just ordered 200 more cases.

 

[RegionRat]

Yup, you need to get out and shoot more often and shoot more rounds when you do...

Yes, a standard reference load is a good thing to have in order to get the gun worked out in terms of sighting work, etc., so you don’t bump into the problems you had.

There are a few good factory loads for some calibers. What caliber were you running?

 

[clunker]

Yup, you need to get out and shoot more often and shoot more rounds when you do...

Yes, a standard reference load is a good thing to have in order to get the gun worked out in terms of sighting work, etc., so you don’t bump into the problems you had.

There are a few good factory loads for some calibers. What caliber were you running?

It's a Tikka in 6.5 CM. When I decided to get started in reloading, I was already a decent shot with factory stuff. 15 rounds would have been sufficient two years ago (when I still had good form) and I didn't have an untested scope. The Lapua brass was from some Berger Match Scenar-L rounds. Best accuracy I found from factory ammo for this rifle, but I didn't bring them with me today.

 

[RegionRat]

Yup, with 6.5 CM, you should keep a reference ammo stacked deep and use it to debug and baseline.

It can even give you a good goal for where your reloads should perform. And if that ammo happens to be made with decent brass, all the better.

Nothing wrong with a dry fire session if you are stuck far from a range for a long time. It can get you tuned up before you start burning ammo.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

What I learned again today. Keep the lid TIGHT on the the powder bottle.. Yeah, it spilled [fell]. On the floor..

 

[338 dude]

What I learned again today. Keep the lid TIGHT on the the powder bottle.. Yeah, it spilled [fell]. On the floor..

Now that sucks I’ve left the door on the charge master Open and dumped a little bit but I haven’t knocked over the whole bottle yet

 

[Hoot]

Now that sucks I’ve left the door on the charge master Open and dumped a little bit but I haven’t knocked over the whole bottle yet

Raises hand...

Only once though. A quick check gets burned into memory quite easily and it has prevented a reoccurrence several times.

Hoot

 

[tominboise]

What i learned - even though you might want to throw charges of H4831, it's better to trickle them to final weight.

 

[geraldgee]

Now that sucks I’ve left the door on the charge master Open and dumped a little bit but I haven’t knocked over the whole bottle yet

I’ve left that door open so many times I ended up selling the charge master. I’m learning that I am not to be trusted unless I write things down...and then reminded to look at my “remember” list.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I’ve left that door open so many times I ended up selling the charge master. I’m learning that I am not to be trusted unless I write things down...and then reminded to look at my “remember” list.

I try to remember but sometimes in the heat of battle.. I look and go Oh****"

 

[338 dude]

I have just learned to close the door when I am done

 

[CharlieNC]

Try a bit of dry firing at home when you cant make it to the range, and set up like you are going to shoot. This is also a decent way to assure you scope is mounted in the correct position.

 

[nakneker]

We all started this journey somewhere, it’s part of the fun!

 

[searcher]

Don't try to sight in a new scope on the same day that you try new loads if you only brought 15 rounds with you

That made me recall the day I knocked over all my boxes of test loads for several different rifles. Without knowing the order each 5 rounds went back into each box, I had two hundred rounds of worthless test loads. Worse - some boxes had 5 firings on brass - others about 35. I pulled bullets and started over with new brass. Kind of like dropping your outboard engine overboard. I think we have all had days like that.

 

[sundance]

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.
How many times have I sung that line??

 

[clunker]

Thanks for the comic relief, everyone! The problem I have with dry firing is that the new scope has a minimum distance of 50 yds. You can't even see a target at anything less than 30 yds. Since I live in a densely populated neighborhood with mostly young families, I don't really have the option to just set up outside. I'd have a SWAT team in my driveway within minutes. I always label every round with a Sharpie, so I know exactly which one is which. Mandatory procedure in the research lab, so it kind of comes naturally to me.

 

[antelopedundee]

What i learned - even though you might want to throw charges of H4831, it's better to trickle them to final weight.

My powder trickler.

 

[K22]

Precision shooting is a perishable skill for sure - I shoot year around to try and stay sharp for varmint and predator hunting. I'll share my 50+ years of mistakes and leaning for what ever it's worth.

I try to make it to the range twice a week but I only shoot 10 to 15 rounds per range session - all off a cross sticks because that's the way I use the rifle. But I'm fortunate, I live close to two ranges and I'm retired. If I don't have absolute focus on the fundamentals I will have a poor range session.

Trying to shoot too many rounds in one range session is mistake - at least for me. I call every shot and try to determine what when wrong when I make a poor shot. The good news is that I'm getting good at accurately calling my shots - the bad news is that I still manage to make a poor shot now and then which would be a miss in the field. But at 73, I don't have the eye - hand coordination or muscle stability I once had in my younger years - where I once had a 90%+ hit rate I'm now down to about 80 to 85% in the field. Difficult to do but I try to forget about the last shot - good or bad - and focus in the current shot - it's the only one I can control.

If I have to sight in a scope or engage in load development I use separate range sessions for these purposes. If I try to do too much in one range session I will screw something up for sure. I always make sure the eye relief is set properly for me and the scope is level before attempting to perform initial site in. Fortunately I don't have to do much of either of these anymore so I can focus on meaningful practical practice at the range which means practice off the sticks - I simply hate shooting off a bench and load development.

One thing that has helped me is working on refining my technique shooting off the sticks. I've improved significantly, my declining skills with age not withstanding, since I adopted this method of field shooting over 20 years ago.

 

[Dub]

Good stuff!

 

[Jordan Wickham]

What I learned again today. Keep the lid TIGHT on the the powder bottle.. Yeah, it spilled [fell]. On the floor..

I haven't dumped a powder bottle, but that little jug of Imperial Dry Neck Lube with the application media is real impressive. There's alot of graphite in there.