Best reloading practice. What is most important

[PDS]

Safety first.
Especially with the propellant (powder) any screw ups here can cause anything from firearm damage to body injury.

 

[Medic505]

Above all else is believing in yourself. Every time I got behind my rifle, I had 100% confidence that the round I was about to shoot was loaded to best of my ability. From silly shit like weighing primers to sorting bullets, every i was dotted and every t was crossed. If you doubt your work, you're not going to shoot well.

 

[jelenko]

What is needed depends on the application.
I guarantee that weighing primers will have 0 impact on the scores for XTC.

That said, no question doing what's needed is key. It is important that you have confidence that, when the shot doesn't show up on the target where you were expecting, it is due to you not the ammo, rifle, scope, etc.

 

[tom]

Primer pocket uniforming

 No, never

Run mandrel for neck tension

No, never

FL resize per your discipline

Yes always

Case trim from shoulder or case base

Base and shoulder both work, but only as necessary

Chamfer In/out mouth of case.

Yes after trimming, chamfer, polish...very anal here, treat it like a crown.

Weigh cases

Yes, as new I still do that.

Turn necks

If required to fit, chamber dependant. Used to think it mattered, last seasons results have me wondering. I still think it probably helps? Haven't tested "directly", almost impossible to test without collecting data over time.

Throw away brass after one firing

Of course not

Adding on my own Annealing-nope

Weighing primers-yes

Seating primers some convoluted way-nope

check touch after every cleaning-YES

chase the lands-test on target and believe the results

There's probably more "things" to add, but really it's about choosing the right components and then the tune with them. Powders tend to pick favorite tensions and fire controls tend to pick favorite primers, so you can chase your tail a bit there...your second barrel on a given reamer/rifle will go way easier.

Tom

 

[ELR LVR]

With all the internets loading advice. What is the most important step and what order. Let start with virgin aftermarket brass first. I'll start another thread for once fired if need be. There are vids from top shooters and smiths on youtube that alot of us try to follow. Some great reads here as well. But I see where one shooter will not use steps other do or just in different orders. What's your holy grail of steps and sequence?

First step - FL Size All cases and ensure they will chamber in YOUR rifle.
Do not assume that new virgin brass will fit YOUR chamber.
If you know your headspace and can gauge it, you know where to FL size your new brass to
-----------
All the rest for me is uniforming brass for accuracy and consistency so I'll let others post their own order

 

[Owens85]

 No, never

No, never

Yes always

Base and shoulder both work, but only as necessary

Yes after trimming, chamfer, polish...very anal here, treat it like a crown.

Yes, as new I still do that.

If required to fit, chamber dependant. Used to think it mattered, last seasons results have me wondering. I still think it probably helps? Haven't tested "directly", almost impossible to test without collecting data over time.

Of course not

Adding on my own Annealing-nope

Weighing primers-yes

Seating primers some convoluted way-nope

check touch after every cleaning-YES

chase the lands-test on target and believe the results

There's probably more "things" to add, but really it's about choosing the right components and then the tune with them. Powders tend to pick favorite tensions and fire controls tend to pick favorite primers, so you can chase your tail a bit there...your second barrel on a given reamer/rifle will go way easier.

Tom

With the last 2 being one of the most important I believe!!

 

[wywindsor]

With this topic somewhat off course, I have new topics to start. Thanks for all the answers. I started this thread to gain knowledge. Which I did. My next threads will be more specific to each step that you shooters found to be most useful in making a rifle preform. Thanks

 

[Al Lu]

Best Reloading Practice — What Matters Most
The easiest and most valuable step you can take is to find a good mentor who can teach you hands-on. Behind Alex W’s comments lies a lifetime of experience—knowledge that an average Joe like me could never dream of gaining alone.

 

[6MMsteve]

I don't turn necks anymore but the outside chamfer is heavy on all my necks excess brass gets there somehow I looked at my cases about 8 yrs ago and found the outside nk wanting so I put a heavy chamfer on..it looks almost rounded but it works, haven't had the glob of brass I was seeing in the microscope for 8 yrs and had barrels that shot great..it's hard to see with the naked eye 30x loupe will scare you..but that's just me..good luck out there

 

[wywindsor]

The La Prela youtube channel has a new vid out. They ask Erik Cortina his method. Pretty simple.

 

[Evan]

I’ll add: have the courage to stop doing something and see if it makes a difference. Everyone built their routine up, adding things as they got better. I only know a handful that have then started pulling things out to see what actually mattered.

I was able to pull pretty much everything back out and my groups kept getting smaller. My favorite one to share: I don’t clean my primer pockets anymore.

FL size, wipe off with towel, measure OAL and trim chamfer as needed. Prime with hand tool by feel, measure powder to 0.02gn, seat bullets to within 0.001, shoot. If the tune is good, nothing else is needed.