Has anyone tried this with Factory Ammo.

[amlevin]

Other than to satisfy a curiosity, I'm sure there is no real value to it but has anyone here ever taken a box of their favorite factory ammo and pulled it down. Check every powder charge for weight and determine an average weight then reassemble it with every case charged with as exact a load as possible? Then fired it in a side by side comparison with the same, un altered ammo?

My brain was in neutral for a while and this thought kind of came to mind. I once pulled down some Federal Trophy ammo and found that there was as much as .4 grains of variation under the 180 gr bullet. It shot like crap in my rifle for the first 10 rounds so I just thought I'd play with the other 10 but never thought of just "re-distributing" the powder so all charges were even.

Just curious and wondered if anyone else ever got curious and ever tried this. I know that in theory the ammo should be "better" but is it really?

 

[fredhorace77]

in normal hunting rifles and in factory ammo... A .4grains difference in deviation on factory ammo is not going to make any difference in accuracy.. Most often the biggest difference in factory ammo compared to reloads is the seating depth. normaly factory ammo has the bullet loaded so far into the case to make sammi specs that it gives the bullet a large jump before hitting the rifiling. some rifles do fine with this jump and others dont..but truely what it all boils down to is barrel harmonics.. so in my opinion correcting the .4grains difference is not going to make any difference. besides i personaly have never been a fan of shooting bullets have have been pulled....just my 2cents

 

[XTR]

I've heard of guys shooting issue ammo in matches sitting in the motel pulling it down and re-loading it to make it more uniform. Never heard of anyone bothering with hunting loads.

 

[jlow]

Never done it but it’s an interesting thought.

However, when you do this, you are doing more than just redistributing the powder i.e. you are also pulling the bullet and reseating it. So assuming that you know what the original seating depth is and you can reproduce it, you still need to determine if you have changed neck tension. About the only way to do this would be to pull at least 10 rounds and reseat them right away and then shoot and compare them to 10 that has not been pulled and seated. Once you do this and assuming that there was no change, then any change you see with the method you describe as it relates to powder redistribution may be attributed to the redistribution.

Of course, there are other effects such as consistency of seating depth, and things like concentricity but not sure what you can do about that.

 

[bigedp51]

Factory loaded Winchester ammunition and reloads with the numbers telling the story in both photos.

Reloads using weighed powder charges and same Winchester case, bullets and primers.

 

[BenPerfected]

Never done it but it’s an interesting thought.

However, when you do this, you are doing more than just redistributing the powder i.e. you are also pulling the bullet and reseating it. So assuming that you know what the original seating depth is and you can reproduce it, you still need to determine if you have changed neck tension. About the only way to do this would be to pull at least 10 rounds and reseat them right away and then shoot and compare them to 10 that has not been pulled and seated. Once you do this and assuming that there was no change, then any change you see with the method you describe as it relates to powder redistribution may be attributed to the redistribution.

Of course, there are other effects such as consistency of seating depth, and things like concentricity but not sure what you can do about that.

The Laupa 6mmBR Ammo shoots lights out. Just pull the bullet and reseat to .020 jump. The hard part is pulling the factory bullet because it will be cold welded in the neck and be difficult to remove. I shoot it in a .272 chamber and then convert the brass to 6Dasher. This saves all the work and cost associated with a second load. This Lapua Ammo shot virtually one hole at 100 yd,
What is the max distance the 6BR can consistently be competitive?
Ben

 

[Brians356]

The Laupa 6mmBR Ammo shoots lights out. Just pull the bullet and reseat to .020 jump. The hard part is pulling the factory bullet because it will be cold welded in the neck and be difficult to remove.

You wouldn't need or want to completely remove the bullet, obviously, to just change seating depth. All you need to do is get it to move towards the case mouth far enough to be past where you want it re-seated. It will break any "seal" (corrosion, "cold weld") but will not allow the case mouth to completely relax as when the bullet is removed. And it will avoid the stress (on case mouth and bullet heel) of forcing the bullet back into the case mouth again. These may not be insignificant differences.
-

 

[dickn52]

Why would I when I can make rifle specific loads that probably shoot better than anything a factory can make?

 

[Brians356]

Why would I when I can make rifle specific loads that probably shoot better than anything a factory can make?

I give up. Tell us - why would you?
-

 

[dickn52]

Just seems like more work than is necessary. Taking a completed bullet, demilling it and then putting it back together in hopes of making it better.

 

[BenPerfected]

You wouldn't need or want to completely remove the bullet, obviously, to just change seating depth. All you need to do is get it to move towards the case mouth far enough to be past where you want it re-seated. It will break any "seal" (corrosion, "cold weld") but will not allow the case mouth to completely relax as when the bullet is removed. And it will avoid the stress (on case mouth and bullet heel) of forcing the bullet back into the case mouth again. These may not be insignificant differences.
-

Brian,
Haven't tried that but I will. Today I pop the handle on the Forester Co-ax using the Forester Bullet puller. Looking forward to trying your method, it sounds like good process. http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...n/bullet-pullers/bullet-puller-prod34006.aspx
Ben

 

[Brians356]

Brian,
Haven't tried that but I will. Today I pop the handle on the Forester Co-ax using the Forester Bullet puller. Looking forward to trying your method, it sounds like good process.
Ben

I am not familiar with the Forster bullet puller, but an inertial type puller will not mar or distort the bullet. With an inertial (hammer) I mark the bullet with a Sharpie pen adjacent the case mouth, so I can watch the progress of the bullet as it lurches out.
-

 

[Ned Ludd]

You all realize this thread is 4 years old?

 

[BenPerfected]

" QUOTE="jlow, post: 36096078, member: 1282775"]Never done it but it’s an interesting thought.

However, when you do this, you are doing more than just redistributing the powder i.e. you are also pulling the bullet and reseating it. So assuming that you know what the original seating depth is and you can reproduce it, you still need to determine if you have changed neck tension. About the only way to do this would be to pull at least 10 rounds and reseat them right away and then shoot and compare them to 10 that has not been pulled and seated. Once you do this and assuming that there was no change, then any change you see with the method you describe as it relates to powder redistribution may be attributed to the redistribution.

Of course, there are other effects such as consistency of seating depth, and things like concentricity but not sure what you can do about that.[/QUOTE]

The results are excellent. The factory Lapua Ammo has a really big jump (.040 to .060?) in my chamber. The only way change the seating depth is to jerk the bullet out and reseat it less. Also I don't like the idea of using an inertial type puller on a loaded round that you would really have to smack to get the bullet out. This type of puller also leaves a mark on the bullet. The Lapua factory concentricity remains close to 0.000. The bullet tension remains very consistent, much more consistent than multiple fired and annealed brass.
Ben

 

[Brians356]

You all realize this thread is 4 years old?

So ...?
-

 

[Ned Ludd]

So it's idiotic to resurrect a 4 year old thread, dumbshit. That clear enough for you? Especially when the OP is a regular poster here that I know has progressed far beyond this question in the last 4 years. Not to mention the fact that answer was simply to measure velocity and be done with it. If they were that bad out of the box, they were not worth fixing by a method that was practically the same effort as reloading your own.

 

[BenPerfected]

So it's idiotic to resurrect a 4 year old thread, dumbshit. That clear enough for you? Especially when the OP is a regular poster here that I know has progressed far beyond this question in the last 4 years. Not to mention the fact that answer was simply to measure velocity and be done with it. If they were that bad out of the box, they were not worth fixing by a method that was practically the same effort as reloading your own.

In my case, I stumbled across using the Laupa factory BR ammo in my 6BR barrel. Bought a box and it shot pretty good so bought a few more boxes and decided to reseat the bullets at .020 the same as my 105 gn Bergers. Just played with the tuner and....walla. The concentricity was close to .000 from the the factory and it remains the same when reseated with a Wilson BR seater....probably because the bullet is jerked straight out using the Forster press. The way the bullet is removed but doesn't marr the bullet and the reseating PSI is so consistent that it doesn't need to be measured. Never measured the velocity as I don't plan to change it. Today, it is now not about me saving time or $ it is about accuracy. This reworked Lapua BR ammo in combination with this BR barrel is the most accurate combination I have and will only be shot in competition.
Ben