Sorry for not getting back so soon after my original post. I have spent the morning trying to digest all of the information that all of you have been so kind as to provide. And while there is a lot of information with varied ideas on the processes, I believe that everyone is in agreement of where the end result should be. Achieving Ultimate Accuracy with the tools we have thus the name of this web site, Accurate Shooter.
While each one of us may have different reasons for the level of accuracy we are trying to achieve, each one of us usually go down that road the same way to that specific level of accuracy we are trying to obtain while others go beyond for the level of accuracy they are trying to obtain.
With that in mind, I am trying to reach a level of accuracy that satisfies me personally. I am too old to start chasing records and trophies but do find enjoyment in shooting competitions both club-local and sanctioned. I'm just satisfied to make a good show.
Like a lot of people on here, I started out in short distance benchrest, 100-200 yards, and have now built a rifle to start playing in 600 yard benchrest. As stated in my original post, my short range benchrest guns, PPCs, all like to shoot with the bullets into the lands thus pressing the base of the case against the bolt face. I Like This! However, this 600 yard benchrest gun likes to have the bullet sitting .020 off or not touching for those questioning the terminology of what is touching and what is jammed. Suffice it to say the bullet is not touching anything, OK? And, with the bullet not touching or into the lands, there is nothing to push the base of my case back against the bolt face where I like it to be.
Now, just to quench a possible argument as to why or if it is at all important to have the base of the case lightly against the face of the bolt, I don't care. That is where I want the base of the case to lightly be and that's where I am comfortable having it unless I can be shown were there is danger in doing this. So, if I do not have the bullet pressing into the lands to force the base of the case against the bolt face then I have to have another way to do it. This is where I have opened this discussion up about using the shoulder of the case to do the same thing when you have cartridges that have bullet jump and not have the availability of the bullet into the lands to push the case back against the bold face.
No one has yelled Danger, Danger, so I'm assuming there is no danger in doing such as long as it's lightly done. If there was danger of pressing the base of the case against the bolt face then people wouldn't be jamming bullets, would they?
I have read many messages, not in this specific thread, where people are only bumping shoulders so far as to let the bolt fall halfway or less. While I can't offer scientific evidence as to why I don't like this, personally I'm preferring to have the bolt drop almost all of the way down thus putting only light rear pressure of the case head against the bolt face. All I want the case to do is touch the bolt face not be hard pressed against it. Again, no hard evidence here on my side but this is where I feel there is accuracy.
The big question was how to consistently bump your shoulders from case to case. I have been doing fairly decent at that and a few of you have offered very detailed steps that you go through to achieve that. Thank all of you that have offered their detailed steps. By the way Dixie PPC, I am also using the Harroll die with the provided check collet for this 600 yard gun but I can see where you're added step of annealing each time would help with the consistency of the bump. I've been seriously thinking about starting to anneal each time. Right now I'm having someone else do my annealing for me and only doing it after every 5 or so shots. But more and more, I'm seeing some of the top level competitors are starting to anneal after each shot not only for bump consistency but also for bullet seating tension consistency.
Now, I'm aware that some people on these forums have questioned the sanity of going to such extremes, of being so anal. Well I think when you look at your top shooters you're going to see that level of anal. And while I have said that I am too old to start chasing trophies and records, I do want to be the best that I can be for me. That satisfaction gives me a boner.
Let me close in the saying that I might have used the term headspace rightly so or not, I don't know. I just know that on some of the other threads concerning shoulder bumping, headspace had come up. So, I just provided that spec to the thread in case anybody wanted to know that. That spec was provided to me along with two sheets of other specifications from the gunsmith that built this rifle.
Thanks again to everyone of you that have offered constructive suggestions, courteous criticisms, etc. I have learned a lot from this thread. Please don't let this thread end. Keep it going. I needed it.
Hope I Spellud everthang rite!
Charles
While each one of us may have different reasons for the level of accuracy we are trying to achieve, each one of us usually go down that road the same way to that specific level of accuracy we are trying to obtain while others go beyond for the level of accuracy they are trying to obtain.
With that in mind, I am trying to reach a level of accuracy that satisfies me personally. I am too old to start chasing records and trophies but do find enjoyment in shooting competitions both club-local and sanctioned. I'm just satisfied to make a good show.
Like a lot of people on here, I started out in short distance benchrest, 100-200 yards, and have now built a rifle to start playing in 600 yard benchrest. As stated in my original post, my short range benchrest guns, PPCs, all like to shoot with the bullets into the lands thus pressing the base of the case against the bolt face. I Like This! However, this 600 yard benchrest gun likes to have the bullet sitting .020 off or not touching for those questioning the terminology of what is touching and what is jammed. Suffice it to say the bullet is not touching anything, OK? And, with the bullet not touching or into the lands, there is nothing to push the base of my case back against the bolt face where I like it to be.
Now, just to quench a possible argument as to why or if it is at all important to have the base of the case lightly against the face of the bolt, I don't care. That is where I want the base of the case to lightly be and that's where I am comfortable having it unless I can be shown were there is danger in doing this. So, if I do not have the bullet pressing into the lands to force the base of the case against the bolt face then I have to have another way to do it. This is where I have opened this discussion up about using the shoulder of the case to do the same thing when you have cartridges that have bullet jump and not have the availability of the bullet into the lands to push the case back against the bold face.
No one has yelled Danger, Danger, so I'm assuming there is no danger in doing such as long as it's lightly done. If there was danger of pressing the base of the case against the bolt face then people wouldn't be jamming bullets, would they?
I have read many messages, not in this specific thread, where people are only bumping shoulders so far as to let the bolt fall halfway or less. While I can't offer scientific evidence as to why I don't like this, personally I'm preferring to have the bolt drop almost all of the way down thus putting only light rear pressure of the case head against the bolt face. All I want the case to do is touch the bolt face not be hard pressed against it. Again, no hard evidence here on my side but this is where I feel there is accuracy.
The big question was how to consistently bump your shoulders from case to case. I have been doing fairly decent at that and a few of you have offered very detailed steps that you go through to achieve that. Thank all of you that have offered their detailed steps. By the way Dixie PPC, I am also using the Harroll die with the provided check collet for this 600 yard gun but I can see where you're added step of annealing each time would help with the consistency of the bump. I've been seriously thinking about starting to anneal each time. Right now I'm having someone else do my annealing for me and only doing it after every 5 or so shots. But more and more, I'm seeing some of the top level competitors are starting to anneal after each shot not only for bump consistency but also for bullet seating tension consistency.
Now, I'm aware that some people on these forums have questioned the sanity of going to such extremes, of being so anal. Well I think when you look at your top shooters you're going to see that level of anal. And while I have said that I am too old to start chasing trophies and records, I do want to be the best that I can be for me. That satisfaction gives me a boner.
Let me close in the saying that I might have used the term headspace rightly so or not, I don't know. I just know that on some of the other threads concerning shoulder bumping, headspace had come up. So, I just provided that spec to the thread in case anybody wanted to know that. That spec was provided to me along with two sheets of other specifications from the gunsmith that built this rifle.
Thanks again to everyone of you that have offered constructive suggestions, courteous criticisms, etc. I have learned a lot from this thread. Please don't let this thread end. Keep it going. I needed it.
Hope I Spellud everthang rite!
Charles
