Just finished my reloading room. Been acquiring all the necessary items the past year or so. Bought some lumber and lights and built a heavy duty bench and shelf. Bought some books and read them all and watched lots of videos online. I believe im ready to reload without exploding my face off or worse! Just jokin I done all the necessary research. Im starting out loading .223 for a Rem 700 9 twist. I have 400 once fired cases that I collected (all Hornady and Federal). Im loading 69 grain SMK's and using Varget powder. The believe the rifle has a deep throat. For a load to touch lands is 2.285". I was told you get different pressures simply by different seating depths. I was also told load close to lands for best accuracy so im gonna start COAL at 2.275. The Sierra manual shows max charge for Varget is 26.4g and min is 19.9g. So im gonna start out at 23g. Im using Lee dies. I have a FL die, collet neck die and a seating die. This is my only area of concern. I read so many different suggestions its driving me nuts! I was told with bolt action to only neck size. Others say FL. Others say both. I have practiced with both and I know how to use them. ALL SUGGESTIONS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
Just Finished Reloading Room! Ready to make my first round. Need a few tips...
- Thread starter stinnett1981
- Start date
BoydAllen
Gold $$ Contributor
Personally, I have found the best accuracy, for a number of rifles, with bullets seated a little (.006-.010) longer than the point where they would have just touched the rifling. If you start low, and work up carefully, pressure should not be an issue. Just keep an eye out for pressure signs as you go up. Another thing to get a handle on early is how to set up a FL die so that you are bumping the shoulders of fired cases back just enough and no more. I believe that the best way to do this is to measure, rather than doing it by feel. There are way too many things that one could tell a new reloader to fit in a post on the internet. Pay attention, and you will enjoy learning by doing. I did.
i agree with Boyd,, you have don e a lot of work and that is good,
i have one suggestion, that fits with Boyd, the case length -base to shoulder is important as it needs to be kept at a length sized to just clear the chamber by .002-.003" and the only way with FL dies is to have a gage, more about that in a moment
next the COAL is not as important as the loaded round OAL as measured base to bullet ojive -as it is the Ojive of the bullet that touchs the lands - bullet ojives vary with lot and design
The answer to both these measurement is easy, Hornady has two gages - not expensive- each made to do one of these measures, there are others on the market mostly the same and more expensive but the Hornady ones work!
simpe but very helpful
Bob
i have one suggestion, that fits with Boyd, the case length -base to shoulder is important as it needs to be kept at a length sized to just clear the chamber by .002-.003" and the only way with FL dies is to have a gage, more about that in a moment
next the COAL is not as important as the loaded round OAL as measured base to bullet ojive -as it is the Ojive of the bullet that touchs the lands - bullet ojives vary with lot and design
The answer to both these measurement is easy, Hornady has two gages - not expensive- each made to do one of these measures, there are others on the market mostly the same and more expensive but the Hornady ones work!
simpe but very helpful
Bob
Can you give me the names of these tools and details on using them. I understand all case measurements must be precise for best accuracy and of course safety. Like i said all tips and suggestions is greatly appreciated.
dansig
necksize is enough until the bolt gets stiff when closing, then fullzise once and keep necksizing until next stiffness occurs...
I've shot my 6mmBR over 3000 rounds, same 100 cases so over 30 firings on each and only necksized except for one fullzise around the 20th firing.
I've shot my 6mmBR over 3000 rounds, same 100 cases so over 30 firings on each and only necksized except for one fullzise around the 20th firing.
broncman said:
Jump is the same thing as how far to seat the bullet from the lands?
dansig said:
Also you can use a case 30 firings? I thought 1 case was good 7 or so times?
dansig
Remington cases are good 3-10 times, Lapua goes easily 30 times and in some calibers well over 50 times.
, I remember that anxiety.Calm down, The main idea is to get things right for YOUR rifle, and as you gain experiance this will get easier.
If your "once fired" brass is from your rifle, then it only needs to be sized back enough to fit your rifle. You can use your FL die to "bump" the shoulder enough to fit. If's it's from another gun then you should do a full FL so you can form the brass to your chamber.
That is another variable for each rifle, If you have determined that your rifle has a long throat (NOT GUESSING) then go ahead and use your listed COAL.
You really do need those Hornady tools to take the guessing out of it.
Just pick a COAL that'll safely fit your rifle and work the powder charge for now, you wanna find that charge zone your rifle likes then you can go back and adjust COAL, constantly looking for more accuracy.
I work the .223 in 0.2 incerments till I get close then 0.1 to dial in to the favorite charge. When changing the COAL for more accuracy you might go back and tweek the load again +/- looking for the sweet spot.
(It really never ends,
)You'll go through a few 100 rounds learning and developing confidence and improving your technique.
Check in often with questions, don't be afraid to continue learning,
KEEP IT SAFE!
And have fun,,
Nice Bench and Room by the way, get a chair/stool to keep your self comfortable and take alot of notes, write down all the measurements you use and loads you use for referance later on,,you won't be able to remember all the stuff,,
BoydAllen
Gold $$ Contributor
How many times that you can neck size depends on the pressure level of your load, and the hardness of the brass. Once you have an idea of how many times you can fire a given load, and brand of brass before the brass gets tight, I would consider FL sizing at a point that is a firing or two less than that, because all cases will not get tight at the same time, and if you have tight and looser fitting cases in the same group, it will be larger with the mix than if they were all the same. You can avoid some of this by running your fired brass back through your rifle, before sizing, using it as a gauge to tell you if they need to be FL sized, and avoiding having tight loaded rounds. I started out loading for a .308 with a Lee Loader and a plastic hammer. Have fun, and come back and ask more questions as you come to them.
lots of talk of 30 firings, and that is very possible, however not common with out moderate loads, case care, annealing, and very good chamber/die matchup.
i have had Rem cases go 10 plus with many calibers and the usual situation was not max loads, anneal after 5-6 firings and using the gages stated earlier keep the sizing to a minimum while being safe.
Bob
i have had Rem cases go 10 plus with many calibers and the usual situation was not max loads, anneal after 5-6 firings and using the gages stated earlier keep the sizing to a minimum while being safe.
Bob
Thanks guys. I will get the head space and COAL gauges so i know my measurements for sure.
I remember when i was in your shoes. Just starting out and hearing all the talk about fancy tools, fancy dies ,custom dies, annealing, neck turning, case sorting, neck size or full length size, standard or bushing dies, bullet sorting, jump or jam, primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring and reaming,etc etc etc. Here is my opinion on things. Dont make it something that you are going to get overwhelmed with and not enjoy. You dont have to do everything everybody else does nor do you have to use everything everyone else uses. My goal is to find great accuracy with the least amount of reloading steps. Remember every extra step takes more time and more money. Read read read and then be safe be safe be safe. Buy the equipment that is in your budget and find what works for your guns. You may have guns that digest anything or you might have to perform more detailed reloading.
Good Luck and Good Shooting
Good Luck and Good Shooting
I have alot of stuff and plan on doing every step besides annealing. I have the RCBS supreme press, all sizes of shell holders, RCBS uniflow powder measure, RCBS hand primer tool, RCBS lube pad, digital calipers and scale, RCBS 5-0-5 scale, Lyman universal case prep kit, Lyman case tumbler, Lee deluxe 3 die set for .223, L E Wilson case trimmers, Chamfer and deburring tool, reloading trays, hornady powder trickle, powder funnels and probably more stuff that im not thinking of. I do plan on getting the Hornady OAL gauge and headspace gauge before I reload my first batch of rounds. Any other good tool you guys recommend??? Whatever it takes for better accuracy!
Will do... after I get the Hornady headspace and OAL gauge so I absolutely know for sure my measurements are true. I all ready tested 10 rounds without powder. I didnt FL size them. All I did was get the hang of the collet neck die and sized 10 cases, inspected cases, trimmed all cases to proper length, uniformed and cleaned the primer pockets, cleaned flash hole, chamfered and deburred, ran in the tumbler for 1.5 hours, inspected cases, primmed the case where the primers was just alittle lower than flush, inspected, skipped adding powder, seated the bullet where the COAL was 2.275. Sound good???
No. Seat primers all the way down? I was told to seat them alittle deeper than flush to the rim.
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