need info 6.5-284 load

[shanebarlar]

FINALLY GOT THE RIFLE DONE,STOLLE,BROUGHTON 1 IN 8 TWIST,.297 NECK,HAVE LAPUA BRASS,BERGER 140,CCI BR2,4350,4831 SC,VARGET,WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME A STARTING POINT,INCLUDING SEATING DEPTH.ALSO MY LOADED ROUND MICS .294 UNTURNED,IS THIS SUFFICIENT,OR DO I NEED TO TURN.ANY INFO WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

 

[DonL]

Hi Shane - I'm set up about the same way you are except I'm running a Bartlein 1 in 8 1/2 twist with a .297" neck. I did neck turn the Lapua brass because of the inconsistent neck wall thickness in the lot I got. [.0145" to .016" side to side] The diameter of my loaded rounds measure .293". I work with Fed. 210M primers, H4350, and 139 grain Lapuas. I started fire forming at 48 grains, and then moved up to 48 1/2. The accuracy was noticably better with the extra 1/2 grain of powder which made shooting in the sling a lot more fun while fire forming. Best accuracy was achieved after annealing probably because my run out on loaded rounds improved. [.0005" to .0015"] Best accuracy has been achieved so far at 48.8 grains of H4350 and .015" off the lands. I have 300 more pieces of brass to prep and I'm going to start right off by annealing them. The shoulders fill right out nicely after annealing, and like I mentioned earlier the run out became acceptable to me. In regards to your question about neck turning I'd say if your neck walls are a consistent thickness side to side you should be good to go. Best of luck with your new rifle - Don

 

[shanebarlar]

THANKS ALOT,I HAVE SOME LAPUAS TO DUPLICATE YOUR PET LOAD,THE ONLY DIFF. WILL BE BR2 PRIMERS,I WAS WONDERIN,THAT IS INTO THE LANDS ISN'T IT. AGAIN I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP...

 

[memilanuk]

Shane,

#1 - Find your capslock and turn it off. It's considered the Internet equivalent of TALKING IN A REALLY LOUD AND ANNOYIING TONE OF VOICE - and is generally viewed as borderline rude/uncouth. Just a thought.

#2 - Have you looked at the 6.5-284 load guide available from the front page of this site?

DonL,

You do realize that funny color change around the neck/shoulder on the Lapua brass is from the *factory* annealing process, right? Not sure why you are annealing virgin brass... but if it works, go for it.

Monte

 

[DonL]

Hi again Shane - In my previous post to your question I mentioned that the best results so far has come at .015" off the lands. Some people refer to this as "setback". So in other words my bullets are .015" from touching the lands. They are not jammed into the lands. I probably should have also mentioned that these loads appeared safe to me in my rifle, but excerise caution while working yours up. Reducing a load that anyone has mentioned on a forum by 10% I think would always be good advice. Good luck - Don

Monte - With this particular lot of brass, it was taking three firings to finally get the shoulder blown out nice and crisp, and like I mentioned I was not happy with the runout. Warner's built the rifle, and after talking to Al and Dan about the runout problem, I decided to get one of their dies. Their advice to me was to anneal all the brass before running it in their die for the first time to get optimal results, and they were right. By the way, I read another reply of yours about Warner's dies. It truly is a work of art and precision. Once you've acquired the so called universal body you only have to acquire a new body insert and neck bushing insert to change to a different cartridge. You may be able to use the same neck bushing insert if the diameter and shoulder angle matches your new cartridge. The greatest asset to using this die, is that by just changing the shims that are supplied, you have perfect control over headspacing. I'm sure that the run out measurements that I mentioned to Shane would be even better if I could have cleaned the necks up all the way around, but it became a balancing act between almost perfect concentricity or longer brass life due to less overworking. The less overworking line of thought won out. If I do this again I will seriously consider a tight neck chamber so that I can attempt to rectify that problem in a so called "bad lot" of brass. Nice talking to you - Don

 

[memilanuk]

Don,

Gotcha, I read that bit about annealing the cases before switching to the Warner die in that article. That die does sound like the cat's meow. I think my main objection to it is my,large) existing stock of dies in various calibers, and that it wouldn't fit in my new Forster Co-Ax press :,

A question for ya though... how is using Warner's shims to control headspace any different than using Skip Otto's die shims under the lock ring on a conventional die/press set up?

Monte

 

[shanebarlar]

well just got back from the range,every thing went well.the rifle shot a .60 at 200 while breakin the barrel in,that was probably my lack of exp.i tryed 4350, and lapua bullets.they were allright,but the berger and 4831sc really seemed to be the rifles preference,i am thinkin of tryin amax bullets before i settle on the berger bullets.that was good info and i appreciate it fellas.it has taken me over 2 years to get this rifle going,but it was worth it.didn't mean to ruffle anyone with the cap locks.didn't even realize it,my opology.

 

[DonL]

Hi Monte - Good question. And it's probably gonna sound like I'm splittin hairs here, but that's the nature of trying to get some of these rifles to shoot. On Warner's die the appropriate shim or shims are placed between the bottom of the universal body and the nicely machined ring at the bottom. Three allan head screws thru the bottom of the ring are used to hold the shims and body together. The large knurled lock ring is never locked permanently to the body. There isn't even a set screw provided if you desired to because it is not needed. To set up the die in the press you simply run the ram up all the way, screw the die down until it makes contact, preload it slightly, and then run the lock ring down to the press and snug it up with the punch like tool provided by Warner's. In theory the ram, shell holder, and die should now be in alignment. It doesn't matter if you're using the shims or not. The shell holder and die are going to make positive contact everytime you size a case. I've never tried to use Mr. Otto's shims, but if I'm picturing it correctly, and if you are trying to increase headspace, the die and shell holder would no longer make contact. Without positive contact between those two parts you are now at the mercy of the tension in the brass to provide the preload to achieve the proper headspace. It will do it, but will it do it the same for each piece of brass. That's the question. On any die not contacting the shell holder a fixture with opposite sides sguared up can be placed between the two while the lock ring is being set to achieve alignment. But, like I said earlier about Warner's die, you're doing it automatiacally everytime and it's easy. I hope I didn't miss represent anything in regards to Al and Dan, and for you Monte, that's as good as I can explain it. Till next time! - Don


Hey Shane - Nice shootin! I was happy to help. - Don

 

[memilanuk]

Don,

Your explanation makes sense... and probably explains why I've been a lot happier 'controlling' headspace with a set of Redding Competition shell holders,0.002" increments) than I have been w/ the die shims, since I can screw the die down to hard contact w/ the ram/shell holder, and not wonder about anything. Sometimes it means I'm 'stuck' with 0.002 increments instead of 0.001, but as long as they all get sized the same, I'm reasonably easy to please

Thanks,

Monte

 

[DonL]

Monte - You are very welcome. - Don