Turbulent Turtle
F-TR competitor
I have been annealing my brass using the excellent Giraud device for the job for the last 18 months or so and I thought I would pass on some of my observations.
When I got the device, I started annealing the brass used in my prior rifle. I noticed that my scores went up and I got rid of a lot of "whiskey tango foxtrot" shots on paper. Unfortunately, I also got a new scope right at the same time, so it was difficult to say which change had the most effect on the scores.
About a year ago, I acquired my current rifle and bought 500 virgin Lapua cases (same lot) for it and started the cycle. My methodology was to anneal after every second firing because I did not want to overdo it and I did not believe it would make a difference. I keep track of my brass box by box. Every box holds 100 cartridges and I note each primer seating and annealing session. I also note the trimming, which I do every fifth firing. (For completeness sake, I F/L resize with a small base Redding bushing die after every firing. I tumble all cases and then I load the Varget powder using a CM1500 dispensing short 0.1 grain and I finish to the exact grain with an Omega device on my GP 250. I seat the 180gr JLK LBT using a Redding Competition seating die.)
When June came around, I loaded 400 rounds for Raton. Two of the boxes showed three primer seatings, which means they had been fired twice. The cases had been annealed before the third primer seating (PPAP). The other two boxes showed four primer seating, meaning they had been fired three times. They had been annealed before the third primer seating (PPAPP)
Between that marathon loading session and Raton, I loaded and fired the fifth box in local matches and then loaded it two weeks before Raton. The ammo had performed very nicely.
When I got to Raton, I decided to use the ammo in the fifth box for practice, blow offs and the team match on Thursday. I further decided to use the PPAP ammo for the FCNC and the PPAPP ammo for the FCWC.
During the FCNC, I observed my ammo to be exceedingly good. I had no WTF shots, I was just having a great time and even shot a 199-7 on the Friday morning match. My only “bad†match was the last one and the conditions were atrocious, nothing to do with the ammo. I ended the FCNC with a 1244-31X which placed me in twenty second place, 26 shots behind the winner. I was very pleased with the ammo and my performance overall.
The first morning of the FCWC, I got the impression that my ammo (PPAPP) was not as “perfect†as the one I used in the FCNC. I was seeing slight variations on target that I had not seen during the week. I brushed that aside and just concentrated on doing as well as I could. I finished in 43rd position with a 425-24V, just 25 shots behind the eventual winner.
Doing some calculations, I found that even with my “bad†performance in the atrocious conditions of Thursday afternoon, I shot at 95.7% for the FCNC (96.5% until the last match). I compare this to 94.8% during the FCWC with the PPAPP ammo. Also, the FCWC was shot at 800, 900 and 1000 yards on the same target, whereas the FCNC were all shot at 1000 yards. Some people will argue the conditions were worse for the FCWC, I’m not so sure.
Just for the record, I drove to Raton on Saturday, 13 hours straight. I shot the practice on Sunday morning. Then I shot Monday and Tuesday in the individuals, Wednesday in the Team matches, Thursday for the individuals and practice on Friday at the three yard lines. I will state that I was quite tired by the time we started the FCWC on Saturday morning. I will also state that I loathe the line changes.
Some of my degraded performance could be due to the fatigue, but I think it’s mainly due to the fact I did not anneal prior to the loading for the FCWC ammo.
When I got back home, the Giraud was put to good use and from now on, I will be annealing after every single firing.
When I got the device, I started annealing the brass used in my prior rifle. I noticed that my scores went up and I got rid of a lot of "whiskey tango foxtrot" shots on paper. Unfortunately, I also got a new scope right at the same time, so it was difficult to say which change had the most effect on the scores.
About a year ago, I acquired my current rifle and bought 500 virgin Lapua cases (same lot) for it and started the cycle. My methodology was to anneal after every second firing because I did not want to overdo it and I did not believe it would make a difference. I keep track of my brass box by box. Every box holds 100 cartridges and I note each primer seating and annealing session. I also note the trimming, which I do every fifth firing. (For completeness sake, I F/L resize with a small base Redding bushing die after every firing. I tumble all cases and then I load the Varget powder using a CM1500 dispensing short 0.1 grain and I finish to the exact grain with an Omega device on my GP 250. I seat the 180gr JLK LBT using a Redding Competition seating die.)
When June came around, I loaded 400 rounds for Raton. Two of the boxes showed three primer seatings, which means they had been fired twice. The cases had been annealed before the third primer seating (PPAP). The other two boxes showed four primer seating, meaning they had been fired three times. They had been annealed before the third primer seating (PPAPP)
Between that marathon loading session and Raton, I loaded and fired the fifth box in local matches and then loaded it two weeks before Raton. The ammo had performed very nicely.
When I got to Raton, I decided to use the ammo in the fifth box for practice, blow offs and the team match on Thursday. I further decided to use the PPAP ammo for the FCNC and the PPAPP ammo for the FCWC.
During the FCNC, I observed my ammo to be exceedingly good. I had no WTF shots, I was just having a great time and even shot a 199-7 on the Friday morning match. My only “bad†match was the last one and the conditions were atrocious, nothing to do with the ammo. I ended the FCNC with a 1244-31X which placed me in twenty second place, 26 shots behind the winner. I was very pleased with the ammo and my performance overall.
The first morning of the FCWC, I got the impression that my ammo (PPAPP) was not as “perfect†as the one I used in the FCNC. I was seeing slight variations on target that I had not seen during the week. I brushed that aside and just concentrated on doing as well as I could. I finished in 43rd position with a 425-24V, just 25 shots behind the eventual winner.
Doing some calculations, I found that even with my “bad†performance in the atrocious conditions of Thursday afternoon, I shot at 95.7% for the FCNC (96.5% until the last match). I compare this to 94.8% during the FCWC with the PPAPP ammo. Also, the FCWC was shot at 800, 900 and 1000 yards on the same target, whereas the FCNC were all shot at 1000 yards. Some people will argue the conditions were worse for the FCWC, I’m not so sure.
Just for the record, I drove to Raton on Saturday, 13 hours straight. I shot the practice on Sunday morning. Then I shot Monday and Tuesday in the individuals, Wednesday in the Team matches, Thursday for the individuals and practice on Friday at the three yard lines. I will state that I was quite tired by the time we started the FCWC on Saturday morning. I will also state that I loathe the line changes.
Some of my degraded performance could be due to the fatigue, but I think it’s mainly due to the fact I did not anneal prior to the loading for the FCWC ammo.
When I got back home, the Giraud was put to good use and from now on, I will be annealing after every single firing.
