Reloading Recommendations

[Whisky Tahoe Foxtrot]

My shooting discipline? I don't really have one by name, I suppose. I just have a goal of reaching 1000 yards with a 6.5 Grendel AR 15. I did 600 with my own Mk 12-style AR, so I know it can be done.

And to answer your important question, I'm not entirely sure. I've got good brass, good bullets, good equipment, an SS barrel, the upper has been accurized. I hope that would be enough to warrant the effort. Please advise.

You joined today! Welcome to the forum. You in a hurry? Some of these skills take a lifetime to sort out not because they are hard but because they are personal and come from experience which sometimes takes time

Long range shooting needs all kinds of consistency with your technique, your rifle, and in your ammunition whether you buy or reload. Good eyesight comes in handy or can be "purchased". Like Bc'z advised, maybe now is the "take the money and run" moment. Hey I'm not a new shooter but I am new to long range shooting (600yds) and I can tell you there are a lot of ways to spend money if you want to. You have received good advice about quality components. Your bullet choice will be one of the more critical choices as the bullet ballistics directly affect your range table. All brass works, great brass works consistently. Have fun tuning loads with various powders and primers. Research OCW and Ladder methods to get insight on getting quicker results.

One variable that is critical for long range doping is velocity so you either trust the factory ammo you are using or need so measure your reloads. Consistent velocity ie low Extreme Spread and Low standard deviation will put the rounds where your rifle and your technique sent them. If your rifle's harmonics "wobble" then the size of your group will increase. If your technique varies in the slightest while the bullet is still in the barrel then expect that will also increase your groups and certainly contribute to that "flyer" that opens up good groups. Measuring velocity whether with a chronograph, magnetospeed, or labradar is another way to spend money. If you can't measure your rounds, then you are always trusting other shooter's data and that doesn't always work out.

Have fun and welcome to the forum!

 

[gravelyctry]

Neither. I'm Boston, baby!! Black and gold 'til I'm dead and cold!

Well, I went to school at Purdue and now live in Iowa. I was going to offer you an invite if you we’re close by that if you wanted to try some equipment before buying, you’re more than welcome to come on over. Thatd be more difficult since you’re in Boston, but I guess the offer still stands.

I’ve bought a lot of stuff that I no longer use and have tried things that haven’t worked (at least for me).

 

[bsekf]

Black and Gold, it sounds as if you are shooting an AR platform. You might be on the wrong forum, most of these guys are bolt gun guys. I wouldn't know where to start trying to make an AR shoot. Seems to me that the "slam,bang" of the AR action alone would negate a lot of my precision reloading. I think I remember seeing a book dediciated to accuracy and the AR, but I suffer CRS.

Not trying to rain on your parade, shoot, compete and have fun in any dicipline.

Bill

 

[MikeMcCasland]

I've done an experiment a few times of trying to extract more accuracy from an AR by using all of the fancy reloading techniques I used in bolt guns.

I've gotten multiple batches of one fired LC brass. I sorted it by year, then sorted by weight. I then annealed, neck turned, flash hole deburred, and fired about 500 cases to 'form' them.

Once 'formed' I sized them with about .015 of tension, and a .003 bump. Charges were weighed down to the kernel.

Compared side by side with the 'discards' of the same batch that were just sized in a standard Redding FL sizer, and drop charged, they shot the exact same.

There are clearly exceptions, but generally speaking, an AR has a much harder time shooting the difference between basic prepped rounds, and rounds that have had a full prep/workup.

If you're single feeding way out past mag length, and running these through a Bartlein/Kriger, you'll probably be able to see some goodness (still way less than a bolt gun).

If it's just a stainless barrel from one of the AR-focused companies out there, I wouldn't waste time on getting real fancy with it. Get consistent neck tension and seating depth, and if shooting 1,000, a consistent powder charge.

If you were going to buy anything at all, buy some 123 Lapuas and some 8208 XBR.

A Grendel can get out to 1,000, but it's going to get real interesting in any amount of wind.