Update Reloading Equipment?

[Phil3]

Put a 1-8 twist barrel chambered in 6 bra with a 104 ish freebore and order some 103 gr Vapor trails or Barts you’ll be ahead of the game. I think the most small 1 k groups I’ve see were shot by a 12 year old kid.

I saw this exact movie play out when I shot competitive precision pistol. A few affluent guys thought if the purchased the top pistol and ammo they would automatically be a master class shooter. They were in for a rude awakening; it takes hours upon hours of structure and focused practice to achieve top scores in the competitive shooting sports.

Most of them gave up in frustration since they didn't want to spend the effort and time. Incidentally, one of our top shooters on the team used a Hi Standard Citation Model Pistol with Remington Standard Velocity Ammo in the rim fire stage, the latter in the 70's and 80's was the poor man's target ammo.

I used to road race motorcycles. My super talented friend hopped on my bike and in a few laps obliterated my lap times, and I could not get anywhere near him riding his bike. He was just faster. He told me, "Seat time, it's all about seat time". The same obviously applies to "trigger time". Time to reload a lot of ammo and get to the range to see what I am made of.

 

[big5ifty]

I am little surprised no-one had an issue with the Forster dies or Co-Ax press. One person did mention match level custom dies. There are much more expensive brands of these items our there, which I thought might be an indicator they are superior in some way.

The Forster Co-Ax is widely used for reloading precision ammo. It is a top tier single stage press.

People who use more expensive single stage presses - well, people prefer to commute in all sorts of cars as well. Whichever car you use in your commute is subject to the same speed limit.

Then there are those who advocate and use the "precision" progressive presses in their reloading routine. That is purely a time saving move, not an improvement in quality on a Forster Co-Ax.

A "match level" die set is something with moveable parts on it that better facilitates seating depth and or neck size changes. The former is nice to have, but not better. The latter may be necessary if you neck turn brass to the point where the necks are not touched enough in a normal sizing die.

A custom die is made specifically for your rifle chamber. Considering that people have gone on to win top level matches with factory new brass, leads me to believe that a custom die set is not mandatory for accuracy, or winning matches.

 

[K22]

I used to road race motorcycles. My super talented friend hopped on my bike and in a few laps obliterated my lap times, and I could not get anywhere near him riding his bike. He was just faster. He told me, "Seat time, it's all about seat time". The same obviously applies to "trigger time". Time to reload a lot of ammo and get to the range to see what I am made of.

Yes, get to know your rifle - it will tell you a lot. Shooting in all weathers will also teach you a lot.

I've found that spending quality time at range is a very worthwhile endeavor. By quality time I mean structured practice**, calling your shots, analyzing each shot, what went right, what went wrong. Also, don't shoot to the point where you become fatigued and lose focus and begin to get sloppy with the fundamentals. A limited number of focused shots are better than a bunch of unfocused shots.

Soon you'll begin to develop a "muscle memory" of what a good shot feels like. The only problem is that this is a perishable skill and must be refreshed frequently to maintain your top performance, at least that's what I discovered for me.

**For example, the Army Pistol Marksmanship Manual had a structured practice program and I found it to be very effective. I just applied the principle to rifle shooting and it work very well too.

 

[CharlieNC]

The only different opinion I would add is to tune the CM parameters and install a small insert into the dispensing tube. With this I weigh every charge on a Gem Pro and find 90% are within +/-0.05gr and I trim up the others to conform. This additional step uses a low cost scale and requires five seconds, and is a minimal addition for you to upgrade performance vs an expensive dispenser.

 

[Doom]

@CharlieNC has brought up something that I thought of late yesterday. One of the issues with the Chargemaster is that we can be our own worst enemy with it. We want to be precise but QUICK! Those two things are counter productive. The CM can be very precise as Long as the trickling is done slowly. This usually requires some "tuning" of the software parameters and the "straw" trick or some variation of it. Different powders usually require different settings.

Many people assume the Chargemaster cannot be precise because the display is limited to 0.1 grain but the internal electronics of the scale/dispenser are not limited by that resolution.

 

[6.5 forever]

Wow....I would have to update my equipment to match the OPs list!

 

[Phil3]

Yes, get to know your rifle - it will tell you a lot. Shooting in all weathers will also teach you a lot.

I've found that spending quality time at range is a very worthwhile endeavor. By quality time I mean structured practice**, calling your shots, analyzing each shot, what went right, what went wrong. Also, don't shoot to the point where you become fatigued and lose focus and begin to get sloppy with the fundamentals. A limited number of focused shots are better than a bunch of unfocused shots.

Soon you'll begin to develop a "muscle memory" of what a good shot feels like. The only problem is that this is a perishable skill and must be refreshed frequently to maintain your top performance, at least that's what I discovered for me.

**For example, the Army Pistol Marksmanship Manual had a structured practice program and I found it to be very effective. I just applied the principle to rifle shooting and it work very well too.

I believe you are absolutely correct. Fortunately, my nearby range goes from 100 to 300 and is not busy at all (that I have seen so far), and I am meticulous with record keeping (just my nature). I will look for the manual you mentioned.

It can be windy here, or dead still. I will be out in both. Shooting a 223 with 52 grain bullets should allow the wind to test me.

Phil

 

[CharlieNC]

@CharlieNC has brought up something that I thought of late yesterday. One of the issues with the Chargemaster is that we can be our own worst enemy with it. We want to be precise but QUICK! Those two things are counter productive. The CM can be very precise as Long as the trickling is done slowly. This usually requires some "tuning" of the software parameters and the "straw" trick or some variation of it. Different powders usually require different settings.

Many people assume the Chargemaster cannot be precise because the display is limited to 0.1 grain but the internal electronics of the scale/dispenser are not limited by that resolution.

My studies reflect your experience as well in that the internal electronics are finer resolution than the 0.1 display, and like any dispenser the performance is no better than the ability to trickle finely. I programed mine to run fast up to trickle mode, for a good compromise.

 

[RegionRat]

The only different opinion I would add is to tune the CM parameters and install a small insert into the dispensing tube. With this I weigh every charge on a Gem Pro and find 90% are within +/-0.05gr and I trim up the others to conform. This additional step uses a low cost scale and requires five seconds, and is a minimal addition for you to upgrade performance vs an expensive dispenser.

Charlie, which GemPro scale do you like?

 

[CharlieNC]

Charlie, which GemPro scale do you like?

Its the Gem20 that Boyd reviewed a couple of years ago, but made by Smart Weigh instead of Gem Pro.

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