Load Testing/Bullet Questions
- Thread starter OhHeyThereBen
- Start date
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Not quite as sexy as the Megan fox blue tip, but they're not bad.
Addicting
Well-known member
I shoot Nickle cases because I found they feed up the bolt face better. When using regular brass I have a dead spot where the casing is trying to come up into my M704 bolt. The Nickle will slide right past it. Also I’ve found that a little hot water and some dawn dish soap cleans them very well. No need for a tumbler with them.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
That's a good point. They did clean up really easily for me as well so I would assume that someone that doesn't have a tumbler (me) would appreciate being able to clean them more easily when the time comes.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Another question regarding brass: does "high quality" brass really make that much of an accuracy difference? Looking at the difference in price between 50 pieces of new Winchester brass and say Nosler or Lapua, one would assume that it does. However, I would think that if you prepped and took care of the less expensive brass yourself there wouldn't be much of a difference. Thoughts?
BuzzH
Well-known member
I don't know if the brass makes a difference in accuracy, but I hear that the better brass is more consistent and uniform right out of the box.
I think with handloading and accuracy, there are probably a lot of things that can make small differences. It really comes down to how far each person wants to go down the rabbit hole to achieve maximum accuracy.
For me, I get to a certain point, and just call it good. I don't fret with weighing and sorting each piece of brass. I shoot nosler factory seconds. I buy components in bulk to keep things somewhat consistent.
I also handload because its much cheaper and I enjoy it.
Is lapua or nosler brass worth the extra expense? Maybe?
That said, I primarily use Winchester brass, but have shot Rem. Hornandy, Federal, and others.
MThuntr
Well-known member
I say it depends...I know buying the cheap stuff ends up being a crapshoot. I bought 100 pieces of Prvi partzen brass for my 7mmMag of which I promptly tossed 10 for split necks and deformities. After first sizing, I noticed case head irregularities (belted mags headspace off the belt) and I couldn't size the brass down enough to chamber. I ended up with 65 pieces so the cost ended up more than if I would have bought Winchester/Federal/Rem. Using this lot of brass the best I can muster is about 1.25" while using mixed lot/brand brass I was able to get 1/2" groups. So what I'm saying is don't go any cheaper than Win/Fed/Rem.
That being said I use premium brass (Alpha munitions) in my 6.5 manbun and get 0.252MOA out of it on the bench. So a more consistent brass that costs more may provide better results though like Buzz I don't know if it's exactly worth the messing around for hunting situations.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Thanks guys. For now I think I'll just focus on the Win/Rem/Fed area and maybe work up from there if I decide that my loads aren't good enough. You all have been a lot of help, both in reloading and preventing winter boredom. It's all much appreciated.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Alright guys. I'm dredging this thing back up. Reloading has been going really well, besides one thing: I can't figure out my 30-06. No matter what I change my loads to, it always shoots at about 1.5". I've bumped in .5 grain increments from near Hornady's minimum to their maximum. I then found one group that shot slightly better (1.3" instead of 1.5") so I loaded some .3 grain loads and tried them out. All of them are shooting five shot groups into all different holes (no two bullets really go into the same hole). So it looks like a 5 on a six sided gaming die. The rifle is a Winchester Model 70. The barrel is not shot out and I've cleaned it well. I loaded some of the same stuff for my dad's Model 70 in the same increments and he shot a .6" group.
While looking at my gun, one side of the stock seems to have been warping with the weather changes (it's a walnut stock) and pressing on the left side of the barrel. In your experience, could this be what's causing the consistently mediocre groups? I'm not looking for someone to tell me to forget about it and that 1.5" is plenty of accuracy for hunting because I already know this.
If this is the likely cause (I think it probably is) have any of you had any luck with sanding out the barrel groove in a wood stock? I could maybe swing buying a new stock, but I love the walnut that's on it now. At this point I'm not interested in pillar/action bedding the rifle, but may consider that in the future.
Thoughts?
While looking at my gun, one side of the stock seems to have been warping with the weather changes (it's a walnut stock) and pressing on the left side of the barrel. In your experience, could this be what's causing the consistently mediocre groups? I'm not looking for someone to tell me to forget about it and that 1.5" is plenty of accuracy for hunting because I already know this.
If this is the likely cause (I think it probably is) have any of you had any luck with sanding out the barrel groove in a wood stock? I could maybe swing buying a new stock, but I love the walnut that's on it now. At this point I'm not interested in pillar/action bedding the rifle, but may consider that in the future.
Thoughts?
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
I'm no expert, but everything I have read and my own experience suggests that if your barrel touches anything at rest (or is close enough that it can touch during the barrel flex at time of shot) you will get spotty performance. Time to think about at least sanding the stock inlet, maybe pillar bedding or maybe action bedding (ideally all of the above).
This. Free float that barrel and see what happens.
Are you testing multiple bullets and not just sticking to one? Powder selection? Seating depth?
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Will do. Have you ever done that before? Should have dropped it by your house on my way through the blizzard this week
I'll be able to get it sanded down fine. Does anyone have a recommendation of what to use to re-seal it? As stated above, it's walnut.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
It's not that I can't pillar bed it, it's that I probably just won't for a while yet because I'm scared. I'll start with the free-float and see what that does. You usually just pillar bed it by epoxying steel spacers in the stock?
http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
Here you go. I was terrified when I first did it. It’s not hard. Read the directions a number of times and take your time with the prep work. Crack a beer or pour a martini and go for it.
VikingsGuy
Well-known member
Will do. Have you ever done that before? Should have dropped it by your house on my way through the blizzard this week
I'll be able to get it sanded down fine. Does anyone have a recommendation of what to use to re-seal it? As stated above, it's walnut.
I have pillar bedded and action bedded a dozen or so - it was scary the first time, but easy after that. A drill press and grind wheel are really the only "special" tools, but even those are optional if you have a steady hand. I sealed with "LAUREL MOUNTAIN FORGE - PERMALYN STOCK SEALER" from Brownells but I am sure any good wood sealer would work the same.
OhHeyThereBen
Active member
Thanks gentlemen. I'm going to have at it. Wish me luck! If anything, a new walnut stock is just a little over $100, so the wife shouldn't be too upset about it. Of course, what she don't know won't learn her.
Go slow, be clean, follow the directions and don't skimp on the release agent.
