Couple questions

[4dds]

Question 1. What would you say was the 1 thing you have done in the reloading room that gave you the most improvement.

Question 2.Where do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Weight sorting brass/bullets etc. i know it truly depends on the use. Obviously F class shooters are going to do absolutely everything possible. Just wondering how far you go down the rabbit hole and when you feel it’s too much.

 

[Supersubes]

Premium bullets, premium brass, accurate charge weights, and a solid load developement methodology. No sorting of anything. If you wanna tinker down the road, great, but the above will get you half moa or better in a quality gun.

 

[Cowcatcher]

Answer 1: it's a tie between getting an electronic powder dispenser for rifles and getting a progressive press for handguns and some rifle stuff.

Answer 2: I'll keep goin down the rabbit hole as long as I can afford it and I enjoy whatever that part of going down the rabbit hole consists of. I guess that's it, if I enjoy it or I can see a benefit then I'll keep going.

 

[Mbaysinger89]

1) Find a load that is forgiving in the range of ATLEAST(edit) .1 grain through load development methods.

2) I usually settle at .5-.75, then play with seating depths to tune. If it doesn't get to .5 I change primers, then start over if it doesnt work. I don't need to burn out barrels chasing loads that shoot .1s or .2s. I can't shoot well enough to take advantage of that unless its off a bench. The only time I use a bench is load development.

 

[Darkside-Six]

1: quality components and a good scale.
2: I don’t sort anything. See above comment about buying quilts components.
Aside from that making sure you can accurately work up a good load.

 

[x_789]

1. Agree with above an electronic power measure is biggest time saver when loading precision bullets.

2. I think it depends on what you are doing. Rounds for a 100 yard match don't need the same attention as 1000 yard. Same with a load for plinking vs match. So basically when you get a round that does what you need, being able to say that is good enough for this application. Otherwise you do get to the point where very small returns take very large amounts of money or time if not both.

 

[Dewey7271]

Anneal, neck turning and bushings.

Edit: forgot question 2. When you realize what you have is plenty good enough but continue to labor to get the mythical one holer. At this point you’ve completely passed diminishing returns.?

 

[AIAW]

1) Back in the day, switching from seating based on COAL (case over-all length) to BTO (base to ogive). Far more consistent.

2) Diminishing returns really come in the form of worrying about .0005 neck tension variance, sorting bullets to 1g or less, or getting more than .1g weight resolution on powder charges. Case capacity, bullet-bore concentricity and seating depth are key focus areas, but keeping those consistent from round to round is where you'll see it from the rifle in the real world.

 

[straightshooter1]

Question 1. What would you say was the 1 thing you have done in the reloading room that gave you the most improvement.

Simply . . . putting consistently accurate powder charges in each case.

Question 2.Where do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Weight sorting brass/bullets etc. i know it truly depends on the use. Obviously F class shooters are going to do absolutely everything possible. Just wondering how far you go down the rabbit hole and when you feel it’s too much.

Right! Depends on the use. . . or what your "goal" is.

For me, as I understand some of the limits for loading for a .308 . . . my goal was to get consistent groups into the 3's with my factory gun (which I've achieved). I've gone as far as turning necks, weight sorting brass and sorting bullets by bearing surface or BTO length. I don't trim metplats, point bullets or measure seating pressure, as from what I've heard from experts, it's not measurable with the type of shooting that I do.

Once in a while I get rewarded with a group in the 1's, but realize it's really an aberrant event.

 

[clcustom1911]

Question 1. What would you say was the 1 thing you have done in the reloading room that gave you the most improvement.

Question 2.Where do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Weight sorting brass/bullets etc. i know it truly depends on the use. Obviously F class shooters are going to do absolutely everything possible. Just wondering how far you go down the rabbit hole and when you feel it’s too much.

1. Good quality scale for precision reloading and understanding the mechanics and forces involved in pressing everything together.

2. I sorted bullets for a while thinking I could tell a difference. For my shooting skill and rifles, I dont believe it made a difference. No discernible improvements downrange.

 

[Alabusa]

#1- started reloading and learned just how bad most factory ammo really is.

#2- I am getting 1/2 moa and sometimes less without any sorting. That is about the limit of my abilities so anything beyond would be a waste.

 

[pabrousseau]

using headspace and bullet comparators and redding competition seating dies.

 

[918v]

Seating depth test

 

[jet_lagged]

1.Most: Chargemaster/electronic powder dispenser. Hugely better repeatability than a beam scale or even an electronic scale without a cover on it.

2. Least: Case neck turning, primer pocket uniforming on decent quality brass.