RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

[bgedeon]

HELLO EVERYONE.
I'M CURRENTLY USING MY SAVAGE F(T/R) MODEL 12 IN 308 FOR ALL COMPETITIONS (PRONE 600 AND 1,000 YARDS)WITH A 1-12 TWIST RATE. I USE LAPUA BRASS, BERGER 168-175 GRAIN BULLETS, A VARIETY OF VHIT POWDERS (DEPENDING ON MY 'RECIPIE'). I DO A FULL LENGTH RESIZE EVERYTIME I RELOAD AND USE A 0.337" (USED TO USE A 0.336" FOR A TIGHTER GRIP)COLLET IN MY FULL LENGTH RESIZING DIE. I JUST PURCHASED A BENCH SOURCE ANNEALING MACHINE (HAVEN'T RECEIVED IT YET) SINCE EVERYONE HAS TOLD ME I MUST ANNEAL THE CASES SINCE IT WILL INCREASE MY ACCURACY--ESPECIALLY OUT TO 1,000 YARDS. MY LOADS ARE ALREADY VERY ACCURATE OUT TO 600 YARDS, BUT I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SHOOT MY NEW SAVAGE (WHILE MY OTHER RIFLE IS BEING MADE)OUT TO 1,000 YARDS. BOTTOM LINE QUESTION: IS ANNEALING REALLY THAT IMPORTANT AND WILL IT REALLY IMPROVE MY LOAD ACCURACY AT GREATER DISTANCES? I DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT EXTENDING MY CASE LIFE, I JUST WANT EVERY ADVANTAGE I CAN GET WITH REGARD TO ACCURACY--AND IF ANNEALING WILL GET ME EVEN 10% THEN I'LL DO IT. JUST WONDERING IF I NEED TO ANNEAL OR IF IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER. THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

 

[Rick 324]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

That is a good question. I too am wondering about the necessity to anneal..

Thanks for the info...

 

[kanej]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

No personal experience, but you can read all about it:

http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

 

[shoots100]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

As with everything long range related,there's going to be a 50/50 split as to what works to reload accurate rounds for your rifle.Annealing to get Uniform neck tension is one of the many steps to achieveing better accuracy,adding to case life is another benefit of the process.I anneal every two reloads,as I found that it didn't make a difference annealing everytime.Your mileage may vary.Good luck with your quest for accuracy,but remember that trigger time is just as important as loading time.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

Stop posting with your caps on please.

Annealing will even out neck tension and make your brass more consistent, I don't think it will show itself as a valueable tool right out of the box but over time it will make your ammo better, the rest is up to you.

 

[999yards]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

Chasing 1000yard accuracy? Hope you have a comfortable seat at your reloading bench.

I don't know of any 1000 yard BR shooters who don't anneal, if that helps.

I don't think annealing is the only variable in lowering speed deviation but it definetly is one from my experience.

 

[MacM11]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

+1 on Bench-Source. Learn on throw away brass to find the right color on the neck/shoulder.

 

[Aimsmall55]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

I personally just started annealing. Haven't noticed any improvement in accuracy, but I have noticed seating feels a lot smoother. --- which I guess leads to more consistent neck tension which = more accuracy. Only shot out to 1000. .300 win mag 208 amaxs. Guess I will learn more in time

 

[6.5x47]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

I think what it's going to boil down to is the "Proof is in the Pudding". You need to test for yourself. You bought the Bench Source.

Sometimes I anneal, sometimes not. Recently talked to a gent whom I respect immensely. His 1000+ yd shooting abilities are incredible. We discussed this very topic and it seemed to have come down to how much one "works" their brass. Minimal sizing and I do mean minimal, seems to work a bit better with zero annealing. And, then just the opposite when one pushes brass around a lot.

6.5x47

 

[Tripwire]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

Annealing facilitates some of the important mechanical aspects of an "accurate" combination of components. Consisitant neck tension, for example, lower runout, and in my case the ability to FL size with exactly a .001" shoulder bump every time. Annealing alone for the sake of annealing, without understanding and implementing and taking advantage of what it's doing for you, is probably an exercize in futility. Which is why some probably say they see no difference.

It's also my contention that if you've little to no experience shooting at extended ranges, it's gonna be tough to even see a difference.......

 

[stranded]

Re: RELOADING FOR 1,000 YARDS

I found reading Tresmon's tutorial(stickies top of page) to be extremely helpful. In fact I still read them trying to find the "why/therefores" as my experiecne grows.