What goofy crap do you do to ensure consistency in your reloads?

[99106]

Recently I was reading through some old IHMSA books and came across a few things that made me start thinking. First two are from the books last two are my own abominations.

1. Do you shake your rounds before loading to ensure even distribution of powder in the case?

2. Do you store your rounds nose down in reloading box to avoid powder compaction against primer?

3. Does anyone still use primer / bullet sealer (ie nail polish) and does it throw off your accuracy?

4. Does carrying ammo in an ammo wallet/binder throw off any concentricity you spent hours trying to maintain with neck turning, using floating dies etc.

 

[Dai Bando]

I pull rounds at the bullet seating stage in my 550's so they don't drop into the bin and screw up concentricity.

I dip necks in Redding dry lube on new brass to prevent cold weld.

 

[Steel head]

Lol.
So much no!

 

[isofahunter]

No 2X, I have spend decades simplifying my reloading so more time spent shooting and less reloading.

 

[spife7980]

I dont shake them because it doesnt matter. They get shaken in carrying and driving anyways.
I dont store them nose down, they sit nicer nose up.
I dont seal it because I dont go swimming with my ammo.
It may if you use your ammo wallet like a real wallet and go around sitting on them.

 

[lariat]

I do it all and cant bring myself to stop although I know the difference is not discernable:
1. Every bullet gets: weighed and sorted, bearing surface measured and sorted. Then they are lumped together by the same weight and bearing surface.
2. Cases get: flash holes deburred, primer pockets uniformed, necks turned. There is other stuff that adds magic but I'm too embarrassed to mention here.
3. Trickle each load through a pimped out manual scale. If I breathe on it, it moves. So it must be making the most accurate load, right??!
4. NECK SIZE ONLY.

On and on. After they are loaded and I check concentricity I just put it in the box and go. The major thing bad about this is that if I pull a shot I have NOTHING else to blame but me.

 

[supercorndogs]

NONE. I cut out goofy crap because I hate reloading.

 

[TxWelder35]

Zero.

have never touched my primer pockets. Never touched my flash holes. Never used dry lube. Never weight sort bullets, FL size each time.

was annealing after each firing but I’m gonna back that off a little bit

use good brass, use good bullets, rcbs 1500 and roll on

 

[buffalowinter]

My special reloading dance to appease the accuracy gods.

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Watch and share Dragnet Clip GIFs on Gfycat

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[MCHOG]

4. NECK SIZE ONLY.

uh.... wut

Actually, no. You know what, I'm just going to leave that shit alone. Gonna slowly push my keyboard away, get up from this chair, get a drink, and move on.

 

[lariat]

uh.... wut

Actually, no. You know what, I'm just going to leave that shit alone. Gonna slowly push my keyboard away, get up from this chair, get a drink, and move on.

I know. I even admitted as much. I feel like I admitted I screwed my labradoodle. But I do feel better, especially since I don’t have a labradoodle.

 

[Steel head]

NONE. I cut out goofy crap because I hate reloading.

 

[Steel head]

I know. I even admitted as much. I feel like I admitted I screwed my labradoodle. But I do feel better, especially since I don’t have a labradoodle.

Yet!
Please wait till dog day is over please.

 

[Bolo]

I will publicly admit I used to be one of those OCD assclowns that cut powder grains to get every charge perfect. I knew I needed help, so I got into a 12-step program.
Step 1: Get H4350 and throw away the razor blade.
Steps 2-12: chill the fuck out and drink more.

 

[Threadcutter308]

I will publicly admit I used to be one of those OCD assclowns that cut powder grains to get every charge perfect. I knew I needed help, so I got into a 12-step program.
Step 1: Get H4350 and throw away the razor blade.
Steps 2-12: chill the fuck out and drink more.

You can reload in New York ?

 

[Bolo]

Ha, LOL. But you're not far off. Fortunately my old stomping grounds in PA isn't a bad drive and the Keystone state hasn't gone full retard.

 

[Slab74]

I am middle of the road ocd. I use the same process to load 45 acp plinking rounds as I do my target rifle rounds, but I don’t cut chop power or sort projectiles by the .00001 of a grain. One hole is one hole, .311 to .358 is not that important to me.

 

[jaybirdjtski]

Been handloading for yikes! Almost 60 years.
Start with the cartridge cases. Buy Lapua if they have your caliber. Makes life much easier
Sort cases by weight. Skip if you use Lapua. Turn the necks. Uniform primer pockets. Seat primers to a consistent depth. Again Lapua is so stinking consistent you almost can skip all this case prep.
Powder? Experiment or read what powders are getting good results and head that way
Dump powder 1/2 grain short and use a digital scale and trickler to get within .1 grain +\~
Bullet seating? I use a Hornady concentricity gauge to check for that but since I use a Forster Co Ax press there is hardly a need there. Seating depth? Read the Berger reloading manual for his system.
Next up? A $100 chronograph can show you how velocity varies shot to shot. Under 10 fps is golden. For fun run the numbers at +\~ 25 fps. That variation shot to shot makes a huge difference at 600 plus yards.
So no real secrets. Strive for consistency

 

[jaybirdjtski]

Yet!
Please wait till dog day is over please.

I was in Elko, NV Sept 2019 hunting elk in the Ruby Mtns near there and I saw this bumper sticker

 

[Threerun]

Been handloading for yikes! Almost 60 years.
Start with the cartridge cases. Buy Lapua if they have your caliber. Makes life much easier
Sort cases by weight. Skip if you use Lapua. Turn the necks. Uniform primer pockets. Seat primers to a consistent depth. Again Lapua is so stinking consistent you almost can skip all this case prep.
Powder? Experiment or read what powders are getting good results and head that way
Dump powder 1/2 grain short and use a digital scale and trickler to get within .1 grain +\~
Bullet seating? I use a Hornady concentricity gauge to check for that but since I use a Forster Co Ax press there is hardly a need there. Seating depth? Read the Berger reloading manual for his system.
Next up? A $100 chronograph can show you how velocity varies shot to shot. Under 10 fps is golden. For fun run the numbers at +\~ 25 fps. That variation shot to shot makes a huge difference at 600 plus yards.
So no real secrets. Strive for consistency

That's kinda what I do. I've been using Peterson brass and I do weight sort them (right now) but found they're pretty consistent. I keep my Peterson brass sorted by lot # as well- I don't mix them. Case prep is pretty much by the book- I trim, deburr, chamfer- yadda-yadda.
I have the poor mans Forster Co Ax- The MEC Marksman. I turn my loads 3x during seating. My run-out is usually .002- sometimes as much as .004 but I don't get too wrapped around the axle about it. I use type S Redding bushing dies but I'm going to start playing with Lee collet dies for a comparison. I'm just curious I guess.
I use a digital scale and trickler as well. I strive to be 'spot on' with charge weights.

I'm still a novice when it comes to reloading- I only really started in earnest when my kids went of to college. I did reload prior- but it was more of quickie job- clean, prime, pour, load and shoot. I was just to busy being a dad to have time to really get into it. I like to hunt (A LOT) so I had to manage my time. But yeah now I've fallen into more of the same routine you have. But boy- you can fall down a pretty deep rabbit hole with reloading 'precision' if you aren't careful, lol!

 

[diggler1833]

***After weight sorting bullets and cases*** I used to size/deprime, uniform flash holes, clean primer pocket, uniform primer pocket, trim to the thousandth meticulously, chamfer 7 twists (hand tool), deburr 10 twists, brush the inside of the case neck, prime, measure each powder charge on a beam scale to the frigging granule, and ensure that the bullet was perfectly aligned as I started the seating process. I made 1/2 MOA ammo with this process. And my dies had to be competition dies too.

Now I size/deprime, never uniform a flash hole or primer pocket more than once (I do clean the pocket still), trim to you know...fairly close, chamfer and deburr a bit , prime, throw and weigh powder to pretty close on my scale, slap a bullet upright as I seat it. I still make 1/2 MOA ammo for the guns that will shoot that well, and I've cut the time in half.

Oh, and I use crappy regular RCBS dies now.

 

[Steel head]

Let me let you in on the secret to making records setting ammunition.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Flash hole debur.

Only because the wife cursed me with a borescope and I made the mistake of looking inside some cases.

 

[1moaoff]

I don't think its goofy or ocd at all... but when I load ammo its only on Tuesdays... then i have my old dog sniff the loaded ammo to see if it can detect problems, so far none found. Now if its match ammo or defensive I have one of the cats on the bench while loading. The cat scrutinized every step and topples over rounds that may be suspect, those rounds get loaded again.

Note, cat and dog are certified!

 

[Mudburner]

I really ENJOY handloading.

An old guy sold me all his Lee stuff a few years ago and I find great satisfaction in the process of tweaking charges. My local range is 3 miles away, so I get out & shoot several times per week.

I use range brass, so it's free, but I agree that using the highest quality brass is a good idea. Match brass can be bought but I use whatever I can get: 40, 45ACP, 223, 308, 30-06.

I use CCI primers, generally about $30+/- per 1000. SP, SR, LP, LR.

I buy bulk powder whenever I can find it, in 8lb jugs. St Marks (Gunbroker) H335, Benchmark, WC 842, WC846, Fiocchi (BLC-2) etc. So I save $ there, too.

I buy bulk projectiles whenever I can find a deal, and I shop around. Midway had a sale on factory 2nds 223/55 gr & 62 grSP, 55 gr FMJ for about .08 cents per so I buyed once-cried once (well, never DID actually cry... they work very well) and got a shit-ton of em. Like 8,000 ?

I found another deal on pulled USArmy match 175 grain HPBTM bullets so I bought a small test quantity, found they work well and went ahead and got a shit-ton of em as well, about 13,000 of those.

My process is pretty simple:
No dance, but if an ex-SF guy says that's what he does... Well, I'm open to whatever works!

-pick up ALL brass laying on the ground. Local Cons Dept ranges, people leave money just laying around. It's worth money just for scrap, if nothing else! I leave the .22 but pick up everything else. Any oddball stuff gets traded to another home loader who uses it.

-sort by caliber.

-tumble clean in walnut media. Blow off with compressed air. Brass left on the ground is often pretty dirty, it WILL get stuck in the FL sizing die if not cleaned & lubed.

-lube with some farm store udder balm (lanolin based) WAY cheaper than gun store lube.

-de-prime, full length size. EVERY CASE, EVERY TIME.

-tumble clean again to remove lube.

-prime with Forster Co-Ax priming tool. I used to use the Lee hand priming tool, but the Co-Ax is much mo bedda. I also use the plastic thing that store bought .40 & .45 ammo comes in, as a holder. Holds 50 rds. No need for expensive ammo tray thing. Got dozens of the empty boxes from the trash at the range.

-charge with Lee powder dropper. Its inexpensive and works well, with very little variation in charge weight. I weigh charges exactly (Lee beam scale) when making ladder tests, then when I find the best charge weight (best groups at 100yds) I run with it. Also bought a RCBS Chargemaster Lite and use that, too. It seems pretty precise, but sort of slow.

-I seat bullets at different depths until I test fire and find the best combo (most accurate groups at 100yds).

-Once my recipe is made (each rifle requires testing to find the most accurate bullet type, powder type, charge weight, and seating depth) I load a bunch & enjoy shooting it.

So.
I find match brass makes an improvement over various range brass. But keeping all the same mfg/headstamp in one loading lot also helps. Consistency as much as possible.

Buy quality bullets if you can find/afford them. Buy bulk quantities when you find something that works well.

Buy bulk powder when you can.

Test, test, test for best charge weight & seating depth for any given bullet style/weight.

Don't drink alcohol when I reload. Homey needs to be focused.

Might just consider that dance, tho!

Edit: as you can imagine, because of all the variations in materials & process, my accuracy may not be all that. I am satisfied with 1 MOA. My 223 & 308 bolt guns are 1MOA or better, but the gas guns seem to do 1-3 MOA, generally.

With 40 & 45ACP pistol ammo, I use a measured dipper.

 

[cdeiglmeier]

Buy Lapua brass and use an expander mandrel on all my necks after sizing. That's it. The less time spent in the reloading room the better. I even stopped depriming my brass before tumbling now. I tumble then deprime and full length size in one step. Dirty primer pockets haven't made a difference whatsoever in my ES/SD or group sizes.

 

[lariat]

I honestly think the reason that I do what I do is because it feeds my OCD monster. I'm sure as hell not going to waste a good dysfunction like that on matching and folding socks.

 

[A&8's]

Only thing I do, anymore, is weight within .04 of a grain.

Quality brass (Lapua) and powder scale (120FXii) has cut my reloading OCD-ness down drastically. I do FL size new brass and mandrel the necks, though.

 

[Powder_Burns]

I rotate my cartridges 360° as they enter the seating die. I want to believe it helps reduce bullet run-out when seating.

 

[Brettmparker1]

I weigh everything including my press....

 

[salks]

I shoot prs that is what I reload for mostly club level matches. I spend alot of time trying to dial in my loads make small SD's and small groups. Recently I shot one of my best matches ever. The load I used for this particular match wasn't tested all that well It's what I had so I was gonna go with it. Did a quick 0 and velocity check. Didn't get to shoot any real groups with it ( somebody set range on fire with tracer's) anyway. I had some rounds left over on my next range trip I decided i would shoot some groups and see just what this amazing load was grouping. 1 MOA and again 1 MOA. Hmmm.. kind of an eye opener as to what is important. I went 10 for 10 on the first stage 550 out to 1000 and hit about 80% ( which is good for me) for the match with that load. It seems fundamentals and getting solid position which I have been working on, are more important.

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

I rotate my cartridges 360° as they enter the seating die. I want to believe it helps reduce bullet run-out when seating.

Um, you could just not move it at all and it would be in that same spot. Maybe you meant 180°?

 

[Powder_Burns]

Um, you could just not move it at all and it would be in that same spot. Maybe you meant 180°?

No, i mean rotating the cartridge to allow the bullet to center itself in the seating stem.

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Oh...okay. Whatever works.

 

[Cascade Hemi]

I load ammo in an oxygenated environment so ballistics are better.

 

[Disfunctional_Engineer]

Um, you could just not move it at all and it would be in that same spot. Maybe you meant 180°?

I rotate my cartridges 360° as they enter the seating die. I want to believe it helps reduce bullet run-out when seating.

seriously though this thread is interesting in it shows what you can do that's not ocd and how it will affect your ammo. Of all the above making basic ammo how does it compare to say some basic ammo of the same caliber?

 

[GetReal]

I keep a Powder trickler beside my Elecktronic powder dispenser to drop in an extra kernel of powder when the charge it throws is a little light.

 

[47guy]

NONE. I cut out goofy crap because I hate reloading.

DAMNIT you beat me to it!!

and FYI...i let my rifle rounds drop down the chute into the bin off my 550.

 

[supercorndogs]

I want a 550 so I can let my rounds drop down the chute on it. When I have the money i usually need more components. The insatiable beast.

 

[WB300]

Finally got it figured out. Here's what I use... new poon-tang scented candles... 7 chicken bones... 1 old school incandescent bulb swinging from a cord... Dirty Harry movie in the background... and a midget.

Sorry OP. I'm actually starting to eliminate stuff since I'm not seeing the benefit for my purposes.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

and FYI...i let my rifle rounds drop down the chute into the bin off my 550.

Godless heathen!

Each round is lovingly and gently removed from the last station by gloved hands before being securely placed into the kaizen foam inside of a pelican case for safe transport. Can't have anything affecting my perfect runout...

 

[47guy]

Godless heathen!

Each round is lovingly and gently removed from the last station by gloved hands before being securely placed into the kaizen foam inside of a pelican case for safe transport. Can't have anything affecting my perfect runout...

oh i know i hear it all the time LOL!

 

[99106]

Let me let you in on the secret to making records setting ammunition.

View attachment 7409741

If this is all it takes I'm definitely screwed!

And thanks to all of you for the entertainment. Like many, I'm back to just shut up and load. Now if I could only figure out how to make them hit the target.

 

[kindabitey]

I've been adding dog hair to each round. Not on purpose, though

 

[Greg Langelius *]

No, no, no, and I have no idea; what's an ammo wallet?

I don't double guess the products that come in the components boxes. I believe in fabrication tolerances, and even after painstaking testing, cannot find a significant variation on the target resulting from product deviations. Quality manufacturers adhere to reasonable manufacturing tolerances, and I trust them.

I firmly believe that many of us make the job harder than it needs to be. Just take care to be consistent in your loading practices, and watch the target.

The target will tell you all that you need to know about your handloading techniques.

There will come a time when your thinking will change from BR shooting (i.e. tiniest groups at any cost) to Practical shooting (I can tell the difference between a hit and a miss, and my ammo hits).

Ideal ammunition will not make a mediocre shooter into a better one. Only training and practice can make that happen.

Every single variance between cartridges makes a difference. The laws of physics demand that this be so. But those differences are so small that the target seldom notices them. Once one gets beyond a certain degree of accuracy, further handloading enhancements stop counting because the behaviors of nature outweigh anything you can do to make things better with handloading.

Greg

 

[Powder_Burns]

No, no, no, and I have no idea; what's an ammo wallet?

Just bought a $135 one from walsh custom defense. One of those never knew I needed it deals. Holds 120 rounds.

Tab gear makes a 40rd one for like $65, cole-tac makes a 120rd for around $90, triad tactical has a 20rd for around $40, crosstac has a 120rd for around $150. There’s a bunch of different ones on the market.

 

[tk427]

I wear bras on my head hoping Kelly LeBrock shows up to help me do "my part"

 

[Rebelirons]

I like to sacrifice chickens, drink too much and cuss out my neighbors before I reload

 

[Amanda4461]

After seeing the RL550 bin full of fresh cartridges, I developed envy. Loading a few hundred rounds of Valkyrie or 300 Win Mag on the Co-Ax is SLOW. After having the Hornady drop a load, then confirmation of that load by the old RCBS scale, and finding out that in fact, the red machine makes one cartridge .1 grain off about every 40 rounds, I think that I will try my new Lee Collet die in my RL550, and make Mo Ammo, Mo Faster

 

[Dai Bando]

DAMNIT you beat me to it!!

and FYI...i let my rifle rounds drop down the chute into the bin off my 550.View attachment 7410786

You have a nice chute.


Mine is stock and sometimes the nose heavy cases (Dasher and .223AI w/ 88's) like to dive off onto the floor.

Carry on.