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Reloading: Making it Better

Reloading: Making it Better

Improving the quality of our reloaded ammo need not cost the earth. Indeed, many of the tricks and tweaks cost little more than your time. The best starting point is your library. Reloading manuals evolve; they have to do so in order to take account of new calibres, powders and better data. Yes, they do tend to progressively de-rate their maximum load data; such is the power of the American Law suit. It’s a simple rule: things change. Just because you’ve always used 38-grains of Old Codger with the Bang On 160-grain Spitzer BlitzenMax and mostly hit the deer you were aiming at, does not mean it’s the best ammo you can make.

KNOWN ENTITIES

Start by knowing your rifle and the job you require it to do. If you’re even remotely proud of your sport, then accuracy is vital. If you’re hunting game, then there is a base energy requirement. If you’re easily bruised or getting as ancient as me, then comfort is another factor to consider. So, unless you really like being beaten up by your gun, we should begin with the idea that the least that will give the most effective results is our main objective. Always start with a credible data source and select powder and bullet combinations that are widely available in the UK. Many manuals refer to a ‘most accurate’ load but if it was achieved in a test receiver or a totally different rifle, with a different twist rate, then it is probably useless. ‘Factory duplication’ loads are also underwhelming – we can do better than that!

FLOGGING A DEAD HORSE

Make sure that your selected bullet design/ weight meets the needs of game hunting/ extreme range or whatever your demands may be. If your rate of twist is slower than normal for the calibre, consider faster travelling, lighter and shorter bullets. With a tighter twist the opposite rules apply! To be technically correct it is a consequence of the increased weight, namely the increased length that necessitates the faster twist. Having established your base ballistic requirements, start with the minimum load data that fulfils it. If you need 2600 fps, start with the data for that load and do three things. During assembly make sure that it fits your chamber correctly by checking the COL (cartridge overall length) and tip concentricity. Group test it off the bench and chrono it to make sure the manual is telling the truth. If it is too slow or the group size is unacceptable, work progressively upwards.

If there is no improvement in group size, then we need to reconsider. Is the bore clean and in good condition? Are there signs of unburned propellant? Is the chrono recording a high standard deviation (S.D.) for the test batches? If the bore looks like a ploughed field or slugs oversize, then we may be flogging a dead horse.

PLAN B?

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Having established that the twist, muzzle velocity and bullet weight are compatible, we must consider other factors. Are we using the right primer? Unburned powder and a poor SD may indicate that we’re using a propellant that is too slow or may need a Magnum primer; do we have a shorter barrel length than that in the manual? Does the manual suggest a crimp with this calibre/construction? Let’s repeat our trials with a faster powder. No unburned powder with a fast powder in the correct barrel length (for the given calibre and bullet weight) may suggest the need for a slower propellant. So let’s try again and again if necessary. Remember, the slowest propellant that will get the job done will be the most comfortable to use.

Having established an optimum recipe we can now put the accurising touches to our design. Component improvements can include the use of higher quality brass, Lapua is my favourite! Weighing or water testing to batch match case capacities is desirable. Case prep should be extended to primer pocket uniforming and flash hole conditioning. Match or Competition die sets are not cheap but do give better results. Lee die set owners will be familiar with the rubber O-ring inset into their locking rings. It’s a clever means of ensuring that the die body has a degree of float, enabling it to self align during the operating cycle. It can augment the floating seating punch incorporated in some of these Match die sets. There are a number of suitable O- ring sizes but for ⅞ x 14 tpi dies my choice is the B.S. 1806 50-813 in 80 hardness medium nitrile. It does mean that you will have to reset the dies each time you start reloading a new batch but the results justify the effort. Buying COL kit and bullet concentricity gauge are a one-time expense that will soon pay by results! Buying premium quality bullets and batch-weighing them will improve consistency. Trickling the powder charge will make a further difference.

DOING IT AGAIN

Repeatability means making the next batch just as good as the first. Keeping the batches of fired brass together and recording their life is just the first move. Careful inspection, cleaning, resizing and trimming will keep us on track. Inspection should start before we de-prime.

Deformed primer strikes may show us a rifle problem such as a damaged or broken firing pin. Blown primers in a batch of known reliability may indicate unexpected or irregular case growth or chamber contamination. Dented cases may be a result of poor chamber cleaning or lube residue. Quality cleaning should involve the use of both an ultrasonic treatment and a vibrating or rotary tumbler. Ideally they should sandwich the lube-sizing and trimming. Neck turning requires further tooling but optimises the case quality.

PROTECTING YOUR PRODUCT

A minor but valuable point concerns ammo boxes. Whilst most of us invest in a range of moulded plastic cases or boxes to hold and protect our cherished constructions I still see loose or plastic bagged ammo rattling around in the bottom of shooting boxes. A common but poor compromise is the reuse of the plastic trays and cardboard boxes provided by the commercial ammo makers. For the sake of just a few quid I fail to comprehend such penny-pinching.

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