Most important variable in reloading

[CX5Ranch]

I have an old reloading book from the 50s. Back then they said primer selection was among the top criteria for accuracy.

It was a neat read anyway

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[Brent111368]

I'd add "concentricity" into that list

Bingo, what starts crooked, comes out crooked.

 

[LaHunter]

That's sorta like asking what is more important, a pulse or brain activity?
Don't think you can really say one is more important than the other in general terms.
All are important.

 

[Baron85]

Like already said, they all go hand in hand.

You can’t mix different brand brass and expect great accuracy.

You can’t use crappy cheap bullets and expect great accuracy

You can’t use the wrong powder for your application and expect great accuracy.

And you can’t have inconsistent searing depth or powder charges and expect great accuracy.

To go deeper. Different rifles like different things. For example, my Sako TRG in 308 loves lapua 155 scenars with power pro 2000. I have also tried hornady 168 and 175 amax, Sierra match king 168 and 175, as well as varget and cfe223 powders, and LC, Winchester, and lapua brass. All the different bullets listed above are quality bullets and depending on multiple factors will all produce excellent results but with the powder I settled on and my particular rifle the lapua scenars were the clear winner.

In my experience finding the right powder charge node is the most important part to accuracy after general consistency. Once you find the node being a little sloppy on the charge doesn’t matter as much but finding the center of a node is important.

 

[Shrek]

The most important variable in reloading is whatever ones you haven’t controlled to the best of your ability. Everything matters and nothing can be ignored.

 

[Shrek]

How do you handle adjusting the COAL when you are dealing with a detachable box magazine that limits how long you can go? Do you just go with the max length that fits into the box?

Work the bullet jump under the max coal to find the best accuracy. Being able to reach the lands is nice but not really important. Nothing I shoot is jammed into the lands. Some bullets seem to be more amenable to long jumps than others. Try different bullets and powder combinations. Trying to use a bullet that your rifle doesn’t like is an exercise in frustration.
The coal is only important to fitting into the magazine. For jump everything is measured off the ogive.

 

[Pharmseller]

The only difference in these loads is OAL, and then only about .04”:

First group

Second group

Third group

OAL gives me nightmares.





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[JohnyRingo]

In trying to develop a bullet/powder combo load, is there anyway to buy a handful of bullets and a little bit of powder instead of 50 bullets and 1 lb of powder? It seems like a waste of money and components if you find a bad combo.

 

[Sekora]

You can buy sample bullet packs. They come in 12 counts. I forget the site at the moment but I know I googled "Barnes bullet sample packs" and found a site that sells multiple brands. I never heard of powder sold that way. I just buy a pound and if it don't work I have a good inventory to test new calibers or to give out samples to fellow handloaders.

 

[Dzel777]

Powder out of those options.
My opinion, the process is much more a factor in a successful out come then any one of those components

 

[cmahoney]

I am thinking about spending a few hundred on a new scale. I have a Hornady auto charge that I purchased when they first came out and the supposedly accurate frank ford scale that has good reviews.

I really don’t trust them for accuracy. They both have displayed slowly increasing weights while sitting on my bench. I changed out my fluorescent bench lights to LED and spray anti-static spray when I turn them on. The frankford still walks quite a bit and I plan on sending it in to them.

I still consider my self a novice and wonder if a 1/10 grain variance is worth a $300 scale and if so what scale should I look at.



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