Painless load development (mine)

[Moose83]

Starting with Virgin brass:

Chamfer inside/outside with cheap tool
Brush inside neck
Molly inside neck
Mandrel

Once it’s fired:
De-prime
Henderson trim everything to same length (I only do this once after the first firing, and never again)
Lube and FL size
Either wipe lube or tumble in media
Brush neck
Molly neck
Mandrel


I tried eliminating the mandrel portion, but then I just had to keep testing bushings to get the right ID of the case. It got annoying and brass OD’s vary quite a bit, especially from lot to lot. So I just use a bushing that takes them .003 under or so, and just mandrel them back open.

Which mandrel do you use and which Moly process?

 

[huntnful]

Which mandrel do you use and which Moly process?

I use 21st century mandrels and moly. Good stuff

 

[huntnful]

Testing 195 Berger’s and N570 in the 7-300 NMI. Seated maybe .015 of the lands and tested charge weights for pressure. Speeds ranged from 3077fps to 3213fps. 88gr. gave faint ejector mark and shifted POI.



After these 5 shots I could easily just load 87gr. at 3180fps and pretty much know it would shoot plenty good for any reasonable distance, and kill everything under the sun. Which is probably what I’m going to do .

 

[Harvey_NW]

Testing 195 Berger’s and N570 in the 7-300 NMI. Seated maybe .015 of the lands and tested charge weights for pressure. Speeds ranged from 3077fps to 3213fps. 88gr. gave faint ejector mark and shifted POI.

View attachment 925442

After these 5 shots I could easily just load 87gr. at 3180fps and pretty much know it would shoot plenty good for any reasonable distance, and kill everything under the sun. Which is probably what I’m going to do .

Yep, she's gonna hammer.

 

[aschuler]

Testing 195 Berger’s and N570 in the 7-300 NMI. Seated maybe .015 of the lands and tested charge weights for pressure. Speeds ranged from 3077fps to 3213fps. 88gr. gave faint ejector mark and shifted POI.

View attachment 925442

After these 5 shots I could easily just load 87gr. at 3180fps and pretty much know it would shoot plenty good for any reasonable distance, and kill everything under the sun. Which is probably what I’m going to do .

Oh man my first reading of this I though we were talking about 87gr bullets.
87gr should be reserved for bullets weights, not powder lol!

 

[huntnful]

Oh man my first reading of this I though we were talking about 87gr bullets.
87gr should be reserved for bullets weights, not powder lol!

Lmao . Easy to confuse at first haha

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Oh man my first reading of this I though we were talking about 87gr bullets.
87gr should be reserved for bullets weights, not powder lol!

Enough powder to load four .223!


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[MT-nuffgun]

That’s only like 75 cents per round into powder alone!!!! Not for the faint of heart or the lightweight wallet.

 

[huntnful]

Enough powder to load four .223!


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

That’s only like 75 cents per round into powder alone!!!! Not for the faint of heart or the lightweight wallet.

Haha I’ve never thought about it either of these ways . Just doing what is absolutely necessary to kill a deer at 300 yards…..

 

[MT-nuffgun]

Haha I’ve never thought about it either of these ways . Just doing what is absolutely necessary to kill a deer at 300 yards…..

Not only are you doing what is absolutely necessary….. but your doing it like a BOSS, and you just can’t put a price tag on that

 

[huntnful]

Not only are you doing what is absolutely necessary….. but your doing it like a BOSS, and you just can’t put a price tag on that

Hahaha I actually just have issues is what it really is .

I actually plan to shoot a 156 Berger most of season, which is why I’m just messing with shit in the 7-300 now.

 

[onirag733]

Question about AR/semi auto.

1. Do you look for the action cycling properly first and then pressure?

2. What kind of accuracy or group size should you look for with an ar over 10 shots?

 

[RockAndSage]

Question about AR/semi auto.

1. Do you look for the action cycling properly first and then pressure?

2. What kind of accuracy or group size should you look for with an ar over 10 shots?

Pick up a copy of Lyman's "AR Reloading Handbook", it'll square you away on cycling/pressure, etc. Powder selection is critical, as you don't want the pressure to peak too close to the gas port, as that overpressureing can cause all sorts of malfunctions, from failures to extract to broken extractors, broken lugs, etc. Just start on the low-end charge ranges for recommended AR powders to avoid pressure issues, and find what shoots most accurately. If your AR doesn't cycle with the recommended loads, there's something wrong with your AR's gassing that's bad enough that you're not going to get it "reliable" just by changing loads. That would show up in cold weather especially.

As to accuracy, if you just go by internet forums, every other Tactical Timmy online has an AR that shoots "Sub-MOA". Not only is that a difficult thing for the vast majority of shooters to consistently achieve, only a relatively small percentage of ARs are capable of it. Let alone across any given 10-round group. That's reality as I know it. If you get an off-the-shelf AR down to 1.5 MOA, you've got a great gun. MOA is definitely possible, but it takes a lot more to get there than with a lot of today's stock bolt guns, so you'll be paying for it.

 

[onirag733]

Pick up a copy of Lyman's "AR Reloading Handbook", it'll square you away on cycling/pressure, etc. Powder selection is critical, as you don't want the pressure to peak too close to the gas port, as that overpressureing can cause all sorts of malfunctions, from failures to extract to broken extractors, broken lugs, etc. Just start on the low-end charge ranges for recommended AR powders to avoid pressure issues, and find what shoots most accurately. If your AR doesn't cycle with the recommended loads, there's something wrong with your AR's gassing that's bad enough that you're not going to get it "reliable" just by changing loads. That would show up in cold weather especially.

As to accuracy, if you just go by internet forums, every other Tactical Timmy online has an AR that shoots "Sub-MOA". Not only is that a difficult thing for the vast majority of shooters to consistently achieve, only a relatively small percentage of ARs are capable of it. Let alone across any given 10-round group. That's reality as I know it. If you get an off-the-shelf AR down to 1.5 MOA, you've got a great gun. MOA is definitely possible, but it takes a lot more to get there than with a lot of today's stock bolt guns, so you'll be paying for it.

Well said and thank you

 

[WhoGarrDen]

Well said and thank you

I've also seen multiple posts on other forums of "I've had groups as tight as 0.5 MOA, but others up to 2 MOA - but I'd say it's a solid MOA gun". That kind of language doesn't make any sense without knowing those group sizes. Anytime someone says "I've had groups as tight as" or "it groups down to...", it's people shooting 3 round groups and cherry picking their favorites.

 

[seand]

Question about AR/semi auto.

1. Do you look for the action cycling properly first and then pressure?

2. What kind of accuracy or group size should you look for with an ar over 10 shots?

Service rifle/semi auto book data will have suitable powders listed. match powder and primers, max book velocity is max pressure (adjust for barrel length differences). Hornady has service rifle/semi auto data.

If you are in an appropriate velocity range with appropriate powders you are at an appropriate pressure. Adjust gas system, buffer weight as needed.

I’d be very happy with 1.5moa for 10. My 13 year old shot a 1.8 moa 20 round group at 600yds with a 6arc hunting ar I built for her, I think that’s pretty good for an AR15