Painless Load Prep (Precursor to Painless Load Development)

[philcox]

Note: This is a summary, mostly for myself, but thought others might find it useful. It was new information to me within the last 48 hours ...

Painless Load Prep

While this might seem intuitively obvious to some folks, it was not to me. Here is what I have gleaned as the preparation precursor to "Painless load development":

1. If you start with new brass or factory ammo there is no need to tumble or trim brass for the reloads going forward.
   • Note this might mean that you only get five or six reloads out of brass for which you might get 10+ if you did trim.
2. Place 25 cases in a Ziploc gallon bag and spray them with one shot, zip it up and shake them *OR* lay the case on a flat surface- spray, roll them, spray. *OR* any other way you want to get cases lubed to resize
3. Decap & Resize
4. Get a used towel, and dump the brass on it and pat it or rub it to clean off some of the Case lube.
5. Prime the brass, then throw the powder and seat the bullet.
6. Go shoot
   • When the load is hard to chamber, you have a choice to throw that piece of brass away, or potentially resize it for another cycle set (1-6). If you decide to "trash vice trim" at this point, you may be 5-6 reloads, where a single trim may get you another 5+

Then can follow the steps outlined in https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/painless-load-development-mine.238400/

Summarized here:

1. Pick the bullet you want to shoot, and determine your max acceptable group size and minimum MV (required for step 8)
2. Pick decent brass (does not have to be premium) and good primer (CCI, Federal, etc.)
3. Load a near "book" max load (I just use book max)
4. Seat the bullet to 1) fit magazines, 2) just kiss the lands, or 3) seat the bullet so the boatail is at the shoulder/neck junction of the case ... figure which works best for you.
   • I use Option 1, as the Tikka mag is almost always the limiting factor.
5. Load one round and shoot it
6. Check for pressure (drop .5 grains if needed)
7. Load twenty
8. Group 10
   1. IF the group and MV is "good enough" (as determined in step 1, then true at distance ... YOU ARE DONE
9. If the group is not what you want, then:
   1. Drop charge by 1g, repeat step 7+
   2. Swap powders and repeat steps 3+
10. If that does not work, you have a couple choices
    1. Evaluate your "realistic group expectations" (and then re-evaluate past resutls)
    2. Evaluate bullet selection? Is it known for easy load dev? Pick one that is
    3. Get a new barrel

 

[jonnyviceroy]

I wish I could get myself to keep it this simple. I got that tinkering ‘tism that likes to make this way more difficult than it needs to be. But this write up is on point. Really all anyone would need.

 

[UnckleBob]

I think chamfering and deburring makes seating easier. I have a RCBS machine that speeds it up quite a bit.

I don't like leaving any lube on my brass after sizing.

• I usually run the brass through a wet tumbler (no pins) with Dawn for about 30 minutes. I don't think 30 minutes is a magic number. Mostly, I use the "when I remember" timing method.
• If it a really small batch, I use a little rubbing alcohol on a rag to get the lube off.

 

[mtnbound]

Note: This is a summary, mostly for myself, but thought others might find it useful. It was new information to me within the last 48 hours ...

Painless Load Prep

While this might seem intuitively obvious to some folks, it was not to me. Here is what I have gleaned as the preparation precursor to "Painless load development":

1. If you start with new brass or factory ammo there is no need to tumble or trim brass for the reloads going forward.
   • Note this might mean that you only get five or six reloads out of brass for which you might get 10+ if you did trim.
2. Place 25 cases in a Ziploc gallon bag and spray them with one shot, zip it up and shake them *OR* lay the case on a flat surface- spray, roll them, spray. *OR* any other way you want to get cases lubed to resize
3. Decap & Resize
4. Get a used towel, and dump the brass on it and pat it or rub it to clean off some of the Case lube.
5. Prime the brass, then throw the powder and seat the bullet.
6. Go shoot
   • When the load is hard to chamber, you have a choice to throw that piece of brass away, or potentially resize it for another cycle set (1-6). If you decide to "trash vice trim" at this point, you may be 5-6 reloads, where a single trim may get you another 5+

Then can follow the steps outlined in https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/painless-load-development-mine.238400/

Summarized here:

1. Pick the bullet you want to shoot, and determine your max acceptable group size and minimum MV (required for step 8)
2. Pick decent brass (does not have to be premium) and good primer (CCI, Federal, etc.)
3. Load a near "book" max load (I just use book max)
4. Seat the bullet to 1) fit magazines, 2) just kiss the lands, or 3) seat the bullet so the boatail is at the shoulder/neck junction of the case ... figure which works best for you.
   • I use Option 1, as the Tikka mag is almost always the limiting factor.
5. Load one round and shoot it
6. Check for pressure (drop .5 grains if needed)
7. Load twenty
8. Group 10
   1. IF the group and MV is "good enough" (as determined in step 1, then true at distance ... YOU ARE DONE
9. If the group is not what you want, then:
   1. Drop charge by 1g, repeat step 7+
   2. Swap powders and repeat steps 3+
10. If that does not work, you have a couple choices
    1. Evaluate your "realistic group expectations" (and then re-evaluate past resutls)
    2. Evaluate bullet selection? Is it known for easy load dev? Pick one that is
    3. Get a new barrel

My loading methods are similar:
Chamfer new brass, and lay them out on a towel. Spray the necks with Oneshot lube and let dry.
Prime, dump powder, and seat the bullet.
Set the loaded ammo on a towel, place another towel on top, and roll the ammo around to remove excess Oneshot.

For fired brass, I grab a couple handfuls and put them in a Ziploc bag, spray them with Oneshot cleaner and lube, and roll them around in the bag.
Once dry, they are sized, deprimed, primed, powder dumped, and bullet seated.
I do the same two-towel process to remove excess Oneshot and sorta clean the brass.

I don't have a trimmer, so if a case has difficulty chambering, I pitch it. On the last lot of 250, 223 cases, I have at least 6 reloads on them, and I have pitched a dozen or so, but most of those pitched were for other reasons than chamber issues.

I used to dread reloading, but these processes have saved me so much time that they've made it enjoyable, and I shoot more.

My load development is similar, except I load 3 rounds at 3 different powder amounts. I shoot them low to high and observe for pressure, accuracy, and velocity. If one of the three meets my goal, I load 20 and confirm. If none meet my goals, I evaluate the powder and bullet.

 

[Woolley Bugger]

Do I understand correctly that you don't clean brass between shots? Just spray with Oneshot? Do you spray the insides of the necks as well?

As for not trimming, I thought the concern with overly long necks wasn't just difficulty chambering but the neck extending too far into the chamber and causing dangerous pressure spikes. Is that not a real life concern? Or does difficulty chambering occur before the pressure spikes, so you have some warning?