Case Preparation for New F-Class shooters

[Simon C]

Hi all,

I thought this may be provide an opportunity to share information on case preparation techniques and indeed precision handloading methods for the accurate rifle shooter. This is mainly in response to handloading questions from new shooters to our class.

Can people explain their case prep method and what equipment (minimum and optimal) they see necessary to acheive a good outcome ie accuracy and consistency in their brass after prep?

I'll start:
I use Lapua brass so some may feel what I do is overkill but I do believe that there are a number of "psychological" things that we do in handloading which may or may not improve things. It's the "what if" that forces us to take an extra step sometimes. Im sure many will agree

For New Brass:

Uniform the primer pockets. I use the Sinclair tool for this. I reckon it is worth the money and it cleans and cuts better/quicker than anything else I have used.

Optional: Deburr the flash holes if using brass other than lapua. The RCBS tool is good for this.

Trim the cases to length. I use the Lee trimmers and the cordless drill for this job. They are cheap and easy to use. I have not had any negative accuracy as a result of using the cheaper tool. Chamfer the case mouth after trimming.

I neck size only using Redding bushing dies. I size only the portion of the neck that the seated bullet is in contact with plus 2mm. I do not use the expander ball on the die.

Fired Brass:

Straight in the tumbler with primers still in. THey are usually in there for 4hrs min. I have had them in there overnight but I dont think there is any benefit.

Wipe the outside of the cases and brush out the inside of the necks using an old 30cal bronze brush.

Deprime and clean primer pockets using sinclair tool.

Check OAL and trim if necessary. Chamfer if trimming required.

Neck size using Redding bushing die.

Ready for priming and charging......and my fingers are sore and my brain fried!

I have a redding body die to bump the shoulders when the cases become a little hard to chamber and OAL has proven not to be the problem. In my rifle, this has been required on average, every 6th reload.

This method has worked for me and my rifle groups 1/4moa at 100m.

Look fwd to hearing from the rest of you.

[Matt P]

Simon
For me it depends on what brass you start with, IMO if you can't get Lapua or RWS brass find another caliber. With either of these brands I don't beleive you need to neck turn unless the chamber requires it, same with primer pockets with my BR all I do is turn the necks so it fits in the chamber and that's it. With dies I use Wilson or Redding S (with the S die I do use the expander ball) neck dies and Wilson seaters that have been cut with the chamber reamer.
Once fired I clean the necks with a "Crazy Cloth" and primer pockets with a Lee pocket cleaning tool and ready to load again.
I have gone to the enth degree before (weighing, primer pocket, neck turning etc) but didn't find a real gain. I found a bigger gain in sorting bullets a weighing powder charges and practicing on hard ranges in bad conditions.

Matt P

[Simon C]

Thanks Matt,

can I ask why u use the expander ball on the S-type die? I find it binds sometimes on the upstroke and as a result, I worry about concentricity issues.

Also, what are u looking for when u sort bullets? Base to ogive, weight??? I have recently dabbled in this after getting an OAL gauge and bullet comparitor and finding that there are variations particulary in the 155gn matchking. The Dyers have been quite consistent though. Would u agree that this would have an impact on bullet jump?

Cheers,

[RAVEN]

Hi Simon I do pretty much the same but I do batch my cases by weight and I do weigh all my charges. I also clean my case in a ultra sonic cleaner then tumble the neck and inside of case are absolutely clean like new I also believe that consistant neck tension is important and will anneal necks after several firings.

I will only batch projy’s for big matches and metplat uniform for the longs
How much of a difference this make who knows but I can go to a match with confidence my ammo is A1 the rest is up to me!!
cHEERS
rb
P.S. I am not a fan of bullet jump as I have come un stuck on occasions jamem and getem to shoot bullet weight /length etc. etc. Is more critical at the longs etc. etc.

[Simon C]

I put this thread on after questions from a new shooter at the rnge last W/E.

After 63 views and only a few responses, I can only assume that the rest of u guys use factory ammo?

Seriously, this will help anyone new to the sport understand why thing are done in the handloading process so please take some time to share your experiences.

Cheers,

[Matt P]

Simon
I have found when using the expander the neck tensions are more consistant I use graphite powder on a nylon brush to lube the necks.
I batch bullets with a tool that measures bearing surface, I used to then sort them by base to ogive but found it made no difference so just bearing surface now.
I don't jump bullets unless it won't shoot jammed into the lands, I will try anything to make it shoot into the lands, the reason being as the throat wears it's much easier to keep them jammed than say 0.08" off. I did have one very tempromental barrel that wouldn't shoot unless the bullet was seated 0.003"-0.0045 off it needed checking every 2 ranges had to load bullets long and measure and seat bullets at the range.

Matt P

[Simon C]

Thanks Matt, I too have found that my rifle shoots better when jammed. I get the odd bit of elevation when jumping the bullets at .002". Ive been playing around with the jumps on my hunting rifles as jamming is not often possible and also allowing for mag feeding

That is interesting regarding the expander ball on the Redding S-type. My understanding regarding this die is that the ball acts on the case on the upstroke after the bushing has done it job and the case neck is out of the bushing chamber. Personally, I would have thought that this would result in more concentricity and runout issues. But it obviously is not the case! Where do u get the graphite powder and do u find it gums up in the die after a while??

[Matt P]

Simon
I think you can buy the powder fron Repco.
With the expander I use a bush that sizes the neck down only a couple of thou smaller than the expander so it isn't like useing a standard die that necks it down heaps then pulls the ball back thru.

Matt P

[ned kelly]

G'Day All,
I use a very handy little book from Precision Shooting magazine called the Precision Shooting Reloading Guide. It has a wealth of info on techniques for all facets of reloading for long range shooting. They have numerous books on long range shooting that may help explain techniques covering all areas of reloading & shooting LR

I have found for BR that weighing cases is probably a waste of time. I have used old 6PPC cases of varying weights and they all went into the same groups with no change of impact or group size. That was for a match of 50 rounds. Uniform neck tension & thickness is the key. I use lapua for everything 6PPC & .223. I prep them all the same therefore leaving nothing to chance. If I can control a variable that can affect the whole firing sequence I will, so I have absolute confidence in my equipment & ammo, remember all of these BR techniques are generally done only once in the life of the brass

I neck turn for 2 reasons, because I believe that neck friction or release force on firing is critical so by turning I make the wall thickness as perfect as I can, so during firing the neck releases the bullet evenly, also during firing, neck turning ensures the bullet is aligned with the exact centre of the bore this helps to settle the bullet down when it exits the muzzle because it entered the rifling straight and centred.

I neck turn with a K&M turner as it is one of the most accurate and reasonably priced turners out there. I uniform the primer pockets (K&M) and deburr the flash holes (K&M). I trim to length with a wilson trimmer because I believe that varying the length more than 0.010" length could have a large effect on neck friction based on the percentage of the case neck that grips the bullet. Just so long as they are all the same length. I trim only when they are found to be greater that 5-10thou in variation. I do not use a piloted trimmer because I do not want to damage the inside of the neck & wreck the smoothness. I use a (K&M) tapered neck reamer to shave the burr off the inside and give a generous chamfer on the outside using a regular deburrer to ensure easy chambering of the case in my Rem700

I use wilson dies to resize and seat bullets with a sinclair micrometer top. I use a K&M arbour press but any arbour press will do so long as you can feel the seating force nicely to see if the neck tension is not too tight or loose. Brass is cleaned with a 1"x1" square lead out cloth patch from Birchwood Casey followed by a quick wipe with a old rag to remove the residue...........cleans a treat and allows me time to inspect each case before sizing. I can reload 100 cases in about 90 minutes. Much quicker than tumbling. I cannot prove that having the case clean on the inside helps. An added bonus is that there is just enough greasey residue left to allow easy resizing. I use the pocket uniformer to clean the primer residue out and to ensure that the pocket is still the same depth. If the case has grown, you will start to cut brass in the primer pocket again, so you now have all you primers seated to exactly the same depth and the firing pin strike is uniform. A variation of pocket depth by 0.002" is about 4% of the average firing pin protrusion and that means varying force on the pin strike and most likely variable ignition. I weigh all powder charges, but have not yet sorted bullets, I may have to for matches beyond 600yds. For BR matches I jam all my bullets but have not yet tried that in the .223 as it seems to shoot well enough. I might try it this weekend.

You must use a quality (read reliable and repeatable) measuring gear such as a 0-1" Mitutoyu 1/10,000 micrometer for measuring a loaded case neck accuractely and a Mitutoyu 6" dial vernier with a stoney point comparartor so I can check seating depth and head space if I need to. The accuracy is fine for seating bullets.

That's about it, This method seems to work well out to 600 and I will modify it if I need to. Hope this helps
Cheerio Ned Kelly

[AlanF]

I've only been reloading for 3 seasons, but here's my method FWIW. Cases are neck-turned, and sorted (roughly) by weight. Some projectiles are sorted on base to ogive, and weight - although some types don't need both. Every firing I lube the cases with RCBS Case Lube 2, then full-length resize in a custom bushing die, then rub off the lube with a cloth. Then I clean the primer pocket with a Sinclair drill driven reamer, then length trim by hand with a Lee trimmer, deburr with a Wilson deburring tool, followed by steel wool on mouth and outside of neck, followed by bench-mounted nylon brush for inside of neck. Powder is measured to the nearest granule, seating is done with a Wilson seater made from the chamber reamer. I occasionally check bullet runout on a home-made tool.

The process most in need of improvement is the case resizing. The custom die was meant to do just the bare minumum of resize and bump required, but unfortunately overworks the shoulder, and causes neck runout. Next time I will have matching reamers made, one for the chamber, and one for the FL die.

Alan

[LarryB]

Hello from Texas.

FWIW, this is how I prepare my cases and loads.

1. Buy Lapua or Norma brass.
2. Run them over digital scale and sort low to high, box in 50s.
3. Turn case necks with 0.003 total clearance.
4. Size using a Redding Competition neck die
5. Check chamber over all length using Sinclair Chamber length gauge.
6. Check cases for o/a length. (I have not found the need to trim yet).
7. Weigh bullets if I have time
8. Check base to ogive if I have time
9. Seat primers using Sinclair primer tool.
10. Weigh powder using a scale which reads to 0.01 grain, Hold charge to +_0.02 grains
11. Seat bullets into lands using Redding Competition Seater die.
12. Go shoot.

After shooting:
1. Clean case necks with Nevr Dull and then paper towel whole case.
2. Run over used bore brush chucked in electric drill.
3. Lube with die wax
4. Resize using full length die with bushing/ no expander.
5. Wipe with paper towel
6. Wipe with paper towel soaked with 91% alcohol.
7. Reprime and finish loading as above.
8. Go shoot.

Works for me!

Best Regards,
Larry Bartholome

[bruce moulds]

larry,
please recommend a scale to weigh powder as you require.
bruce.
p.s. would you be prepared to offer an american opinion on our fclass open discussion on targets.

[LarryB]

Bruce,

I use a Denver Instruments Company TS603D which when I bought it a few years back, was quite expensive. $800? area. J.J. Conway bought one when he used mine once. There good cheaper digital scales being marketed now with similar capabilties, but I have no personal experience with them.

I could offer an American opinion on your F-Class Open discussion on targets, but I don’t thing OZ would like it

[bruce moulds]

thanks larry.
bruce.

[bruce talty]

Hi all,

I thought this may be provide an opportunity to share information on case preparation techniques and indeed precision handloading methods for the accurate rifle shooter. This is mainly in response to handloading questions from new shooters to our class.

Can people explain their case prep method and what equipment (minimum and optimal) they see necessary to acheive a good outcome ie accuracy and consistency in their brass after prep?

I'll start:
I use Lapua brass so some may feel what I do is overkill but I do believe that there are a number of "psychological" things that we do in handloading which may or may not improve things. It's the "what if" that forces us to take an extra step sometimes. Im sure many will agree

For New Brass:

Uniform the primer pockets. I use the Sinclair tool for this. I reckon it is worth the money and it cleans and cuts better/quicker than anything else I have used.

Optional: Deburr the flash holes if using brass other than lapua. The RCBS tool is good for this.

Trim the cases to length. I use the Lee trimmers and the cordless drill for this job. They are cheap and easy to use. I have not had any negative accuracy as a result of using the cheaper tool. Chamfer the case mouth after trimming.

I neck size only using Redding bushing dies. I size only the portion of the neck that the seated bullet is in contact with plus 2mm. I do not use the expander ball on the die.

Fired Brass:

Straight in the tumbler with primers still in. THey are usually in there for 4hrs min. I have had them in there overnight but I dont think there is any benefit.

Wipe the outside of the cases and brush out the inside of the necks using an old 30cal bronze brush.

Deprime and clean primer pockets using sinclair tool.

Check OAL and trim if necessary. Chamfer if trimming required.

Neck size using Redding bushing die.

Ready for priming and charging......and my fingers are sore and my brain fried!

I have a redding body die to bump the shoulders when the cases become a little hard to chamber and OAL has proven not to be the problem. In my rifle, this has been required on average, every 6th reload.

This method has worked for me and my rifle groups 1/4moa at 100m.

Look fwd to hearing from the rest of you.

hi Blokes i use ADI cases weighed and debur flash holes and uniform primer pockets and turn necks, on .308 neck turn to .014" and .223 .011" have just scored about 6000 ADI cases that were heading to the scrap metal yard but saved them they have been all been once fired. Have found that ADI brass has less runout in the necks than the so called target grade Lapua cases which have .002" neck veration have measured them with a new Mitutoyo ball micrometer that measures to .0001". Lapua brass is very good for weight verying only 2 grains a case in a box of 100 ADI have to be weighed verying up to 5 grains per case . if any of you will be at Belmont on 15/06/2006 there is a 1000yds practice and a shoot on 17/06/2006 at the same range. Bruce