The taste of Crow - full case prep vs minimal case prep

[hounddawg]

3 groups 300 yards


far left and middle groups cases were sized with a bushing die, annealed on Anealeeze, primers seated .003 below case head, necks lubed with Imperial graphite, powder measured at plus or minus .02 grains, bullets seated and checked for less than .001 runout. Five sighters were shot on a seperate target

far right group same except no annealing, no case lube and no checking for runout

Velocity consistency was horrible on all three groups but at 300 it did not seem to matter. I was watching through a spotting scope and higher velocity shots were hitting lower on the far right group. Barrel harmonics?

Anyway I found out how to prevent my flyers, so eating some crow about annealing and overly anal case prep is well worth it. back when I was firsdt testing annealing and neck lubes any advantages were getting lost in th enoise of my poor shooting. Seems like now my shooting technique has advanced to the point where I can see a difference

Oh and the middle group was shot using the horizontal crosshair centered on the green dots and the vertical crosshair centered on the sighter bull which was above this target. I was only planning on shooting two groups but figured the range was going to be hot for a while so I improvised

 

[BJung]

Thanks for sharing. What are you doing for case prep? How steps are you doing now that has improved your shooting technique? I have 3/5 good groups at 200 yards with my last test load and there were two flyers. If it weren't me, I was wondering if it was due to the barrel heating up because I was shooting all 5 rounds consecutively without letting the barrel cool.. btw, nice group.

 

[hounddawg]

flyers have been my bane all year in my matches. I have been losing 3 to 4 points each target due to high/low shots add in a couple due to wind and it made for a mediocre day

My case prep form here on out will be what I did on the left hand and middle groups

Sized using a Redding bushing die with .003 compression on the bullet, wet cleaned, annealed, primers set .003 below case head, necks dipped in Imperial graphite lube, bullets seated. On this .260 I use a Forster .308 seating die cause I am too cheap to buy one for the .260. After seating all rounds checked for runout and corrected as necessary for .001 runout or less

edit - forgot to mention that all cases had their necks turned and primer pockets were uniformed when new. They had 14 firings on them before today

 

[USSR]

hounddawg,

If you want to do some more experimenting, try what I was doing with my 6.5x55 Match Rifle when I shot in 1,000 yard F Class Competition. .001 neck tension and the bullet seated .020" long for your chamber so it soft seats the bullet when you chamber a round. I found I had to use 0.9 grains less powder to reach the same velocity as before.

Don

 

[Metal god]

Thanks for the update and I'm glad you did the test for your self . There's nothing like running the test for your self and excepting the results . I hate it when they make me look bad but love it when they make me look good . Like those groups of yours , Nice shooting .

I'll add it takes a special kind of person to post this thread . I'm glad your back , I've always liked and enjoyed your posts but that last thread we were in was .... IDK but you didn't seem your self . I look forward to more of your posts in the future .

I'll also add I'm sorry for any contributions I made to that thread that made it less productive .

MG

 

[RC20]

He manned up, can't ask for more.

I do not think I shoot good enough to see results past the noise level.

I am working on what should be a max accurate setup (6.5 Lapua, Target receiver, Shilen Bull Barrel and a Boyds Laminated stock).

Low recoil, 13 lb gun - that will if not eliminate flinch show if I am tensing up, scope should stay on target like shooting a 22.

I don't know I ever will do competitions. I have found I like the mix of high power vs lower (a neighbor has me shoot his guns and I had fun with his 223).

 

[hounddawg]

.001 neck tension and the bullet seated .020" long for your chamber so it soft seats the bullet when you chamber a round

I might give it a try, I have a fear of soft jammin though. In my 30 Major I soft seat and had to eject the round due to a range issue I ended up with powder all down in my trigger. Ended my range day and I spent the evening chasing N120 kernels.

I have been using this as my practice rifle. Savage target action in a FTR stock with no bedding, Shilen prefit barrel from Northern Shooter Supply, non modded Accutrigger I am using large primer cases and shooting SC 4831 just cause I have a lot of both on hand. I caught a deal on the Barnes bullets a bit back @ $125 for 500. I have been shooting the 6BR in matches but may work on this load a bit to see if I can get the ES and SD down on the .260 and get it to hold .5 MOA at 600/800

 

[std7mag]

Thank you for the write up, Hounddawg!

I've been doing shorter range matches this past year. Shooting IBS, UBR, groundhog.
Has been a real learning experience, both in equipment and reloading practices.
I'm finally looking at doing some annealing.
Alas before now i was just loading istol & hunting rifles. Had the KISS aproach.
Now shooting targets that the "X" is the size of a dot put on the paper by a sharpie, and my 5 rounds under 1 MOA covers almost half of the target, i realize i too need to be more "anal" in my reloading practices.

I just sold my Forbes 24B, locally. I'm gonna miss that rifle! But the funds are going towards a build for a range/match rifle.
Cartridge is still undecided. I keep getting pushed towards 6BR.
But then those that are doing the pushing show up with their 30BR, or something different.

 

[hounddawg]

Cartridge is still undecided. I keep getting pushed towards 6BR.
But then those that are doing the pushing show up with their 30BR, or something different.

I shoot both...sorta

6 BR is easier to shoot due to the milder recoil. I have two, one set up as a tactical, the other as a heavy F class rifle

I also have a 13 lb 30 Major which is comparable to the .30 BR, it's a 6.5 Grendel case necked up to .30 cal. It has a slightly smaller capacity than the 30 BR by a couple of grains. Mine has a lot of barrel torque in free recoil and a fairly stiff recoil when using a firm hold. They are a tad more accurate than the 6BR in the right hands. I only have about 100 rounds down it. In my opinion it's not a pleasant rifle to shoot and am thinking of getting it rebarreled in 6 BR or 6 Dasher. I shot .308 Win for a couple of years and in a 18 pound F class rifle I think it has less recoil than that .30 major. First time I pulled the trigger on the 30 Major I was doing free recoil and my eye got "scoped"

 

[RC20]

I have been using this as my practice rifle. Savage target action in a FTR stock with no bedding, Shilen prefit barrel from Northern Shooter Supply, non modded Accutrigger

If it has the orangish trigger it will adjust down to 5 oz or real close.

My setup other than stock, I am using a Boyds Featherweight TH (it just suits me for hold)

I went with a left only port (what I wanted and available). It should be a fun mix with the bigger boys.

Still shooting Mil Surplus, re-check of my last outing with the 1917 to see if its really as good as it looked like the last time. Its funny that it has a different note from the target or sporter 06 I shoot. Almost a musket like Thump. Not a bad shooter with a steel butt.