Medium-Bore Woods Hammer: A Plunge Into Reloading (Update: Ready to Hunt)

[RamblinWreck88]

Glad to see your new venture is coming along nicely.
Yes, often times loads approaching max will result in the best groups. I’ll make an attempt to explain why. Max/near max loads will mean your filling the case up closer to full capacity, perhaps 90+%. This means there will be a more uniform burning of the powder and more shot to shot consistency (lower standard deviation). That consistency will show up with mating to barrel harmonics and tighter groups. Powders that have lower fill capacities allow more empty space that is actually more oxygen, which can affect the burn (oxygen is an ingredient to any burn).
On that Lee crimp article, I remember when that came out and there were other companies like Federal disputing Lee. I have a few Lee factory crimp dies for the reasons I stated above. I love them for AR and M1A ammo.

That explanation makes sense; I see that the Nosler book contains that number in their load date. With a good bit of room between 55.5 gr and max, I hope to see that phenomenon have a positive effect on my groups.

Regarding the Lee crimp article, I can see what they're saying, but I also take with a grain of salt what anyone who is trying to sell something to me says about its effects. I'm just going to keep working without crimps for now, since it evidently "ain't broke"

 

[RamblinWreck88]

I think I would invest in a nice lead sled if I was gonna be reloading. Nice group still!

Yes, but I have already bought more equipment than I planned on!

 

[1eyefishing]

Can't you run the decapping pin down deep enough in a resizing die to decap without resizing?
I forget because I reloaded for a couple decades nearly before I ever got a tumbler and I just made sure my brass was wiped down and clean before I lubed them and resized them.

 

[RamblinWreck88]

Can't you run the decapping pin down deep enough in a resizing die to decap without resizing?
I forget because I reloaded for a couple decades nearly before I ever got a tumbler and I just made sure my brass was wiped down and clean before I lubed them and resized them.

The part that resizes the neck doubles as a decapping pin, so it's going to have to pass through just the same, regardless of how far back it is. So I don't think that would work in this instance?

 

[bullethead]

Lee makes a Universal De-Capping die.

 

[1eyefishing]

Well, I do have enough junk and parts to to use a 30 cal center pin to decap, but as I said, I never found it necessary...
I was thinking back the die out for a 5 turns and run. The centerpin down 4 or 5 turns. But then I would be double lubing if I cleaned after decapping. So moot point...
Nothing wrong with cleaning before you decap in my book, especially if you visually check each case for leftovers.
2 cents...

 

[bullgator]

Can't you run the decapping pin down deep enough in a resizing die to decap without resizing?
I forget because I reloaded for a couple decades nearly before I ever got a tumbler and I just made sure my brass was wiped down and clean before I lubed them and resized them.

Yes, sizing dies have decapping pins. RW88 wanted to clean the brass with the primers removed before sizing.

 

[RamblinWreck88]

Lee makes a Universal De-Capping die.

I figured they all have them, but my reloading shop had an RCBS, so I went with that and promptly decapped all the '06 brass I have.

 

[Nicodemus]

Not a bad looking single shot rifle. It should serve you well.

 

[RamblinWreck88]

Not a bad looking single shot rifle. It should serve you well.

Thanks, it ought to at least hold me over until I can start seriously looking at those top-tier single shots like some of y'all shoot...

 

[Nicodemus]

Thanks, it ought to at least hold me over until I can start seriously looking at those top-tier single shots like some of y'all shoot...

My single shot rifle is the only centerfire that I hunt with. Thirty years now. We fit each other well.

 

[Bobby Bigtime]

Yes, but I have already bought more equipment than I planned on!

I added the second hand press years ago to save a bit of time and gain some efficiency

 

[RamblinWreck88]

I added the second hand press years ago to save a bit of time and gain some efficiency

That's a good idea... Y'all are a bunch of bad influences, y'all know that?

 

[Darkhorse]

Be aware that the expander ball can bend the case neck out of alignment when it's pulled back through. I remove the expander before resizing my cases. I deprime by bridging the case head between the jaws of a vise then knocking the spent primer out with a small punch. Last thing I screw the expander back in, lubricate the case neck then run the expander back through. The expander is loose to it will float to align itself with the case.
Of course it doesn't matter if your size die is not aligned with the centerline of your bore.

 

[RamblinWreck88]

Some time has passed since my last update; I took the lady to the mountains of NC, so I missed a weekend of shooting, but I have not missed the past two weekends, and load development is still very much alive...

Where we last left off, shooter error was my main problem. This was new to me... I've always shot factory ammo, sighted the rifle pretty close to where I think it should be, and went from there. But now that we're in the world of partial-grain increments, it became apparent that I'd need to eliminate shooter error as much as possible in order to discern which load was better.

8/12: I bought a front bag, and had ordered a rear bag, but it didn't get here in time. So I rolled up a jacket and put it under the buttstock, but could not get any kind of consistent rest... My best group was a vertical string with 57.0 gr. I also loaded up to max load in 0.5 gr increments, just to check for pressure signs.

8/19: Armed with front & rear bags and some solid shooting tips from @Railroader, I stopped at the range after my squirrel hunt. This wasn't my normal range, and they had no place to mount targets, so I had to makeshift some targets.

This was my best load from 8/12 (57.0 gr). First two shots touching, last two shots touching (first shot had knocked down my flimsy target). I suspect this may be "the one" or very close to it, so I will load some more of it. If I can get 5 shots to touch, I will be tickled pink and leave it at that:


57.5 gr also did well, so I will try it again:


58.0 gr also showed promise; I will load some more of this as well:


Process Improvements:
-I always load to whatever charge I'm working with, but I've changed how I get there... I now load close to the desired loading, then use a trickler until the point where the scale jumps up that last 1/10th of a grain and no more. In hindsight, this seems obvious, but here we are.

-My brass is all resized from 30-06, so it's a little short and cannot be trimmed using the 35 Whelen length gauge I have, so for the next batch, I will measure case lengths to get more uniform lengths.

-All flash holes are now uniformed/chamfered. (I have the Lyman tool, but don't like it... Looking at getting the KM precision tool for better consistency)

-My fore-end screws were a little loose after the last trip, so I have torqued those and will keep an eye on those in the future.

I feel like I am shooting a heck of a lot to develop a load here, but the practice has been well worth it. I will clean a bunch of brass tonight, then reload accordingly the following day. I hope to have more results this weekend. As always, I welcome your feedback; thanks for taking interest.

 

[Railroader]

I am still enjoying watching this project...

 

[bighonkinjeep]

Any deer standing in front of any one of those loads is gonna get "hammered" for sure.
You're off to a darn good start.
Shoot em high shoulder and you'll never track again.

 

[RamblinWreck88]

I shared this with a few folks, but here it is for those who haven't seen the conclusion of load development...

I produced this 3-shot group over past weekend. I can't repeat what I said at the time, but, suffice to say, I was tickled pink. Yes, I know that 3-shot groups ain't everything, but this loading has consistently shot very good, and this only further confirmed that for me.

I have since loaded up 15 rounds with the same recipe. I suspect the next thing I can do is to improve brass consistency (already using the same brand, of course), but for this hunting season and this particular load, I'm stopping right here.

Thanks to all of y'all for the reloading and shooting tips!

 

[GregoryB.]

Nothing wrong with that group at all.

 

[Jester896]

Nice!