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Brass Preparation
#7905843
07/19/20 09:59 PM
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,045
mikei
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,045 |
During this period or rather warm weather, I've been spending some quality time at the reloading bench doing case prep. It is one of my least favorite things to do in the whole reloading cycle. I got to wondering how important the various steps are to obtain the best possible accuracy. So I would appreciate it if you experienced reloaders would do a "force ranking" of some of the things I do to get my brass ready. How important are they?
Here's the assumptions: You have the rifle and scope You have a proven load that you have developed You're shooting at 200 yards No wind to contend with You've been given a bunch of once-fired brass with which to work, and can only use these cases
In your opinion, how important are the following items/steps: Case length Same head stamp Case weight Flash hole cleaning/deburring Primer pocket uniforming Primer pocket cleaning Chamfering the inside and outside of the necks Uniformity/consistency of powder charge (+ or - .1 grain) Weight of bullets COL
Last edited by mikei; 07/19/20 10:00 PM.
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: mikei]
#7905890
07/19/20 10:26 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 18,908
ChadTRG42
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 18,908 |
If precision and/or consistency is the goal, #1 no question, is same head stamp. If you have different brands of brass, they each will have their own internal case volume, case neck thickness, and neck tension. With different internal case volumes, it won't matter if you throw powder accurate to .02 grains. The same powder charge between each different case will cause different pressures which causes different velocity and changes up the accuracy node. That's the MOST important one, if consistency is the goal. If all the cases are the same, then the other items come into play. same powder charge and COAL would be the next important items.
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: mikei]
#7905958
07/19/20 11:09 PM
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,045
mikei
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,045 |
Thanks, Chad. I figure that if I can keep the extreme spread down to a minimum, my chances of producing rounds that will group well will improve, as long as the idiot pulling the trigger does his job. I try to keep my brass separated by head stamp and times fired/reloaded. Within the batch of same head stamped cases, I have found weight variants of up to a couple of grains. For a 200 yard shoot, that's probably not very important, right? Of the laundry list of items cited, which of them do you think I'm wasting my time on and could comfortably give up without sacrificing that consistency we strive for?
Last edited by mikei; 07/19/20 11:20 PM.
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: mikei]
#7905988
07/19/20 11:39 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,606
603Country
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,606 |
I’d do what you listed, and I’d also lightly turn the necks.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: mikei]
#7906093
07/20/20 12:43 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,284
scalebuster
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,284 |
I thought it said bass preparation. Glasses in the house.
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: mikei]
#7906168
07/20/20 01:31 AM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,216
papa45
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,216 |
Agree with Chad; headstamp, consistent charge weight, and COL are foremost. I think case length is important because a longer or shorter neck should have some effect on neck tension, which would affect pressure a small amount, so I trim if my cases are more than 0.005" over the "trim to" length. I don't chamfer unless I trim. I also have never cleaned flash holes or uniformed primer pockets. Maybe I should.
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: mikei]
#7906206
07/20/20 02:17 AM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,624
DStroud
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,624 |
4 Case length 1 Same head stamp 6 Case weight 7 Flash hole cleaning/deburring 10Primer pocket uniforming 9 Primer pocket cleaning 8 Chamfering the inside and outside of the necks 2 Uniformity/consistency of powder charge (+ or - .1 grain) 5 Weight of bullets 3 COL
Last edited by DStroud; 07/20/20 02:19 AM.
"Anyone taking up handloading necessarily plays with unknown factors and takes chances. But so does anyone who drives a car,goes to a cocktail party,eats in a restaurant,or gets married."
Jack O'Connor 1963
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Re: Brass Preparation
[Re: DStroud]
#7906567
07/20/20 02:07 PM
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,176
Korean Redneck
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,176 |
4 Case length 1 Same head stamp 6 Case weight 7 Flash hole cleaning/deburring 10Primer pocket uniforming 9 Primer pocket cleaning 8 Chamfering the inside and outside of the necks 2 Uniformity/consistency of powder charge (+ or - .1 grain) 5 Weight of bullets 3 COL Now here is a man with some convictions. This is helpful even if it's just one person's opinion.
I'm a dude who likes long barrels!
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