Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

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roundabout
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by roundabout »

bangbangping wrote:
Pink_Vapor wrote:
bamachem wrote:Manufacturer Links:

Alliant Powders

I don't see ANY 300BLK loading info on the Alliant page, am I missing something?
I just got a box of 208 AMAX and have 2400 powder.
Help, I want to shoot my 10" SBR with can!
Hornady says 10.3 gr. max @ 2.25 OAL for 1300 fps. Work down from there.
I used this web page to get information about reloading my 300 ACC Blackout: http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle You select your cartridge, bullet weight, powder manufacture and power; the data appears at the bottom of the page. Hope this helps I spent many hours looking. I finely contacted Lee Reloading because they make a mold for the 300 ACC Blackout but didn't have any reloading information in their book. Lee told me they get reloading information from the power manufactures. Hope this helps.
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Pink_Vapor
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by Pink_Vapor »

roundabout,
Thanks, that's a great site I haven't run into, saved.
Hogan billet, Geissele SSA-E, 10" SS 300BLK McGowan, Seekins MSCR V2, NiB BCG, TBAC
Mega billet, 6.5 Grendel 18" SS McGowan, Geissele NM Hi Speed, NiB BCG, Magpul PRS, MCSR guard, TBAC :)
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My procedure step-by-step

Post by tcoz »

Unless I missed it, I didn't see any sort of step-by-step guide for new reloaders in this thread so FWIW this is mine. I stress that this is just the way I do it. Depending on certain variables at the time, I might skip certain steps or shorten them, but this is pretty much the long version of MY procedure and certainly not what every or even most reloaders do. It's just for informational purposes...

.223/300 BLK Reloading Steps:

1. Tumble
2. Run neck brush through, place cases head side up in loading tray, inspect primer area.
3. Lube inside neck w/ Imperial dry neck lube and case w/ Imperial sizing wax.
4. Full length size and deprime case.
5. Inspect cases and especially necks for splits, cracks and signs of incipient case head separation. Do paper clip test then run each sized case through Sheridan gauge.
6. Tumble a short time to remove lube. Use paperclip to remove media stuck in flash holes.
7. If case is longer than 1.760, trim to 1.750. Set caliper to 1.758-1.759 and trim those that exceed. If trimmed, deburr and chamfer.
***For 300 BLK, if longer than 1.368, trim to 1.358 (1.355-1.360 is good). Set caliper to 1.366-1.367 and trim those that exceed.
8. Ream each primer pocket to remove crimp if necessary, then clean pocket. Check primer pocket with go-no go gauge. Check case length on random cases, run neck brush through.
9. Prime, charge, visually inspect charge, seat bullet, very light crimp if desired (crimp not needed and may have negative effect on accuracy)
10. Run finished round through Sheridan gauge.

.223 OAL=use 2.20-2.25 (2.250=best) Seat to middle of cannelure on X-Treme 55gr FMJBT. Don't exceed 2.260 (max)
***Trim to case length=1.750, ie. trim any case over 1.760 back to 1.750 (1.740 is min & 1.760 is max lengths)

300 BLK OAL=use 2.065-2.080 (2.075=best). Seats to bottom of cannelure on Hornady 150gr FMJBT. Max is 2.260
***Trim to case length=1.358. Trim any case over 1.370 (1.348 is min & 1.368 is max lengths)
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plant.one
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by plant.one »

Hodgon's reloading resource center - includes beginner info, safety info, and some tips and tricks.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-education
Reloading info shared is based on experiences w/ my guns. Be safe and work up your loads from published data. Web data may not be accurate/safe.
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BoomerVF14
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by BoomerVF14 »

Hello all, I've been tinkering around with handloading for about six months now and wanted to share some lessons learned and bounce some theories off this distinguished forum.

Lesson 1

Early on in my learning, I was (overly) enticed by the idea of minimizing jump to the lands as a key variable in pursuit of precision. Now, I'm running a stock piston-driven 16" PWS Mk116, and while I knew CBTO/jump is more of a consideration for precision loads in bolt guns, I figured I'd see if it made a difference in my AR. So after working some loads for the Nosler 125gr BT using Nosler's published data (2.06" COAL) I decided I would start lengthening COAL to see if my precision improved. I felt safe in deviating from published because a longer COAL over the same charge will result in lower pressures. So I lengthened to 2.15", and then eventually to 2.20", and ran some ladders.

But what I found did not match expectations at all. Here's a portion of the load tracker I built in Excel (lot numbers on the left).

Image

(The usual disclaimers apply - I make no claims on how this works in your rifle, always start supers at published lows and work up, etc. etc.)

These are all my 125 BT lots sorted first by COAL, then by charge (W296/CCI400/GCG converted brass are common). You can see I was figuring my jump in both the 116 and my SBR, in case I ever shot the same loads through it. It is apparent that those long COALs, even though my jump got almost as small as I could make it, resulted in large variability in MV and there's no noticeable trend as COAL increases.

But when I re-sorted the same data by MV, suddenly the light came on:

Image

The obvious lesson I learned is that the most significant variable to precision is MV, with my rifle's best nodes around 1990, 2070, and 2130 fps. This isn't to say jump to the lands isn't a factor, just that if I haven't found an MV node first, tinkering with COAL/CBTO is only going to muddy the waters.

I'm sure this'll get a "no sh!t" from the old salts!

Lesson 2

I noted in the first sort (by COAL) that once I went out to 2.15" and longer, variability in MV went way up. Again, no surprise to the masters out there, but my gut feeling is that all that extra space in the case under the bullet makes for a less uniform burn. The powder is much looser in there and won't ignite the same way every shot. The 2.10" lot was tested yesterday and I was pleased to see my SD/ES back in the range they were when I started.

So, powder volume/COAL will have a significant effect on MV spreads.

The way ahead?

Next I'll try to duplicate the two nodes at 2070 and 2130 with 2.10" - try a 0.1gr adjustment up and down, etc. but I don't think I need to try to get any better than 1MOA, seeing as how I'm only building for self-defense and don't expect to shoot past 200-300 yards (hopefully the chance this country disintegrates to the point that a 300-yard S/D shot becomes a possibility is VERY remote!) If I were to keep increasing precision, I'm thinking the next step would be to start sorting brass and bullets by weight. So far, I'm just pulling them all right out of the box and loading.

Anyway, it's my hope if any newbies read this, it might save them some cash, materials, and trips to the range chasing the wrong variable!

Welcome any corrections, tips, or wisdom.
Last edited by BoomerVF14 on Fri Aug 11, 2017 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by BoomerVF14 »

Incidentally, I figured I'd display my other geeky Excel tool. I wasn't just taking potentially unsafe "shots in the dark" with my COALs. I built this to calculate what my limits are for my chosen projectiles. You enter your projectile/case measurements (I use the Hornady comparator, a very handy item), magazine limit, as well as a "safety factor" and it will tell you how much longer and shorter you can go based on the target COAL you enter.

Image
Last edited by BoomerVF14 on Fri Aug 11, 2017 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rebel
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by rebel »

I have found, as boomer has shown, that H110/W296 does not like much of a gap between powder and base of bullet. Boomer's findings support this.
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plant.one
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by plant.one »

i too found that nosler 125's liked to be run around 2050 fps range for accuracy. although i'm loading them over lil-gun.

ironically, my 125 sst and 123 zmax run accurately around the same velocity range. the next accuracy load was around 2250fps out of my barrel.
Reloading info shared is based on experiences w/ my guns. Be safe and work up your loads from published data. Web data may not be accurate/safe.
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dellet
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by dellet »

BoomerVF14 wrote:Hello all, I've been tinkering around with handloading for about six months now and wanted to share some lessons learned and bounce some theories off this distinguished forum.

Lesson 1

Early on in my learning, I was (overly) enticed by the idea of minimizing jump to the lands as a key variable in pursuit of precision. Now, I'm running a stock piston-driven 16" PWS Mk116, and while I knew CBTO/jump is more of a consideration for precision loads in bolt guns, I figured I'd see if it made a difference in my AR. So after working some loads for the Nosler 125gr BT using Nosler's published data (2.06" COAL) I decided I would start lengthening COAL to see if my precision improved. I felt safe in deviating from published because a longer COAL over the same charge will result in lower pressures. So I lengthened to 2.15", and then eventually to 2.20", and ran some ladders.

But what I found did not match expectations at all. Here's a portion of the load tracker I built in Excel (lot numbers on the left).

Image

(The usual disclaimers apply - I make no claims on how this works in your rifle, always start supers at published lows and work up, etc. etc.)

These are all my 125 BT lots sorted first by COAL, then by charge (W296/CCI400/GCG converted brass are common). You can see I was figuring my jump in both the 116 and my SBR, in case I ever shot the same loads through it. It is apparent that those long COALs, even though my jump got almost as small as I could make it, resulted in large variability in MV and there's no noticeable trend as COAL increases.

But when I re-sorted the same data by MV, suddenly the light came on:

Image

The obvious lesson I learned is that the most significant variable to precision is MV, with my rifle's best nodes around 1990, 2070, and 2130 fps. This isn't to say jump to the lands isn't a factor, just that if I haven't found an MV node first, tinkering with COAL/CBTO is only going to muddy the waters.

I'm sure this'll get a "no sh!t" from the old salts!

Lesson 2

I noted in the first sort (by COAL) that once I went out to 2.15" and longer, variability in MV went way up. Again, no surprise to the masters out there, but my gut feeling is that all that extra space in the case under the bullet makes for a less uniform burn. The powder is much looser in there and won't ignite the same way every shot. The 2.10" lot was tested yesterday and I was pleased to see my SD/ES back in the range they were when I started.

So, powder volume/COAL will have a significant effect on MV spreads.

The way ahead?

Next I'll try to duplicate the two nodes at 2070 and 2130 with 2.10" - try a 0.1gr adjustment up and down, etc. but I don't think I need to try to get any better than 1MOA, seeing as how I'm only building for self-defense and don't expect to shoot past 200-300 yards (hopefully the chance this country disintegrates to the point that a 300-yard S/D shot becomes a possibility is VERY remote!) If I were to keep increasing precision, I'm thinking the next step would be to start sorting brass and bullets by weight. So far, I'm just pulling them all right out of the box and loading.

Anyway, it's my hope if any newbies read this, it might save them some cash, materials, and trips to the range chasing the wrong variable!

Welcome any corrections, tips, or wisdom.
The first thing you need to do is get organized :mrgreen:

Wonderful write up. That makes it really easy to see what happens with your changes.

A couple suggestions. If you have not thought of it, note your chronograph distance and keep that consistent. Recording temps can also be helpful if you live in an area where they vary. You have such attention to detail those things will help when you are looking at data a year from now. For me it is not uncommon to have a 100 degree spreads winter to summer
300 Blackout, not just for sub-sonics.
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Re: Reloading: How-To Resource Guide

Post by BoomerVF14 »

If you have not thought of it, note your chronograph distance and keep that consistent. Recording temps can also be helpful if you live in an area where they vary.
Thanks Dellet! Greatly appreciate the advice, and I haven't considered chrono distance... although since I'm using a MagnetoSpeed, my distance is pretty consistent! :lol: I'll start tracking outside air temps.

What kind of effects have you seen temperature have on your cartridge performance - pretty much a direct correlation of higher temp = faster bullet? Or does it affect MV variance too? I see this being even more of a concern on my sub loading, since I want to be as fast as possible and still keep ~97% of the shots subsonic.
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