Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Tikka223, thanks for proving my point.
Jerry
Jerry
Does this target make sense?
- Thread starter Tikka223
- Start date
Do you have your process written down anywhere?
I have not. Honestly, I don’t have a ton of time to reload and hit the range for all the R&D. I’m happy with something with a consistent velocity and 1/2 MOA ish. I also don’t have the tools to do seating depth tests properly. I use the cleaning rod down the bore technique to get an OAL and go from there. I aim for 20 thou but I don’t know how consistent that is.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
longrangehunting.com had the original series years ago. unsure if it is still posted? or maybe in their very old posts.
do a search for Jerry Teo
or chat with the admin there.
Jerry
Why not just post your process here for the OP?
It's easy, and it requires very little tools.
It's a simple way to get your groups dialed in. Alternatively, there are companies producing barrel tuners that work in conjunction with all the self timing muzzle brakes (if you use a brake), and some don't require any extra gunsmith work. Straight install if your muzzle is threaded. While I'm not a huge proponent of tuners, they could very well work for your application, with little need to change your loads. People use them with good success to deal in factory ammo, when they can't adjust the bullet seating depth.
Personally I'm an advocate for using bullet seating to dial in your precision, but a tuner may be the "easy button" in your specific scenario.
A micrometer and ogive measurement tools.
I think this is the best advice that I have seen that kthomas has ever posted.
He is describing how to isolate the factors that influence accuracy.
Once you find a load that produces a low ES, then you tweak the seating depth to effect the accuracy result.
It's clean, clear and relatable. It's essentially what I've been doing for 30 years.
I have noticed however that jump will usually affect velocity spreads as well as accuracy, so it will probably not work out all that clean in a single effort. You may need to repeat a few times as you tweak the seating depth.
What I have found is that two things happen at the same time as the seating depth is adjusted...
Too much jump will have more velocity spread and poor accuracy. As the seating depth is increased, accuracy will generally improve as the velocity spread gets lower. Eventually as the seating depth is increased past a certain point, accuracy and velocity spreads will degrade and you know you have past the sweet spot. Once you find that sweet spot for one load, chances are it will be about the same for other loads.
We can think of it like this... If the bullet has a long way to go to plug the barrel and create a pressure seal, pressure will blow around the bullet and the brass until it creates a seal. The brass doesn't swell to the chamber and create a seal there either. That's why too much jump will have greater velocity spreads. When the load jams the lands too hard, there is a slight pressure spike as pressure builds high enough to initiate forward movement of the bullet. All this happens in a micro second, but you can detect the result. If the jump is idealized, you will find a balance between the two extremes. Just keep in mind that throat erosion will occur and you will need to extend the seating depth slighly every few hundred rounds, depending on the cartridge.
When the Magneto speed is attached directly to your barrel it affects barrel harmonics and for that reason it is not what I would recommend for load development. Don't expect to soot your best groups with a magnetos speed attached to the barrel. I have seen where guys fabricate a tube attached to the fore end to support the Magneto speed in a way that it does not contact the barrel and that is a worthwhile effort.
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Factory barrels on Tikka rifles are notoriously slow. Besides the OEM stocks, that's one of the few critiques of the Tikka system. On the bright side, they generally are shooters, and at the end of the day, precision wins out over velocity.
43.0 looks like a promising charge. In all honesty, they all look like good charges. There's no point in trying to find a "node" so to speak, but more importantly is how consistent you and your equipment is at throwing the charges.
If it was me, I would load up ammo at 43.0 grains, and invest in micrometers and ogive measuring tools, and do a bullet seating test to dial things in and find out how far the bullets like to be from the lands. I'm not sure how jump tolerant your projectiles are, but one of the main reasons I use Berger Hybrids in everything is because of how jump tolerant they are. I generally start off ~10 to 20 thou off the lands, and never have to change the bullet seating depth throughout the life of the barrel.
There's a really good podcast I listened to today on reloading, The Every Day Sniper episode with the Applied Ballistics/Berger crew. This may be worth checking out if you are into podcasts, the Applied Ballistics guys know a thing or two.
43.0 looks like a promising charge. In all honesty, they all look like good charges. There's no point in trying to find a "node" so to speak, but more importantly is how consistent you and your equipment is at throwing the charges.
If it was me, I would load up ammo at 43.0 grains, and invest in micrometers and ogive measuring tools, and do a bullet seating test to dial things in and find out how far the bullets like to be from the lands. I'm not sure how jump tolerant your projectiles are, but one of the main reasons I use Berger Hybrids in everything is because of how jump tolerant they are. I generally start off ~10 to 20 thou off the lands, and never have to change the bullet seating depth throughout the life of the barrel.
There's a really good podcast I listened to today on reloading, The Every Day Sniper episode with the Applied Ballistics/Berger crew. This may be worth checking out if you are into podcasts, the Applied Ballistics guys know a thing or two.
I do like my podcasts. Thanks for the tip!
I was expecting way more in the way of “nodes”. I get that it’s a small sample size the numbers at least tell me that reloading process is fairly dialed in when it comes to consistency. I’m also think I’ll just load 43.0 and go shoot. Nice easy number and no more messing about.
I was expecting way more in the way of “nodes”. I get that it’s a small sample size the numbers at least tell me that reloading process is fairly dialed in when it comes to consistency. I’m also think I’ll just load 43.0 and go shoot. Nice easy number and no more messing about.
Sometimes we like to make reloading seem like some sort of voodoo magic. It can easily get overcomplicated.
At the end of the day, when it comes to things such as reloading, it's best to keep things simple and consistent. The more I learn about reloading, the simpler my process becomes.
Couldn’t agree more. My time is limited and thus valuable, not to mention the $$$ of reloading components. I’ve already fired 70 rounds to gather the data I have so far. I’m not shooting benchrest and would be more than happy with .5MOA and low ES.
