Here are the notes I gave out at the ORA reloading clinic for new shooters.
Brass Preparation
Neck turning is not required. If the brass needs turning buy better brass. Winchester is very good, requiring a little prep. Norma and Lapua are best, with Lapua lasting longer. Norma and Lapua require no preparation other than mouth chamfering and sorting by weight.
Virgin brass. A minimum of 500 cases is required.
Chamfer all case mouths. I put a Lee Valley reamer in my electric drill and then clamp the drill in a vise.
Sort the brass by weight. You need about 5 plastic tubs. I use coin tubs from the casino. Label them in increments of 0.3 grains.
Winchester brass should have all the flash holes skived on the inside to remove flashing. Do this with an electric drill clamped in a vise. Use a special tool or a 1/8” drill bit to just touch each flash hole with a drill. (Touch the hole on the inside.)
Once fired brass can be full length sized en masse before the above steps or the individual tubs can be sized as needed. Do not size all the way to the bottom if a lesser amount will allow the cases to chamber.
Finished brass should be stored in 50 round boxes. Label the box on the inside with the brass weight. Load and fire all brass once before loading any for the second time. Neck size only if to be used in same rifle.
Neck size the neck about 80% of the neck length. Size neck down about 3 thou smaller than neck diameter when loaded. This is done best with a bushing sizer or by using a conventional neck sizer with the neck button removed from the rod. If the button won’t come off, use the rod from a smaller caliber. This increased neck tension improves accuracy by increasing initial pressure on ignition.
By neck or full length sizing with no neck expander button the cases will not stretch as much and will probably never need neck trimming for length.
When full length sizing a large quantity of brass, I like to use Lee lubricant. This is a squeeze tube of a water soluble cream. I but about 100 pieces of brass in a 4 liter plastic tub with a 1 inch worm of cream smeared along the tub walls. I then swirl the brass around in the tub. This is best done in a tub with a lid. This will lube all the cases and put a little bit inside the mouth to make the neck size easier.
After sizing the cases can be individually wiped clean with a paper towel or washed in the dishwasher. Put them in a cloth bag.
Loading
Prime cases with a thumb seater – RCBS or LeeAuto Prime. The primer seater on a press has too much leverage and there is no “feel”. A thumb seater is much more uniform.
Best primers are Federal Match and CCI Benchrest. For magnum size cases, Use CCI Bench rest.
Throw powder charges a bit light and bring to spec by pinching powder onto an electronic scale. An electronic scale is much easier to use than a balance beam, but a balance is just as accurate – just slower.
After filling all cases on the loading block, visually check all rows to see that all cases are filled and uniform.
Bullets should be seated with an inline seater. I use a Bonanza. The Hornady is similar.
Plastic ammo box should be labeled with the load recipe.
After loading, return the powder in the powder thrower to the correct container. This reduces the risk of it being miss-identified later and being put in the wrong container (contaminating the powder) and it also helps maintain the correct moisture content. Water content is used by the factory to fine tune the powder burn speed.
If you have multiple containers of various vintages and lot numbers of the same powder, it would be a good idea to mix it all together so you have a consistent powder for as long as possible. Each lot of powder is a bit different, and some lots are very different, requiring new load development.
Powder
A double base powder is more temperature sensitive than a single base. Best powders, in order (for 308 and 223) are:
Vit N140
Vit 150
Varget
RL-15
4895
Ball powders meter well but higher flame temps increase throat erosion.
In 308 barrel life is about 3000 max in a blue barrel and 6000 in a stainless.
Testing
A good Standard Deviation of velocity is required for long range. A good SD does not mean a load will work, but a poor SD will not work. Some preliminary testing can be done at short range and range testing only for loads that show some promise.
SD should be 10 or less. Velocity max listed is control to avoid excessive pressure. Note the desired range of velocities. The max listed should not be exceeded, even if there is no sign of pressure. There is no free lunch. High velocity means hi pressure:
32” Barrel – 2925 – 2975 fps
30” 2900 – 2950
28” 2850 – 2900
26” 2800 – 2850
Note: On a warm day, 2800 fps works fine at 1,000 yards. It may not be enough on a cold spring or fall day.
Testing for accuracy can be done at 300 to 600 yards, off sandbags with a 15X or stronger scope. A good rifle and ammo combo will group under a half minute. Nothing can be learned at 100 yards other than velocity and SD.
A 5 shot group tells you nothing. A 10 shot group is useful. Once you have a load you think is your accuracy load, try it several times off sand bags, with a scope, at a longer range – say 500 yards. A single good 10 shot group does not mean the load is good. Flyers can go into the group as well as out of the group.
Start testing with a clean barrel. Make sure at least 10 shots are fired in zeroing the rifle before shooting groups. Have some extra ammo for this purpose. Old test odds n ends are good for this.
When you have found your “pet” load, test it with a half grain of extra powder. It should still work reasonably well. If it does not, or if pressure problems exist, you are too close to the limit and will have a bad time of it on a hot day. This is a critical test if you develop loads in the spring (cool weather).
Shooting
Ammo should be in 50 round box, point up. Don’t cook the primers. Keep box in range bag until needed.
Put fired cases into the box mouth down, so you can keep an eye on fired primers, watching for pressure signs.
Use the entire box before switching to the next box. There is no problem in switching boxes, even if different weight cases. You don’t want to have a collection of ammo boxes at home with a few live rounds each.
If there is pressure - very flat primers, a blown primer or hard extraction – STOP SHOOTING!! There is no point in ruining the brass and risking a disaster. I have seen blown up rifles that blew 3 primers before the shot that blew the rifle. Don’t waste the warning God gave you.
See an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh1lyMyejpI&feature=related
Ammo too hot? Here is a trick that will drop the pressure and let you continue the shoot. Smear a little bolt lube grease around each bullet. This drops pressure about 5,000 psi. Not only will this allow you to continue the shoot, but it will most probably improve the accuracy of the hot ammo, too.
