I loaded all my ammo this weekend on an $89.00 Lee Anniversary Kit using Lee Dies.Yes.!.
But, don't go blowing away the huge wads of cash that I have over the last 40 years ... trying to make ordinary ho-hum kit produce true match grade ammo. Then, repeatedly, tossing out those lo-crap tools and buying a little better mid-crap stuff ... toss 'em, ... half-ass-crap ... toss again ... now toss out the $1000's in components/testing/time totally wasted. Barrels burn't to crisp. Futility.
Garden variety tools, they will only produce garden variety ammo, no matter how hard you may try to tweak or cajole 'em into producing the kind of precise cart's. that you really want to be loading. It's all about low/no bullet runout and absolute consistency in all spec's.
Each handloader, he will eventually evolve his own methods to get to his personal nirvana.
This is what works for me ... a notoriously parsimonious 'ol <low budget> seeker of accuracy. Don't be having me any surplus money to burn. Nope.
After all this time at the game, it's gone full circle, and become so simple, of late.
Start out with good brass, Lapua if possible. A decent Single stage press. A good balance beam scale(10/10's, they rock). Lee trimmer with drill/driver spud shellholder. Common chamfer/deburr tool, with another shallow angle reamer to (gently)smooth up inside the necks. A good qual. priming tool with "feel". BR primers, they are worth the premium $'s. Anneal your brass every few firings for consistent neck tension.(I like 2 thou..)
A powder measure, set to 1/2 grain short. A powder trickler to run in that last little bit to charge weight.
Now, the important part ..... Dies.
A Redding body die. Bump the cases back a thou. or two whenever the bolt gets a wee bit too tight on closing. Or, if using brass not previously fireformed to your chamber.
Lee Collet neck die. Set up 'over center' on the ram handle. Center stem is turned/polished to 3 thou. under bullet dia.. Run it through a second time with a quarter turn between ram strokes.
"M" die. Sized to open the necks to 2 thou. under bullet dia..
Redding or Forster Comp. seating die. These dies work. Forget buying those runout testing dial guages with the above set up ... you won't need 'em ... Zero to max 2 thou.TIR runouts, every time, all the time.
A good barrel will let you know when it likes it's diet!.
Sorry Barney/Gents for the serious thread drift here ... I just Love my handloading.
OK I used a Chargemaster and hand chamfered and deburred using the RCBS tool.
I don't think there was anything wrong with my reloads.
Yes I used Lapua Brass, BR-2 Primers, Varget, and Sierra MatchKings.
Pics of some of the nice rifles that showed up to play in Petawawa
- Thread starter chalkriver
- Start date
A big problem I found with my rifle (Remington 700 MLR in .338 Lapua) was that the factory brake, which has 360 degree porting, kicked up a tremendous amount of dirt and dust and sent it towards the shooter at high speed, which got quite bothersome after 50 rounds.
I'm looking into getting an RWS brake for my rifle, has anybody had any experience with RWS brakes here?
Random internet picture of the brake...
Kevin , Another nice touch would be a Tac pro adjustable comb on your stock don't bother with anything else these are made right just ask Swissin that's what he bought for his Savage .338.
http://tacpro.com/
Well I found the one weakness in my gear, and it's now fixed. Thanks Hungry you suck for letting me try your Kowa, is was perfectly happy in my ignorance.
So here she is the Kowa TSN-883 with the 20-60x wide angle eyepiece.
OK Now you're just rubbing it in Rich.
You made a great purchase. I was looking at the same spotting scope yesterday LOL.
In response you DG and Swissinn, I was thinking long and hard about one of those kydex adjustable cheek rests, and while I like that they are adjustable, I really like having the side pouch on the rifle.
After this shoot, and learning how I needed to raise my cheek piece about a half inch to sit behind the gun comfortably for long periods, I did a quick job with one of those foam mats and two socks to get it to the right height during the clinic. (I never thought I would say that about a $4,000 gun lol)
Now, while a bit "redneck" it actually worked amazing for me, and I loved that I had the ammo pouch and zipper pocket for storing stuff like a notebook, earplugs, and a few choice tools. What I was thinking of was removing the foam and sock (obviously) and getting either a piece of hardwood or polymer, and making a custom fit riser for my stock to fit under the current cheek rest, and permanently attach it to the firearm. Seeing as this is my personal firearm, not loaned out very often, I feel comfortable making a cheek rest to fit me perfectly, while keeping the pouch in place that I like.
Are there any downsides to going with this method over the Tac-pro comb?
After this shoot, and learning how I needed to raise my cheek piece about a half inch to sit behind the gun comfortably for long periods, I did a quick job with one of those foam mats and two socks to get it to the right height during the clinic. (I never thought I would say that about a $4,000 gun lol)
Now, while a bit "redneck" it actually worked amazing for me, and I loved that I had the ammo pouch and zipper pocket for storing stuff like a notebook, earplugs, and a few choice tools. What I was thinking of was removing the foam and sock (obviously) and getting either a piece of hardwood or polymer, and making a custom fit riser for my stock to fit under the current cheek rest, and permanently attach it to the firearm. Seeing as this is my personal firearm, not loaned out very often, I feel comfortable making a cheek rest to fit me perfectly, while keeping the pouch in place that I like.
Are there any downsides to going with this method over the Tac-pro comb?
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Also, RWS responded and let me know they no longer sell that brake, they only sell clamp on brakes, which at the moment I am not interested in.
Thanks to those of you who PM'ed me and let me know about the Fat Bastard brake, I am looking into them now, along with a whole host of other stuff like a tactical bolt knob, spare mags, and a drag bag.
Looking into the Phoenix bolt knob now.
What are a few good drag bags to look into? I am looking for one that unfolds into a shooting mat, has as few pockets and compartments as possible, and has backpack straps to transport it all while you are carrying other gear.
Still trying to find out where to source mags for this rifle too, what a pain, they seem to be multiple different manufacturers over the years, and I have no idea which one my gun falls into, and naturally, they are expensive and not interchangeable.
Cheers.
Thanks to those of you who PM'ed me and let me know about the Fat Bastard brake, I am looking into them now, along with a whole host of other stuff like a tactical bolt knob, spare mags, and a drag bag.
Looking into the Phoenix bolt knob now.
What are a few good drag bags to look into? I am looking for one that unfolds into a shooting mat, has as few pockets and compartments as possible, and has backpack straps to transport it all while you are carrying other gear.
Still trying to find out where to source mags for this rifle too, what a pain, they seem to be multiple different manufacturers over the years, and I have no idea which one my gun falls into, and naturally, they are expensive and not interchangeable.
Cheers.
Thanks!
I probably noticed it, but I was kind of lost in a sea of awesome guns and gear, so the pics are much appreciated.
I like the adjustable as there are a few situations I find I need to make small adjustments especially in winter. The Tac Pro is designed to have a shelf for your cheek to index on the cheek bone so you can achieve consistant cheek weld shot to shot. Ideally you maintain your cheek weld but if you do have to break your cheek weld you can index your cheek quickly to the same position.
Nope. Go for it...it's your gun, so unless someone else is using it and has a different cheekweld than your own. Plus you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you built it yourself. I think I overheard Hungry telling some of you that the stock on my Savage, even though it looks like a tactical masterpiece (bahahahaha), is actually nothing more than the stock tupperware the rifle came with. It has however been heavily MacGyver'd up using the handle from a stainless steel cake spatula belonging to my wife (shhhhh, I told her the dog chewed on it), to stiffen up the foreend. Add a whole lot of JBweld, westsystem epoxy and fibreglass cloth to build up the foreend into something more tacticool like. I used one of my son's old Thomas the Tank Engine's train tunnels to give me a mold for that. Very cheap and inline with the welfare philosophy Hungry likes to promote....
That way, I can buy more reloading components and shoot, shoot, shoot! If you're looking for some inspiration, check out Mystic Precision's work...
http://www.longrangehunting.com/arti...-project-1.php
This is what it looks like when open.
Your feet go at 12:00 and you can see the pocket the muzzle fits into at 6:00
Then there is this fold out section which is stored in the flap just above it.
It attaches with Velcro and has 3 supplied pegs to keep it from getting ventilated the way the tactical tarp did.
I left it attached the entire weekend and just folded it up the same way the other end folds up.
Its your weapon kev. you can do what u like. adjustability is nice to have cuz in winter u wear thicker clothing and sometimes a balaclava and all these things mess with cheek weld. and lets be honest...those butt pouches are a bit lame lol. I wouldn't ever use one. A wrist tablet is a much better idea in my opinion and I use them all the time at work.
Fair enough, I know that I can do what I like, but I also love to hear the input of others more experienced than I before making any decisions.
Lame? Perhaps, but they are practical for my kind of shooting, ie, drive in, hike in, then shoot. Keeping your dope, notes, earplugs, and a few tools handy are a big plus, as opposed to carrying them in a separate bag. Looks are in the eye of the beholder too, I am pretty neutral on both. Whatever works best and gets me the best results is what I want to go with.
I never thought about the winter shooting affecting the cheek weld, interesting point that I would not have even considered.
Hey folks,
A little late to the party I am but here none the less. It was a great shoot and I had a blast. Learned a bunch and burned a bunch o' cash
Thats ok though cause it was WELL worth it. A big thanks to Hungry, Chalkriver and all the others who helped out to make this happen. A little sad no one got a pic o' my ugly mug though
Thumprrr, KevinM an I have been looking around for a good bag like that and I think i'm gonna go with the one you suggested. It looks like exactly what I want, thanks for the tip.
A side note, at one point someone (I was shooting at the time) borrowed a screwdriver set from me (KevinM lent it out). Wonderin' if anyones seen it? Maybe it could make its way out to the next shoot and eventually home.
A little late to the party I am but here none the less. It was a great shoot and I had a blast. Learned a bunch and burned a bunch o' cash
Thats ok though cause it was WELL worth it. A big thanks to Hungry, Chalkriver and all the others who helped out to make this happen. A little sad no one got a pic o' my ugly mug though Thumprrr, KevinM an I have been looking around for a good bag like that and I think i'm gonna go with the one you suggested. It looks like exactly what I want, thanks for the tip.
A side note, at one point someone (I was shooting at the time) borrowed a screwdriver set from me (KevinM lent it out). Wonderin' if anyones seen it? Maybe it could make its way out to the next shoot and eventually home.
Yes in that price range.
If you go with the Voodoo tactical bag look at getting a couple of their ammo carriers that velcro right onto the inside of the mat where you are in shooting position. P/N 20-9257
Fear not, that tool kit is at my place, went home in my blue backpack... the unnamed gentleman was very diligent on returning it.
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Looks like an awesome bag. Where did you get yours from that shipped to Canada?
I bought mine from some guy on ebay who never used the bag.
Voodoo Tactical has an ebay store.
http://stores.ebay.com/voodootactical__W0QQLHQ5fSellerWithStoreZ1QQ_sasiZ1QQ_sidZ599826756?LH_TitleDesc=1&_nkw=15-9334
