Jesus, thank god I didn't get hooked on BR shooting. At the price of Lapua brass these days I couldn't afford to be throwing brass in the garbage that often.
6mmBR Dies
- Thread starter Goose25
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Jesus, thank god I didn't get hooked on BR shooting. At the price of Lapua brass these days I couldn't afford to be throwing brass in the garbage that often.
If you are honest about the costs to compete (f-class as well) you will see the brass cost is almost insignificant.
Why travel to a match and spend $500-1000 on a weekend of competition (bullets, barrels, fuel, hotels etc etc) and then try and save $15 by stretching the life of some tired brass? This is a false economy.
Hey Rick, for BR do you tend to use a handful of the selcted hand-picked and prepped brass that you reload at the match or do you have a whole bucket full that you can draw upon? Our matches can run between 100 - 250 rounds so I tend to be a bit more utilitarian with brass.
I have some every once in a while that feed funny and these get tossed into the gopher shooting bucket, but they go on to live a long life in that capactity
CyaN1de has a rule that if his brass costs more than the fru-fru alcholol he likes to drink on a match weekend, then he's over-budget
I have some every once in a while that feed funny and these get tossed into the gopher shooting bucket, but they go on to live a long life in that capactity
CyaN1de has a rule that if his brass costs more than the fru-fru alcholol he likes to drink on a match weekend, then he's over-budget
CyaN1de has a rule that if his brass costs more than the fru-fru alcholol he likes to drink on a match weekend, then he's over-budget
Priorities my friend.....PRIORITIES!!!
Fru-Fru alcohol does a shooter good.
LOL
Hey Rick, for BR do you tend to use a handful of the selcted hand-picked and prepped brass that you reload at the match or do you have a whole bucket full that you can draw upon? Our matches can run between 100 - 250 rounds so I tend to be a bit more utilitarian with brass.
I have some every once in a while that feed funny and these get tossed into the gopher shooting bucket, but they go on to live a long life in that capactity
CyaN1de has a rule that if his brass costs more than the fru-fru alcholol he likes to drink on a match weekend, then he's over-budget
I run 14-15 brass for the weekend (reloaded about 12- 15 times), if they still seem to be performing I will run them longer. As the weekend wears on, occasionally you will get 1-2 brass you toss due to things like weird seating pressure or that chamber tight or extract weird. Work hardening is not uniform or consistent. Some brass seem to work harden much quicker.
It is too much work to have a bucket of prepped brass to draw on. Making 15 identical brass is easier than making 200 identical.
There are other strategies in use, for example some shooters will run 50 brass for the life of the barrel. Say 20-40 firings. They will start new brass with a new barrel.
It is a good question, one that gets all bench shooters talking. How much brass prep is necessary and will show up on the target?
The short answer is it is worth it. If I could only do one step I would always neck turn, even just a bit. This helps to make sure the loaded ammo is as straight as possible, a critical factor in accuracy. Crooked ammo shoots worse, no doubt about it.
In the pre-lapua days it was mandatory to prep brass like crazy and cull quite a few, even Sako and Norma. All brass required some prep. Along comes Lapua which makes fantastic uniform brass. So good in fact some people in BR and elsewhere shoot it as is.
As good as Lapua is (thanks Peter!) the consensus has swung back to at least a little brass prep is still required in competition BR. Chambers being cut today for BR will often have what is called a light turn neck. Taking about .001 or .002" off the neck to insure the neck is uniform.
As to the other operations like flash hole uniforming, primer pocket uniforming, weight sorting etc etc, it really depends on the shooter. I only turn necks, trim to length and do the primer pockets, other guys go full with every prep known to man and beast.
Rick
OK, another dumb question from a non-BR shooter. Why would you reload at the range instead of simply loading up a batch at home under very controlled conditions in your basement and then shooting them all weekend?
Reading this is very educational and helpful, it keeps me from ever contemplating anything like BR as a future hobby.
Thanks,
Mark
I actualy
should not be throwing the brass out because to support my habit I work overtime to pay for any builds or components. I look at the cost of a box of 100 pieces of Lapua brass as a small price to pay to be able to fully enjoy the 6BR or 6PPC. It is the cost of doing business.
The nice thing with shooting shortrange is you can prep 25 pieces of brass at the start of the year and it should last all season. Some shooters may use it for the COMPETITIVE LIFE of the barrel.
CBY
should not be throwing the brass out because to support my habit I work overtime to pay for any builds or components. I look at the cost of a box of 100 pieces of Lapua brass as a small price to pay to be able to fully enjoy the 6BR or 6PPC. It is the cost of doing business.
The nice thing with shooting shortrange is you can prep 25 pieces of brass at the start of the year and it should last all season. Some shooters may use it for the COMPETITIVE LIFE of the barrel.
CBY
Why do we reload
at the range?
Simple.
It gives you the flexibility to change your load if the rifle starts to go out of tune. Basically that is it.
The good shooters KNOW when there load is going out of tune. Shortrange benchrest is considered the PINNACLE of accuracy so nothing is left to chance in the load. That is why Benchresters will be there at least the day before to confirm there pet load, or I like to call it starting load, to see if it is working. If not you adjust till you find what seems to be working and start the next day out with that load. You must remember that the temp and humidity changes throughout the day so will its effects on how the load performs.
If you came preloaded and the load was not right it is pretty hard to change it. Just about does not cut it in shortrange.
I will probably hear replies that I would rather be shooting or visiting than loading. Well remember that you are there for a reason to outshoot whoever else is sitting next to you shooting or outdoing your own last group. It is part of the process to be the best you can be just like in any sport. It is prep time for the little bit of satisfaction you get at the end.
Even though all this is done it still does not help if you cannot shoot the wind and mirage. Those are the other key components left for another discussion.
OK, another dumb question from a non-BR shooter. Why would you reload at the range instead of simply loading up a batch at home under very controlled conditions in your basement and then shooting them all weekend?
Reading this is very educational and helpful, it keeps me from ever contemplating anything like BR as a future hobby.
Thanks,
Mark
at the range?
Simple.
It gives you the flexibility to change your load if the rifle starts to go out of tune. Basically that is it.
The good shooters KNOW when there load is going out of tune. Shortrange benchrest is considered the PINNACLE of accuracy so nothing is left to chance in the load. That is why Benchresters will be there at least the day before to confirm there pet load, or I like to call it starting load, to see if it is working. If not you adjust till you find what seems to be working and start the next day out with that load. You must remember that the temp and humidity changes throughout the day so will its effects on how the load performs.
If you came preloaded and the load was not right it is pretty hard to change it. Just about does not cut it in shortrange.
I will probably hear replies that I would rather be shooting or visiting than loading. Well remember that you are there for a reason to outshoot whoever else is sitting next to you shooting or outdoing your own last group. It is part of the process to be the best you can be just like in any sport. It is prep time for the little bit of satisfaction you get at the end.
Even though all this is done it still does not help if you cannot shoot the wind and mirage. Those are the other key components left for another discussion.
OK, another dumb question from a non-BR shooter. Why would you reload at the range instead of simply loading up a batch at home under very controlled conditions in your basement and then shooting them all weekend?
Reading this is very educational and helpful, it keeps me from ever contemplating anything like BR as a future hobby.
Thanks,
Mark
You would need about 200 prepped brass for a weekend. It is faster and easier to make 15 identical brass rather than 200 identical, and like Calvin says you can adjust the load if need be throughout the weekend.
OK...that makes more sense now. I was picturing someone chucking 25 brass after each day of competition the way you worded it earlier.
if 25 pcs last a season that works out to a box lasting approx 4 seasons so not really a huge cost to incur.
I rotate 450 pieces over the course of a season which puts about 2 firings on each case over the year.
Fair enough, I didn't realize that the sensitivity was that high. If you need to adjust for atmospheric changes through the day, preloaded ammo will not be acceptable.
I do think that is a crazy level of attention to detail, but I would not criticize someone who chose to compete because they spend more time loading than shooting. That is just how the game is played and what is required if you plan on competing. I would rather shoot than load, so I will not be trying out BR as a hobby any time soon.
200 doesn't sound that bad to me if you only do it once a season, but I am not trying for perfection, either.
Just out of curiosity, how small are the load tweaks to get things tuned during the weekend?
Thanks for the info,
Mark
It doesn't sound too bad, until you throw in multiple barrels or guns, then things could easily get out of hand. You would have buckets of brass to contend with.
Load tweaking is in the range of 1/3 - 1/2 grain adjustments, along with minor seating depth changes or neck tension changes. Could also switch powders or bullets if things are really going in the ditch!
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New powders are supposed to help reduce ambient condition affects. IMR has a new powder that some shooters are raving about.
We will see after this season how it holds up.
If it does work, then it would be possible to preload. Or just muck about less during a match.
Matt, the SR BR guys are reaching accuracy that is almost unbelieveable. This does take some fiddling to achieve. Someone just shot a 200yds group that looked like a single hole.
For me, I shoot F class and if a load shoots 1/4 to 1/3 min all day, good enough. For a SR BR shooter, that level of accuracy would be a complete disaster.
See 6mmBR.com as they have an interesting blog on this new powder. Testing with a rail gun, shooter is getting 5 rds groups in the ZERO's.
Out plinking one afternoon and driving bullets into a group that is under 0.100" - looks like a single 30cal bullet hole. That is impressive gear and very fine tuning.
Just depends on what you are trying to achieve and how you are trying to achieve it.
Jerry
We will see after this season how it holds up.
If it does work, then it would be possible to preload. Or just muck about less during a match.
Matt, the SR BR guys are reaching accuracy that is almost unbelieveable. This does take some fiddling to achieve. Someone just shot a 200yds group that looked like a single hole.
For me, I shoot F class and if a load shoots 1/4 to 1/3 min all day, good enough. For a SR BR shooter, that level of accuracy would be a complete disaster.
See 6mmBR.com as they have an interesting blog on this new powder. Testing with a rail gun, shooter is getting 5 rds groups in the ZERO's.
Out plinking one afternoon and driving bullets into a group that is under 0.100" - looks like a single 30cal bullet hole. That is impressive gear and very fine tuning.
Just depends on what you are trying to achieve and how you are trying to achieve it.
Jerry
Yes Jerry
I cannot wait to get my hands on some of that so called "MIRACLE" powder, is what I will call it.
If it works and is easier to work with the approx 25 lbs of VV 133 I have may just be fertilizer...............
It brings a smile every time I am capable to shoot them tiny little bug holes. They are far and few between but it is a obsession trying.
I cannot wait to get my hands on some of that so called "MIRACLE" powder, is what I will call it.
If it works and is easier to work with the approx 25 lbs of VV 133 I have may just be fertilizer...............
It brings a smile every time I am capable to shoot them tiny little bug holes. They are far and few between but it is a obsession trying.
Ya Jerry the new powder is indeed a comercial version of what we called 8208 ,actually Hogdon is using the same Numerical designation with reports that they have nailed the formula down enough to offer it in canister grade (consumer grade ) Many guys have been using this stuff for a few years now on the BR circut with good results. It is my understanding it was salvage or surplus mortor priming charge powder but I could have bad info there?? I personally burned about 16 lbs of the reclaimed stuff and it was really nice to work with. But a steady supply was too hard to come by so I went back to V-133 . Through the efforts of Lou Murdica and Hogdon it should make life easier. Also Lot uniformity will be much more consistant as this was always a concern with the original stuff.
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