a question for rifle accuracy enthusiasts

I've read where Litz said the "seating depth window" is about 30 thou wide so as long as you are not on the edge you don't have to worry to much about it.
 
Gentlemen

If I read the OP postings correctly the problem occurred after the first reloads, meaning with new brass he shot a .8 group and after reloading these cases he shot 2 inch groups.

To me it sounds like the cases caused the problem, and the OP didn't mention a runout gauge and a neck thickness gauge, meaning warped cases and excessive neck runout. Any time you get better accuracy with new brass and your reloads make the accuracy worse you look at the brass and your die setup.
 
yup. run out seems to be the main culprit. my friend brought a runout gauge last time i was out shooting which shined [shone?] a little light on the situation.
the brass is 1F range pick up to start with, biged51 [i'm on a tight budget], and FL sized with an standard RCBS 2 die set. i have a Lee three die set i bought because i had planned to eventually neck size my 2F fire formed brass, and i actually had no idea what a Lee "collet" neck sizer was until i started to read up on run out and how to cure it [after discovering how much run out i actually had]. turns out the Lee collet neck dies have gotten alot of praise in some circles for minimizing run out, (and i've already got one - who knew? :)
i'm now loading a batch of 2F fireformed, collet neck sized rounds to test out next time i can make it to the range.

here's hoping...
 
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These are two targets doing my version of ladder testing with a 260 Remington, 120 grain Berger bullets, and IMR4064 powder from 38.0 (1) to 41.5 (8) grains at 200 metres.
 
Good point Ed, we got off track, there. Yes, I think Truenorth777 has measured his runout and is taking steps toward remediation. I'll wait to see how he does during his next range session.

bigedp51 said:
Gentlemen

If I read the OP postings correctly the problem occurred after the first reloads, meaning with new brass he shot a .8 group and after reloading these cases he shot 2 inch groups.

To me it sounds like the cases caused the problem, and the OP didn't mention a runout gauge and a neck thickness gauge, meaning warped cases and excessive neck runout. Any time you get better accuracy with new brass and your reloads make the accuracy worse you look at the brass and your die setup.
Click to expand...
 
What's your point, Horseman2? If you're attempting to show Truenorth777 a ladder test, you're not doing him any favours. The fact that you've shot this at the range stated, clearly shows that it is not adequate for effective interpretation. For long range shooting, ALL your shots in a ladder should climb to varying degrees, given adequate distance. There will be some shots that "group" together vertically but they shouldn't jump up and down as you've experienced here. Back your test up to beyond 300 yards and you will see a distinct difference.

Try a ladder at 500 or 600 if you're confident at those distances. Interpretation is super easy there - you will clearly see the impact of each successive charge and the charge ranges that form each of the accuracy nodes.

horseman2 said:
These are two targets doing my version of ladder testing with a 260 Remington, 120 grain Berger bullets, and IMR4064 powder from 38.0 (1) to 41.5 (8) grains at 200 metres.
Click to expand...
 
It showed me that the increase in powder did not alter the departure significantly.
With this particular rifle, trickling the last kernel of powder may be insignificant.
When I extend to 300 yards, 2 and 4 were still the two closest shots and that settled the load at 40 grains.
It was a start with a new rifle which showed the capability.
For hunting purposes I use the Barnes 130 grain TSX and do not get any extreme vertical spread with the increase in powder.

Of course I read your signature . . . Patience is a virtue of which I have none . . . which puts your comments in perspective.

Is it ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care!
 
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