Hunting vs. Bench Reloads

[blauber]

Read a great article on brass preparation posted by CGN'er "acrashb". I was amazed at the comparatively lengthy process to make each case identical for long range competition.

http://www.6mmbr.com/jgcaseprep.html

This is what I do for my hunting loads (btw, I'm no expert):

-neck size via collet die & deprime;
-check all cases for OAL tolerance & trim if necessary (I usually group cases by .001" variations so I can shoot similarly sized cases in a 5 shot group). Sometimes cases vary by as much as .010"! .
-deburr/chamfer the neck;
-clean the primer pocket;
-take a neck brush to remove excessive powder residue and/or brass particles from chamfer step.

What are your brass preparation steps to produce reasonable consistent ammo for hunting? Any extra's or omissions? I also have the Hornady Lock'N'Load OAL length gauge and bullet comparator tool to get a consistent measurement on bullet seating depth. Wondering if headspace measurement is important for hunting load development?

 

[hk33ka1]

Most of my rifle brass gets this


FL size
Uniform Primer pocket
Trim/chamfer/debur
Debur flash hole in and out

After this sizing and trimming/chamfer is all thats needed after future firing and you can use the uniformer to clean the pocket if you want as it wont go any deeper.

 

[CyaN1de]

For hunting rounds I size and load. Don't even run em thru the tumbler.

My competition rounds are similar to described in the above posts.

 

[jimmyjazz]

For hunting rounds I size and load. Don't even run em thru the tumbler.

My competition rounds are similar to described in the above posts.

I run all the same steps and I do run them through the tumbler.... I like mine to look shiney

 

[NShunter1254]

An animal deserves the best accuracy you can achieve,Why would you want to treat a piece of paper with more respect than a live critter?

 

[Qc_BearHunter]

One of the most important step in accuracy is to sort brass with neck wall thickness of less than 0.0015" Just by doing this, you can cut groups by as much as 25%.

Also, I check each finished round for run-out of less than 0.003"

I trim each brasse to minimum lenght when necessary.

Hunting rounds are partially full lenght (I adjust the die to the headspace of the rifle).

Target rounds got the same but I also use a Lee collet die.

 

[blauber]

One of the most important step in accuracy is to sort brass with neck wall thickness of less than 0.0015" Just by doing this, you can cut groups by as much as 25%.

Also, I check each finished round for run-out of less than 0.003"

I trim each brasse to minimum lenght when necessary.

Hunting rounds are partially full lenght (I adjust the die to the headspace of the rifle).

Target rounds got the same but I also use a Lee collet die.

Headspace is a bit of a mystery. Do you need a gauge to measure? How do you size your brass to the measured headspace-do you need a FL resizer die to "bump" the shoulder back?

A Benchrest shooter mentioned in passing that .002" headspace is generally the most accurate, do you need to play with this for best accuracy?

 

[Qc_BearHunter]

There's a lot of tools or gauges that can be used to measure heaspace. I do it the "poor" way with a candle and a set of feeler gauge (used to adjust valves in mechanics)

I start with a piece of brass that was fired in the rifle.

I black the shoulder and neck over the flame of a candle.

I screw the full lenght die until it touches the shell holder

I start with the thickest feeler gauge that I place beetween the shell holder and the base of the die as I resize the brass.

You'll see that the neck is rezised but the die didn't touch the shoulder.

Do it again with a thinner blade until you see contact between the die and the shoulder of the case.

Try to chamber the case, if you feel a little resistance, use à 0.002" thinner blade.

This way, you don't full lenght your case. You have a case that is perfectly adjusted to the chamber of your gun. Cases will last a lot longer, strech a lot less and case head separation will be non-existent.

 

[vviking]

Headspace is a bit of a mystery. Do you need a gauge to measure? How do you size your brass to the measured headspace-do you need a FL resizer die to "bump" the shoulder back?

A Benchrest shooter mentioned in passing that .002" headspace is generally the most accurate, do you need to play with this for best accuracy?

The only difference in my process' for hunting loads is aimed at reliability and speed.
The cases get a partial FL resize, the die nudged down till the bolt just closes freely. All cases checked to be sure. A shoulder bump die/collet is used if I have one for that cal.
OAL is sometimes reduced, to mag feed reliably with the bolt cycled smartly.

That's it, all other prep's are target grade.

 

[2bad4u2]

An animal deserves the best accuracy you can achieve,Why would you want to treat a piece of paper with more respect than a live critter?

You don't need match grade ammo for hunting. You need maximum reliability not match grade accuracy. The game you shoot won't know the difference between ammo that's 2 MOA or 0.5 MOA at normal hunting distances.

 

[Tack-243]

For hunting rounds I size and load. Don't even run em thru the tumbler.

My competition rounds are similar to described in the above posts.

Bad JU..JU all bullets should be treated the same, don't you think the animal you shoot should get the same respact as a piece of paper.

IMHO

 

[hakx]

My bench loads are my hunting loads are my bench loads are my hunting loads...

 

[rainman]

You don't need match grade ammo for hunting. You need maximum reliability not match grade accuracy. The game you shoot won't know the difference between ammo that's 2 MOA or 0.5 MOA at normal hunting distances.

x2 good answer

 

[rtracer13]

x2 good answer

Not really, unless you shoot absolutely the same as you do benchrested.

Most will not and so that added range of error can mean fatal shot vs wounding shot.

 

[blauber]

I guess it's a personal thing...thanks QC Bearhunter on the "poormans" headspace comment (I qualify as one!). I have never measured my brass necks so might buy a tool and add that into sorting operations.

 

[Eagleye]

You don't need match grade ammo for hunting. You need maximum reliability not match grade accuracy. The game you shoot won't know the difference between ammo that's 2 MOA or 0.5 MOA at normal hunting distances.

So very true!!
Shooters get all bent out of shape because they cannot get their pet hunting bullet to shoot ½ moa.
Out as far as 90%+ of all hunters should shoot, a 2 moa rifle will kill any head of big game without an issue.
It's always nice when our pet load shoots smaller groups, but not absolutely necessary.
Regards, Eagleye.

 

[Gatehouse]

Hunting ammo needs to be 100% reliable, more than anything else. It's gotta go BANG, it's got to fit and feed reliably from the magazine, it's gotta extract the brass without any muss and fuss, and if you chamber a round and don't shoot it, it's gotta extract without leaving the bullet stuck in the lands.

There is no reason why hunting ammo cannot be accurate AND reliable, though.

You dont' need the accuracy of target loads, because animal kill zones are BIG! I like all my hunting loads to shoot MOA or better, and for the most part, they do. But I wouldn't be scared to hunt with a 100% reliable firearm with 1.5 or 2 MOA accuracy either.

At 300 yards, 2 MOA is about 6", and that is larger than the kill zone on just about any deer, ever mind elk or moose.

My hunting load brass get generously partial sized, so they chamber and extract well. The bullet is seated to easily fit int he magazine, too. I dont' want to fumble with topping up a magazine because my bullet needed to be seated a bit longer to give me .1234 better accuracy....

 

[crazy_davey]

I like all my hunting loads to shoot MOA or better,

Same here, on my bolt action scoped rifles that is. Do they need to be, probably not. But I am at a point in my life where only accurate rifles(including hunting rifles) are interesting.

Personal preference I guess...

 

[Jordan Smith]

Lots of guys will say that a rifle that can keep its shots within a 10" circle at whatever distance you plan on shooting game, will work just fine. My only problem with that, is that they're referring to what a rifle is capable of from the bench, which shows little more than the rifle's POI variation from shot to shot, without taking into account the other POI variation variables that are present in hunting situations. Things like the quivering human body, breathing hard from an intense stalk, wind, miscalculation in range or drop data for your rifle, etc. If you accidentally trip the trigger when the crosshair is aiming 4" below the top of the back, and 3" in front of the diaphragm, due to the fact that you're a little winded from the climb that you just did while stalking the animal, the small gust of wind that kicked up when you squeezed the trigger, etc, etc, you could very well miss the animal entirely, or wound it, if your rifle is only capable of 6 or 10" groups at that range.

If my total margin of allowable error while shooting at game is 10", for example, I want my rifle to occupy as little of that margin as possible, leaving the large majority available for things like my heavy breathing, a wind gust, or some other factor that is often a part of field shooting in hunting situations.

I agree with crazey_davey, only accurate rifles are interesting, and why shouldn't I have the best accuracy that I possibly can, using what is available to me? Of course, I'm not talking about sacrificing bullet performance, since there are some excellent hunting bullets out there, that are capable of amazing accuracy...

 

[dead meat]

Ya i agree that function for hunting is the most important thing. You can spend as much or as little time making brass look pretty, i`ve been reloading for nearly 40 years and don`t have a tumbler. May have to get one of them new fangled contraptions. Some guys will run everything through a progressive with very little hand work, as long as they aren`t to long no problem. I don`t believe the average handloader needs to worry about headspace as long as they understand what it is and what to look for when reloading, ie. case head seperation or splitting. Most reloading books explain this very well, and things to watch for. I`ll likely get flamed for that but it`s my opinion. Just remember opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one.