M-14 hunting load

Rick65Cat

Rick65Cat

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This is specificly for an M-14.
I'm wondering if I should even be worried about this even though they are hunting rounds I'm making up.

To seat the bullet head close to the lands and grooves, you put a SAFE round (no primer or powder) in the chamber and close the bolt to shove the bullet head farther into the case. Then use your press to seat the bullet a few thou deeper in the case.
All that said...with the M-14 do I close the bolt softly to avoid jarring the bullet (thats barely seated) and then push the bolt firmly closed by hand? Or slam it closed like when loading a live round?

Or do I just say screw it and make my C.O.L. by the specs in the data book?
 
Closing the bolt on a lightly held bullet won't necessarily give you a close to the lands OAL. You may just end up with the bullet stuck in the rifling.
Work up a load that is accurate in your rifle, then if you really want to, fiddle with the OAL. Full Length resizing only.
 
I'm using cases rhat are fire formed to my gun. So I only ran the cases through the collet dies.
What you're saying then is just use the load data COL for now.
150gr Sierra SBT with 44gr Varget cases trimmed to 2.005" and 2.80 COL.
 
All semi-auto's(pumps and lever actions too) require FL resizing every time. It's the only essential thing involved with loading for a semi. Neck sizing only will give you feeding issues. Neck sizing is for bolt actions only.
Yep, the COL is all you really need to set up. Just off the lands can be set up as part of tweaking the load. It's not terribly necessary for a hunting load though. The ammo in a bolt action doesn't get as roughly 'handled' by the rifle either.
"...Doesn't the magazine..." There's that too.
150's with Varget will do nicely for deer, but if you want an all round load, use a 165 with Varget. The cartridge loves 'em and they'll kill anything you care to hunt.
 
sunray All semi-auto's(pumps and lever actions too) require FL resizing every time. It's the only essential thing involved with loading for a semi. Neck sizing only will give you feeding issues.
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S**t :mad:
I only bought the collet dies cause i bought new ammo and "fire formed" it in my gun...DAMN! :bangHead: $40 wasted
 
Sorry buddy but hand loading for the M14 is like putting a towing hitch on a Ferrari.

The M14 is an awesome gun and it can be fairly accurate but if you want the kind of accuracy that would justify hand loading, you need a decent bolt action.
 
Lol...yeah, I kinda figured that. But with the accuracy issues I'm having, I want to eliminate ammo as a possible problem. I was using American Eagle 150gr FMJ to dial it in. A few guys on here were saying they had problems with AE ammo.

I'll be making up 15 rnds with varying powder amounts and trying both the peep sight and scope. Trying my reloads and the AE with both the scope and peeps. Who knows, it might just be the mount.
 
Xman said:
Sorry buddy but hand loading for the M14 is like putting a towing hitch on a Ferrari.

The M14 is an awesome gun and it can be fairly accurate but if you want the kind of accuracy that would justify hand loading, you need a decent bolt action.
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there are those that would disagree with you- handloading for the 14 is INDEED worthwhile, both in terms of economy and accuracy- my isreali safequeens would do 1 inch in 100 yards with m118slr( special long range) that's specially tuned to the rifle- the norc shoots right with them- and that's a 5 shot group, off a rest , witha 4x-12 scope- a good portion of the "problems" i found were with the 150 grain ammo-esp the ivi surplus=that stuff doesn't group worth a ****- switch to 165 -168 and the rifle really hums-and if it was good enough for the us army marksmanship team( although theirs were tricked out) etc
 
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sunray said:
"...esp the ivi surplus..." IVI isn't made for great accuracy.
"...the accuracy issues I'm having..." It an M305?
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yea, i know- there's even a variance in the bullet weights themselves from 147 on the low end to as high as 155 - however, the ivi was extrememly cheap at the time-i got a bunch of it free with some other business- 20 rounds per box, white box, 7.62 nato ball- you know the stuff- nowhere near lake city quality
 
With mine, I use 150 Hornady FMJ's crimped in the cannulre. It shot best with 42gf of WC845. For a hunting load, I just switched to a Hornady 150 SP. They both shoot the same about an inch and a quarter. The second best powder was Bl C2.
If you hunt in the snow, be prepared to spend a lot of time clearing your front sight. Those ears collect every flake.
 
You can make hunting ammo and you can make match ammo, but big game hunting does not require match accuracy from your rifle. This is not to say that you should be cavalier with your loading practices, just that you don't need to meet the requirement of sub-MOA ammunition.

The key requirement for hunting ammo is that you rifle functions each time you press the trigger. In order to do this the rounds must be short enough to feed through the magazine, the primers should be below the case head to prevent slam fires, and the brass must be sized sufficiently to fully enter the chamber under the force of the action spring allowing the bolt to go into battery. A good bullet is better than a poor bullet, although poor bullets these days are getting tough to find, but some do shoot better than others in some rifles. Having said that choosing the correct bullet for the size of game you intend to hunt is a good idea.

If you want to load match ammo for your gas gun, most of the requirements of the hunting ammo still apply. The cases still need to be full length resized for ease of chambering, and the OAL of the cartridge must still be short enough that it feeds through the magazine. But there are things you can do to give you an edge.

Select your components from the same lot number. Segregate your cartridge cases and bullets by weight. Uniform your primer pockets and de-burr and uniform the flash holes. Check the necks for run-out, and when you have assembled your rounds, check the bullet run out and put any really bad rounds aside for practice sessions.
 
I use a Nosler Ballistic Tip at 150grs. with the OAL at 2.800". Keep it simple. Our average range for deer here in QC is 35 yards and that load does a minute at 100 meters with my Norc M305. I think it more than sufficient?
 
Xman said:
Sorry buddy but hand loading for the M14 is like putting a towing hitch on a Ferrari.

The M14 is an awesome gun and it can be fairly accurate but if you want the kind of accuracy that would justify hand loading, you need a decent bolt action.
Click to expand...

LMAO couldent have said it better myself.....:);):rolleyes::p


just get a full length sizing die set and load to book COAL and try it i do tat and then somethimes seat jsut a little longer and make sure it still chambers and see if it affects accuracy....
 
Xman said:
Sorry buddy but hand loading for the M14 is like putting a towing hitch on a Ferrari.

The M14 is an awesome gun and it can be fairly accurate but if you want the kind of accuracy that would justify hand loading, you need a decent bolt action.
Click to expand...

Taking accuracy out of the equation completely. Cost, is an excellent reason to handload for any caliber, or gun. 7.62x39 is the only thing you can buy cheaper than making yourself these days, and that's only with the corrosive crap.
 
Xman said:
Sorry buddy but hand loading for the M14 is like putting a towing hitch on a Ferrari.

The M14 is an awesome gun and it can be fairly accurate but if you want the kind of accuracy that would justify hand loading, you need a decent bolt action.
Click to expand...

The amount of shooting I do fully justifies loading for the M!4....couldn't afford to shoot it as much if I had to feed it factory crap, not to mention my loads function smoother and are much more accurate...:D
 
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