vujade

I have a 45 case stuck in a sizing die but the rim is still there/intact. Federal Case. Lee sizing die. I've removed the die from the dillon press to take a better look at it. I've taken out the top part of the die/pin that pushes the primer out. Aside from sending it off, any suggestions? Or is the most cost effective thing to do is just buy a new sizing die (dangit, I hate to have to wait).

MNPS (metro schools) district office. 2601 Bransford Ave.

Even with the Hillary Hole, it looks GREAT. (just kidding, mine has one too; and it's not nearly as nice as yours). Beautiful peace!

So something like Blue Dot where it requires 10 or so grains may be a better one to start with. (vs. the 5-6 grains of unique?). then my margin of error is more forgiving.

...maybe one time it's advisable to NOT carry.

thank you. Then I'm glad I'm I got the 230 grains.

I have some left over Blue Dot that someone gave me. I also picked up some Unique today. I'm still reading before I start loading. I did load 5 'dummy rounds'; all fed/ejected well.

Pardon the floral prints but here is my new 'toy': It's the 1911 in the picture. It matches my 686+P revolver. The revolver's name is 'Smith', I've just named the 1911, 'Wesson'. Original I know. They are brothers from different mothers. I haven't shot Wesson yet; I hope to do so this weekend.

Hello. I picked up my first 45 and want to reload for it! For rifle (308), I develop loads using the ladder test/OCW test using .5 first and then .2/.3 grain increments to find the more specific recipe(s) for the best accuracy. For handguns - (.45 calls for 5.9 - 6.5 grains of Unique), .5 or even .3 grains is a whole lot more % of the total charge weight. (.3 grains may only make up .07% of the total 42 grains of Varget but .3 grains is 5% of the total 6 grains of Unique)... do you guys go to .1 grain increments when developing a load? I assume 25 yards to test for accuracy/groups? What kind of groups can you expect from a handgun at 25 yards? (while developing the load, I plan to hold the gun and rest the bottom of the magazine on a sandbag to try to get as consistent of a bench as possible)

silly question guys: is surplus powder corrosive?

Do the RK shows charge for minors (under 10) accompanying an adult ?

Tim. what kind of rifle are you loading 846 and getting 2766 with 168s? (and barrel length?) I'll also add that surplus "long range match" (also available from David) is pretty good; I just posted/shared some pics at another thread.

some more observations/possible next steps: - I ran a dry patch about 3 times during the 40 or so rounds today. They weren't substantially dirtier than Varget; in fact, I was surprised that they came out pretty clean. When I heard of 'surplus powder', I assumed they would be dirtier. - I'm going to make some rounds in the 42.5 to 43.5 range. This time go with .2 or .3 increments. - I am impressed that about all of those rounds had the same or similar POI. Is it strange that there is a could be large changes in powder weight (and velocity) and yet the POI is similar? Looking at the data (even if they are only 2 shot groups for the ones that I didn't have a full 3), one can argue that the 'sweet spot' is from 42.0 to 44 grains! - I understand that there may be large variances from lot to lot with surplus powder; I'm going to get familiar with the chrony and really get some good numbers. My plan is to document this and then whenever I get a new lot, make a few lighter rounds and compare the velocity and tweak the recipe accordingly. - Varget still gave me better groups (now that I have a chrony, I'll be interested to check those loads' SD). But these .4 - .5 inch groups are still enough to make it a good day for me. I think they will be perfect for practice rounds (when I'm shooting the rifle non-benched), practicing off hand shooting with my hunting rig or making some rounds if I decide to reload for the Saiga again. - If you are looking for some inexpensive powder that will still do the job; I'd take a look at this stuff and see if it works for you. Again, all safety precautions and warnings apply (twice and trice and then some).

a few mishaps: * A big mishap which will explain my 'incomplete' data in the notes/experiment. This is my first time using a Chrony so halfway through I got some REALLY strange numbers. All the numbers were showing well at first (2197 for 38 grains of LRM and 2189 for Varget, etc.) and then as I started to not get any readings on the chrony. After that, I started to get REALLY big numbers (3000+ fps on sets of rounds that I handloaded meticulously and didn't show any pressure signs/had light recoil). Towards the end, I fixed that issue and the chrony went back to reporting 'more correct' numbers. ** The other mishap was I was trying to get a case out of the box of handloaded rounds (all organized) and 10 of them fell out during the ordeal. Thus, I wasn't able to complete the 10 (3) shot groups. I ended up using them as outlined above... to make an 11 shot group.

So, what do I do with the 10 rounds that 'spilled over' effectively ruining my experiment for the day **? Well, I shot 1 round of one of my "1 hole Varget recipe". Sure enough it was right in the middle of a 100 yard square target. I then proceeded to fire the 10 rounds; same point of aim. Here is the group: (mind you, these 10 rounds ranged from 39.5 grains to 44.0 grains!) I had the chrony working by then and recorded their velocities in the upper right corner of the data page (as well as the 3rd shot which caused the hole way low and right. If it was one of higher velocity, that would explain it but it was one of the ones that should have been right down the middle): Still, I'm impressed with the 11 shot group: (.70ish if you discount the rogue round, a little over an inch if you count it). (I'll add that this was fast shooting, no time for the barrel to cool. No cleaning between shots. And I was a bit upset at myself for the mishap so I was just firing away.)

First observation - At first, I thought I was totally missing the central black targets. The 10x scope doesn't allow me to see much detail inside that black circle... so I didn't realize they were all in the black until a 'clear' was called and I walked up to the 100 yard line. I was surprised that they were all in there despite the big changes in grains of powder! When I was developing loads with the Varget, There were much more pronounced groups and shifts in POI. The very few chrony data I had showed some pretty decent standard deviations (if you remove the blatantly wrong ones (those in the 3000s fps). 41.0 grains had 2518 and 2504 fps. 44.0 had 2799 and 2781 fps. This is no where near conclusive but it makes me very hopeful.

These are the groups during the (rather incomplete) OWC test. I only had 1 shot 'groups' for 39.5, 40 and 40.5. (explained as part of my 'mishap') I only had 2 shots of 41.0 and 41.5 but good 3 shot groups for 42 and 42.5. Good groups for 43 and 43.5 and only 2 shots at 44.

I fired the 6 shots first to get a gauge of the speed and how close LRM is to RE15 and Varget. I then proceeded to do an OWC test from 39.5 grains to 44 carefully watching for signs of overpressure. These are notes: (hard to read but I'll try to explain the important stuff below). I had a few mishaps detailed below * **.

It took me a while to finally get to the range. Here's my report. I had a few mishaps (see all the way below); overall, I'm more than impressed: I going to split this up into several posts. The data I found alluded to this stuff being Reloader 15 and/or to use that data (and with the always added precaution (which I'll repeat here) to not use any published (especially on the internet) loads as your own and to always proceed with caution. Things will be different on your individual rifle. I found this to be most beneficial: http://www.6mmbr.cit...ierra308Win.pdf I loaded 10 x 3 rounds. 39.5 all the way to 44.0 in .5 increments. 2.865 OAL seems to be working for me so I kept it there. I also loaded 1 round at 38, 38.8 and 40.3 (38 just to make sure I had something light to 'test', 38.7 and 40.3 because I wanted to see how the velocity would compare with the RE 15 published data.) I also loaded corresponding loads in Varget for 38, 38.7 and 40.4. They should have corresponding velocities of 2500 and 2600 according to the table above. (I understood that with my shorter 20 inch barrel, I'm expecting a 20 fps loss per 1 inch (assuming the test data from the table above was a 24 inch barrel, that should be 80 fps loss). I was using Hornady match brass. (with the Hornady primers). These may be '2nd rate' brass as there were some imperfections with the lot but I did weigh them and culled the ones that felt different (some of them had bullets that didn't go in as smooth). I use Hornady Amax bullets, 168 grains. They are pulled but I weigh them and discard the ones that look too beat up. The rifle is usually sub .50 with my Varget handloads; lately, they have all been .25 size 5 shot groups. It's a .5-.75 MOA rifle with Factory loads (FGMM or Hornady TAP).

It took a while but finally made it to the range. Here are my results: I loaded up about 20 rounds of 308 on PPU brass (5 times fired; I knew this was going to hurt the brass and decided to use the ones that may be on the their last life anyway). 150 grain Hornada FMJ. OAL 2.75. 41 to 43 grains (small test) of Varget in .5 increments. My regular CCI 200 primers. I tested a few rounds by manually cycling and found that they moved ever so slightly. I thus put a very light factory crimp using the Lee crimp die. Very slight, just enough until it stopped moving when I reloaded some dummies from the magazine. I placed targets at 50 and 100 yards. A single 1 inch target per target page. I fired 5 shots with Brown Bear factory ammo to sight in. (no pics) but it was essentially a 3 and a inch group; all the shots on the 8x11 paper. I fired another couple of 3 shot groups. There was one flyer that opened it up to 5 inches. The other was pretty good right at 3 inches. I then started to fire the carefully hand-loaded ammunition at the 100 yard targets. They all were on paper but I couldn't best the Russian factory ammo's 3-4 inch groups; tying them best. There was no rhyme or reason or pattern on which loads were better; they were all just spread out on the paper. Frustrated, I used the last 2 sets of hand loads and fired at 50 yards (only had 42.5 and 43 grains left as I had extras of those. I compared them with PPU 168 grain "match" ammo and the same ole Russian 145 grainers: (the heavier bullets (PPU) didn't do too well. A non-inspiring 2.503 inch group @ 50 yards. The Russian Brown Bear did 1.6 inches @ 50. 42.5 grains of Varget load: 1.018 inches @ 50. 43.0 grains of Varget load: 1.222 inches @ 50.) The handloads did do better at 50. If you extrapolate those numbers, they could possible translate to a little over 2 inches at 100? I'll have to do something about getting a better checkweld; it was horrible trying to maintain a good shooting position with the rifle's stock/optics. But, this is why I may not be reloading for this 308: As I imagined, it was tough on the brass. I read about folks putting some tape on the dust cover; I may try that. But for just marginally better performance, I may just stick to the cheap Russian factory ammo and not worry about meticulous handloading for such a brutish weapon. (I still love the Saiga, just not for precise work)

I like my SWFA SS scope also. I bought it used for $100. (so you can find some deals there) It feels robust and like it can handle abuse. The parallax setting/adjustment didn't match but it otherwise works. 10x is enough for me. My 'nicer' scope is a Nikon Buckmaster and I love it. It's a variable 4-14x. Both are clear as clear.

Great advice so far. I'll also add: 2 other great/cheap mods that will help with the appleseed: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/662086/bell-and-carlson-extended-magazine-release-ruger-10-22-polymer-black http://www.midwayusa.com/product/568445/power-custom-extended-automatic-bolt-release-ruger-10-22-black You don't need to mess around with the 25 or 30 round mags, they are harder to use when prone. Just the good ole 10 round rotary mags are best. If you want to spend a little bit more money, you can upgrade the bolt handle; I prefer something a little larger. You'll need a gi/loop sling like this: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/213015/cj-weapons-ar-15-web-sling-cotton-black

I had to google/define what extruded is. yes. It looks like Varget (short sticks of powder).

Here is a pic of the stuff: (the other side has a warning label; that's it) The vendor said to use RL 15; it's supposed to be pulled from m118lr. But I know not to just use RL 15 data on assumption only. So thus my plan above. Looks like I need to get my hands on a chrono first.

I know we really love pictures especially of rifles in threads so I'll share this for now until I can report back after my test. Here is the rifle: (old pic, I've changed the scope since) Here is one of my best groups with the Varget: