Frequently Banned Troll
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It’s only a commercial that would make you smile
Starting reloading - what to get next?
- Thread starter Forkyfinder
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It’s Bucky
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What kind of SD’s and ES’s do you reloaders get?
Just curious. Picked up a chrono and I’m wondering how bad my factory ammo is in those 2 departments.
Just curious. Picked up a chrono and I’m wondering how bad my factory ammo is in those 2 departments.
How far do you plan to shoot?
Sheltowee
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I’m generally looking for an ES of less than 30fps and an SD under 10fps in my handloads using a 10-round sample. Not super common but attainable with some tinkering. A few examples:
338-06, 210 Barnes TTSX: ES 27, SD 6.2
338-06, 190 Hammer HHT: ES 19, SD 6.8
25-7 PRC, 127 Hammer HHT: ES 27, SD 7.5
25-7 PRC, 134 Hornady ELD-M: ES 24, SD 8.3
25-6.5 PRC, 127 Hammer HHT: ES 28, SD 9.2
25-6.5 PRC, 95 Hammer HHT: ES 32, SD 9.3
257 Ackley, 95 Hammer HHT: ES 23, SD 6.9
I would say I’m moderately anal when it comes to handloading procedure and might be able to knock those number down by another 10% if I weight sorted each projectile, turned necks for tension, etc.
Factory match ammo will likely be in the 50-75fps ES range and an SD between 15-20. I’ll be very interested to hear what you find, though.
It’s Bucky
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That’s exactly what I was finding (10 round sample just to play with the chrono), SD of 16 and ES of 58. I was 50fps slow on my guesstimated MV prior to the chrono.
Looks like you’ve got it dialed in!
Forkyfinder
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Super bad with m118lr - i got one too. About 90 ES over 10. Still shooting out some factory ammo before i start rolling my own for that.
Be a fun thread to see speeds, barrel lengths, temps, and ammo brands now that chronos arent clunky.
P.s.- this website has a free pressure simulator like quickload https://preciseload.com/
Sheltowee
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Which chrono did you go with? Thinking about retiring my Labradar.
It’s Bucky
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Local range has steel to 900 and I’ve been shooting it for a few years now with a few different cartridges, and sometimes they’ll put a coyote silhouette further, which is fun.
I don’t seem to have any issues with first round impacts on steel at the 800 yard mark and in (when it’s relatively calm), as wind calls seem to be my weakest link, and it’s almost always very windy/gusty and tough to call out there
I don’t really hunt past 300 yards much, just enjoy shooting a lot in the off season.
It’s Bucky
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Yes, I’m fascinated by that stuff as well.
16” barrel 22ARC, factory 62gr ELD-VT, had guessed/trued MV at 2,960fps prior to the chrono:
It’s Bucky
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I went with the Athlon Rangecraft. I had read mixed reviews on the archery numbers, but it was spot on for my bow compared to the 2 shops I’ve shot it at and for my bow, had an ES of .3fps over 8 shots, so I was pretty happy about that.
I’ve only put the 8 archery shots and 10 rifle shots over it so far though, so jury is still out I guess.
Sheltowee
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That’s the one I’m looking at.
sclancy27
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Interesting seeing other people's setup/process. I keep my reloading as minimal as possible, I firmly believe in point of diminishing returns.
1. I don't clean brass, so no tumbler, etc.
2. I don't anneal brass so no annealer. I buy good brass and once it's done I throw it away and start over.
3. I only reload when it's dark. If it's at the point in the day where I may watch TV, it's time to reload.
4. I load to mag length only.
5. I don't look for more velocity. If it's good enough, I stop.
6. Once I find good loads I buy a ton of those components.
7. I WILL NOT reload pistol. The only true catastrophic failures I know of with reloading were from people accidentally loading pistol powder in a rifle case.
Unlike most of you, I don't like reloading. I only do it because I like the quality control I get in my ammo and I like being able not worry if some store will have my favorite ammo all the time.
1. I don't clean brass, so no tumbler, etc.
2. I don't anneal brass so no annealer. I buy good brass and once it's done I throw it away and start over.
3. I only reload when it's dark. If it's at the point in the day where I may watch TV, it's time to reload.
4. I load to mag length only.
5. I don't look for more velocity. If it's good enough, I stop.
6. Once I find good loads I buy a ton of those components.
7. I WILL NOT reload pistol. The only true catastrophic failures I know of with reloading were from people accidentally loading pistol powder in a rifle case.
Unlike most of you, I don't like reloading. I only do it because I like the quality control I get in my ammo and I like being able not worry if some store will have my favorite ammo all the time.
It’s Bucky
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How much time/different loads does it take you on average to find those kind of numbers?
Looking at my data, had I only shot 4 or 5 shots, I would’ve thought my factory ammo was exceptional.
Not long at all. Picked the bullet I wanted to shoot and powder ahead of time.
One shooting session to pick the powder charge (maybe 15 shots), one shooting session to verify velocity.
Wind Gypsy
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That's about par to pretty good for factory ammo depending on cartridge and ammo.
Most of the claimed insane internet numbers you hear from people handloading are small sample size anomalies. I've had a whole bunch of 5-10 shot samples with less than 5 FPS SDs and basically none of them that will repeat that on command with different range trips and large sample size. Some cartridges are inherently easy to get low velocity deviations, some are more difficult.
It’s Bucky
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That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to reload.
Frequently Banned Troll
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It’s Bucky
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Shot 1726 yards this weekend. On my 3rd shot, I was able to walk one inside the 1.8MOA range from POA. Spotting impacts was challenging with decent soil moisture and shooting solo, but I recorded through my spotter and then would play-back the shaky videos and hope to see some movement. It was windier conditions than I was hoping for from the forecast. Kind of fun, not sure it was fun enough to do it again though.
Factory 7mm 180ELD-M. The ES that morning was 39fps with an SD of 13fps, producing a range of elevation impact of .7mils (2.4moa, 43inches) at that distance. Reloading would have definitely benefited me there for elevation consistency. Windage was very challenging, as a 2mph difference was significant down range.
I’ll likely be revisiting this thread in a few years when I hopefully get into reloading.
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Frequently Banned Troll
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That a ton of fun doing that. I really believe reloading is a must to get the most out of it, and if it’s something you plan to do a lot of, it could save you $ as good factory ammo is expensive. That said, reloading is expensive and time consuming. It would have to be something you enjoy doing as much as the shooting and testing different ammo.
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