First load. Should I throw this out?

[DesertBull]

I can't remember the last time I carried ammo in my magazine. Just as fast and more reliable for me to single shot it.

[roninflag]

[murfys69law]

That's a great video Ron. Thanks for sharing.

[roninflag]

what scope on the .270S? by using a hornady comparator a .270 modified casing and a dial caliper , you can determine how far to the lands. or you can seat bullets out colored with a sharpie until you can see land marks on the bullet . then seat them .030 off.

[roninflag]

use all the same brass in the same gun use brass from the same brand , nosler if you have it. lapua does not make .270 brass . use a match primer like a br-2 or a 210m. lightly chamfer the case mouths inside and out after resizing.

[lancetkenyon]

I am one of the "accuracy freaks". If it doesn't shoot SUB 1/2 MOA, it gets a lot of tinkering. Even a factory rifle.

 

Here is my routine.

 

Use all of the same brand brass

Trim to length

Chamfer inside & outside of neck

Weight sort brass to within 2 grains max difference

Anneal brass

Full length resize brass (even if new)

Tumble clean

Uniform primer pocket

Deburr flash hole

 

Decide what bullet I want to shoot and research, research, research what powders work best in that cartridge/bullet weight combo. If 50% of the reloaders are using the same powder, and the other 50% are using 10 different types, that tells me it is probably a good place to start.

 

Load for a ladder test very precisely. Start middle of the road for charge weights, and go up to at least 2 grains ABOVE max load. Only your gun will tell you what is max for your gun. Not a reloading manual, not a website, not friends/family. So if a reloading manual says starting charge weight is 36.0gr. and max load is 42.0gr., I start at 39.0 and go up in .5grain intervals and load ONE each up to 44.0gr.

 

I always seat the bullet for my ladder test .0010" jammed into the lands. This will give you max pressure, meaning once you get a good load and start seating depth changes, your pressure will go DOWN and be a safe load. I don't worry about mag length, but I only have one rifle that has turned into a single shot from a repeater. My .300RUM. Just make the first shot count.

 

No go out and shoot, starting at the lowest powder charge weight, at 400 yards minimum, and work your way up in charge weights until your gun shows the slightest sign of pressure (sticky bolt lift, hard to eject cases, ejector marks, case head swipes, flattened or cratered primers, etc.). You should have a decent idea of approximate velocity and drop at 400 yards by the books and a good ballistic app. Shoot at the same point of aim for all shots once you start. Use an 18-24" target. This will take either a lot of walking, or a friend to mark the target after EACH SHOT and number the holes in order.

 

You should see a couple different accuracy nodes. One low, and one high. A node is where 2-4 rounds in a row group together vertically even with different charge weights. Maybe 40.0, 40.5, 41.0 or 42.0, 42.5, 43.0. The barrel whips and travels in a sine wave when you shoot it. These nodes are where your bullet leaves the barrel at either the top of the wave or the bottom of the wave, and it pauses for a millisecond before it starts moving in the opposite direction.

 

Take one (or both) of the nodes and start .2 grains below the lowest charge weight, and work up in .2 grain increments to .2 grains above the node top charge weight, 3 to 5 rounds for each weight. Go out to 100 yards and shoot for groups. Pick the best group, let's say 42.8 grains. If you can get the best load in the middle of this group, that is perfect. It gives you some lee way with velocity if you choose a powder that is not very temp sensitive.

 

Go and start seating from .0010" jammed in .0200" increments deeper, and load 3 for each seating depth. Go and see what works best.

 

If you want, you can try changing primers at this point if you are happy with what you have worked up. I don't, but I use match primers when I can. But.....if you are not satisfied, guess what. You should start over with either a different powder, or a different bullet. Not all bullets are as accurate as others. And not all guns will like a premium match quality bullet. Some like low velocity/low pressure, some love a max load and screaming fast bullets. Some like heavy, some like light bullets.

 

Consistent, accurate reloading is key. I weigh each charge weight on a good beam scale, even when throwing them from an electronic scale.

 

I have only had one very picky rifle. It took years to develop a great load for my .22-250. I tried 10 different bullets, and probably 7 different powders. Most people would have sold it off. It was always a 1+ MOA gun, but once I found the combo, it turned into a sub-half MOA coyote slaying machine.

 

My last word of advice. Practice, practice, practice. Aim small, miss small. At distance, your round is only half of the problem unless you practice with your rifle.....a lot. Without the fundamentals of shooting, your gun is way more accurate than you are.

[azbow]

Great info there Lance. You could make some pretty good money if you wanted to work on people's guns and finding out what they needed to shoot accurately.

[lancetkenyon]

Great info there Lance. You could make some pretty good money if you wanted to work on people's guns and finding out what they needed to shoot accurately.

Funny. I got a notification on this thread and just saw this post. I am actually doing load development on a member's rifle right now.

[azbow]

If you had answered it promptly, you might have been talked into getting my gun to shoot....lol