Andrew

I have often said that I would give my concentricity gauge  to anyone who knocked on my door and asked for it. I have the Hornady and it worthless. Even using cheap Lee dies I'm within their standard of .003" run out and indeed, straightening out ammunition didn't produce any results I could see on paper or steel. I bought the Hornady on a lark (gift cards) and it was the straightening device that got my interest. With out it, the tool is just showing you something that, by in large, you can't do anything to change. You can buy different dies or do something differently, but that is a deep rabbit hole to fall into. FWIW, my FL resized cases with bullets seated to full depth gave the best run-out readings  for standard commercial dies.~Andrew

Here, a Lee FCD is about $15 US. If you don't like it you can not use it. I shot 40 rounds of crimped Grendel this morning. Nicely accurate.~Andrew

13 hours ago, Popsbengo said:

I have read that crimping can improve ES/SD due to raising the release pressure to a consistent and repeatable amount.  I believe part of the reason for jamming into the lands is to achieve the same benefit.  Crimping makes sense as it 'overrides' neck tension issues somewhat.  I wonder if it may also act to make the round more concentric ?

Have you ever checked that before and after crimping?

No. I haven't. I have always said that anyone  who shows up at my house and asks for it can have my concentricity gauge. I shoot at long range with my Creedmoors,. I crimp all my loads for the reasons you state. (So do must ammunition makers) I recently let a kid shoot my TAC A1 with 140 grain Custom Competitions seated in Norma brass and crimped. The shooter was of the opinion that crimping ruined the load. With my TAC and the ruined loads he shot a 3.5 inch group at 775 yards. Now he doesn't know what to think -other than that  he wants a TAC A1. As I said, I crimp everything but it entails extra work to some. I trim all my brass to the length of the shortest case in the LOT to make crimping uniform. Of course, I mind the details in the rest of the load chain as well.~Andrew

I won't roll crimp but I am a huge proponent of using a Lee Factory Crimp Die. It doesn't require a cannelure. I crimp every round i load. If Lee doesn't make one for the cartridge I'm shooting , I have them make one custom. (A 9.3x57 was my most recent purchase) It will lower your ES and SD. From the 22 Hornet to my 300 Win Mag Long Range Target loads, my loads are not fully finished until they are crimped.~Andrew

18 hours ago, Scrumbag said:

That does indeed look nice, Andrew!

Any chance of some pictures of your other CZ527s and their bedding jobs?

Scrummy

The next time I have reason to remove the wood from one of my CZ's I'll take some pictures.
~Andrew

I had to pillar bed my standard American Grendel so I did three other CZ's at the same time. This new system was a real (pleasant) shock to me. I had grown accustom  to fighting CZ bedding. I wasn't looking forward to going through that again. CZ finally got smart.~Andrew

I shot my T1X against an original Finnfire Varmint. There were actually two T1X and the SAKO. Three shooters swapped guns around, shot a large variety of ammo through all of them, and concluded that the Varmint is a nice gun but shot no better than the T1X. That makes sense as the barrels all come off the same machinery.~Andrew

My latest 527 American Varmint came with a new bedding system. There is a corresponding cut in the receiver to mate to the steel block. Bedding done at the factory. Shot beautifully right from the box.~Andrew

Were they adjusted to identical pull weights before the installation of the spring? What I'm saying it that a spring is one facet in the quality of a trigger pull. A few microns difference in the surface finish of all the mating parts can cause two identical rifles to have very much different triggers.~Andrew

Different machining. Different sear geometry.  Think of it: Two identical rifles from the same factory. Trigger groups machined on this same machinery before installation. Different trigger pulls.  You wouldn't expect changing the spring would change this, right?.~Andrew

It depends on the volume of shooting. I have often said that if I was wealthy, I would not reload. There are so many excellent factory loadings out there (Hornady 140 grain Match 6.5 CM, Fiocchi 50 grain VM for223 come to mind) that I could be happy doing without it. Unfortunately, I shoot too damn much. Dusted off 80 rounds of 6.5 Grendel Sunday evening alone. That is only one rifle. I would be bankrupt in a month if i didn't' buy bulk components and handload.~Andrew

I love 22LR rifles and have too may of them to remember. I own Anschutz, Ruger, CZ's (many of them) Savage, Hammerli, high end Remington and Winchester, and a few others not worth mentioning. The rifles I like the best are my pair of Tikka T1X. I feel like a broken record posting this, but they are one of the most universally accurate 22's I have shot. Not fussy about ammunition. Even the cheap bulk ammo available here seems to generally shoot better through the Tikka than any other rifles it's fed to. Good match ammunition performance is limited by the LOT of ammo and the shooter's skill. The T1X can drop into chassis made for the T3. I have one of mine in a KRG 'chassis' that is pictured elsewhere on this site. I use it for  prone, 200 yard target shooting. My other T1X is kept as it came for hunting. It is as accurate as the target rifle.

I have shot three different T1X. All were exceptionally accurate. When pitted against a heavy barreled SAKO FinnFire there was no difference in accuracy.~Andrew

I shoot 10X at 1000.~Andrew

On 4/3/2020 at 2:09 PM, Panda said:

I actually discovered I still have about 150 of the 175 TOTMs in the bottom of my store box tucked away below the juggs. I may pull them out to compare them to the Nosler 175 RDFs during my enforced home period as I can't find any data on the Noslers other than length and bc.

I use the 175 RDF out to 1100 (so far) in my 1-10" 308. I like them quite a bit. I used IMR4064 as fuel but am considering a shift to Shooter's World (Lovex) Match Rifle. Our targets are MOA plates over varying, open terrain that has shifting wind patterns (right left, up hill and down) and I didn't have any misses that couldn't be attributed to wind or me. All prone off of a bipod.

Due to my location, I can get RDF's at a discount from Nosler so I stocked up before the CV19 buying hit. I'll be shooting them for a while.~Andrew

PS: I seat them to Nosler's recommended OAL

204, 223, 300 AAC, 7.62x39. Great accuracy. Additionally, the 123 grain for the 7.62x39 acts like a big game bullet on deer at moderate ranges.~Andrew

When a US importer was down to the cracked stock dregs of his BRNO 2 rifles I bought what he had left: 13 barreled receivers, 6 complete bolts, a barrel of bad stocks, and a few pounds of assorted bolt parts and trigger groups. I assembled a rifle for my girlfriend when we first started dating. It was dated in the 1960's. I repaired the stock and put it into good order. On our first range trip together, we got it zeroed at 25M and she proceeded to shoot the staples out of the target with open sights. (ranch girl) She now has other 22's but she loves her BRNO.~Andrew

6 hours ago, MarinePMI said:

It's quite possible I just ended up with a bad batch (I had heard similar, that a bad batch had gotten out).  I'll just blame @Andrew, since he picked up the ammo for me. 😂😂

 

This year I'll be loading up some 130gr Gamechanger Sierras, and see how they perform.

Can I get you a little cheese with that......?

Frankly, I would use 140 Sierra Game Kings. I have killed a few deer with them and I cannot find fault. People waaay over think it~Andrew

I don't think much is influenced by a decent press. Hornady's Precision Hunter line, and Match ammos are loaded very quickly on automated machines and frankly, some of the most accurate ammo I've shot.~Andrew

Excellent purchase.~Andrew

One magazine? Simple test is to swap magazines. If you were local to me we'd suss it out pretty quick.

Binary triggers are a hoot. ~Andrew

Hi velocity ammo is fine. I would make sure the extractor hook is free and clear to grasp the case. One item with the S&W is that a number of rifles came from the factory with bad headspace. Not headspace in the way we usually think of it, but the recess on the bolt face was cut too shallow. This is a known issue with S&W and they will send you the gauge you need to check it, free of charge. It's just a small tab of metal you insert into the recess of the bolt.  I'm sure someone in the UK has one but as a quick check, remove the bolt and see if you can slip the rim of a unfired cartridge under the extractor and into the rim recess. If you can't get it past the extractor that's a problem. If the rim won't cleanly sit inside the recess on the bolt, you might have a out of speck bolt. Make sure that recess is spotlessly clean.

I have an M&P with a binary trigger. My girlfriend has the same, and a buddy has one as well.  Rock solid reliability. I did order the gauge from S&W and checked all three guns. ~Andrew

Why buy an Anshutz to rebarrel??  It's like buying a Ferrari to install a volkswagen engine. 

Get a Tikka T1X, drop it into a decent chassis, and spend the rest of your budget on glass.~Andrew

On 3/21/2020 at 1:54 PM, Woodlander said:

How can I prevent my M&P 15 from jamming.  I’m lucky to get through a magazine without a jam?  I’ve tried 3 types of HV ammo, not much difference. I’ve cleaned it a few times (should I clean after every outing) is there any specific part that if dirty, is responsible for causing jams?

 Thanks 

So 'jamming' is kind of an all encompassing term. What is it doing, exactly? My M&P got 600 rounds through it at it's last outing -much of this fired rapid fire with a binary trigger- and never once did it misfeed or fail to fire: and that after a previous 500 rounds with no cleaning. I shoot CCI Blazer, Mini Mag, Geco, Aguila.....SK..... the gun is a real trollop when it comes to ammunition. In binary I can loose 50 rounds from a Black Dog drum magazine in about 4 seconds. Never quits. 

Extractor replacement might be in order. Make sure the groove for the extractor in the rear of the barrel is clean. Don't over lubricate it. A drop of oil on each rail and one on the return spring should be good. I never clean the bore, proper.

Did you buy the rifle new? or 2nd hand?~Andrew

On 3/22/2020 at 12:06 PM, Popsbengo said:

6.5x55 very widely available for brass or factory ammo.  Yes, we are aware of the different pressures for older guns vs. modern stuff.

I'm swinging towards 6.5CM as it's popular (good choice of rifles) and brass etc is plentiful

I have twelve 6.5x55's and four 6.5 Creedmoors. I love the x55 cartridge but the Creedmoor gets the nod these days.~Andrew

Buy the one that lists data for the powders you can get.

Raw data is available from manufacturers on-line but I still like books. I once bought every loading manual, old and new, I could lay my hands on but that is slowing down as I settle into a pool of known resources. I do like to experiment (Lovex powders being the most recent group) so on-line data is my one option. Luckily, data on line can be very handy but the power eventually runs out. I printed all the Shooter's World/Lovex data and put it into a binder for that reason.

My resentment towards on-line data is that many new reloaders start with data and no instruction. I wish new reloaders would read a book on the subject. Fifty years ago, my uncle, a good reloader and gunsmith, made me read a 900 page book on the principles and practices of handloading before I could touch his equipment. It paid dividends. Without the internet, where would the fellows experiencing 'sooty cases' or having they rounds not chamber go for help? ~Andrew