Re-Pete

Quickload, but read , study, and inwardly digest the manual, and start 10% lower............the most useful bit of shooting related s/ware I've come across. Covers almost every bullet & powder under the sun. Second is Litz's tome "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting", together with the included calculator CD. All you'll ever need............ Pete

How much damage are collared doves responsible for?..........likewise stock doves, also omitted? Pete

Matching leather sniper gloves.......? Pete

Is it really mauve, or does your white balance need adjusting? Pete

OK for the white felts, but what about the "Extreme" felts with the brass wires? And is the white VFG stuff just felt, or is it something special? They only list two sizes, 6mm and 8mm that would be relevant, and they're "medium" hardness. Pete

On this occasion, I think the object was to familiarise the NRA guys with the Labradar as much as catching a transgressor...............the figure I gave them was within 20fps of their measurement, which was nice. Pete

A truer word was never spoken....................spot checks of shooters incompetence cards might also turn over some stones................. Pete

At a recent shoot on Stickledown, NRA guys turned up unannounced with a Labradar and measured my 6.5x47 MV. The conversation that followed indicated that spot checks would be introduced to ensure compliance with the aforementioned new rules. This can only be a good thing, if it gets off the ground.............. Pete

I've got a Third Eye Spartan 3, 6.5 cal, M18x1, EOB, very light use, <100 rounds, surplus to requirements............ Pete

Re 6BR barrel life, I have a 30" Lothar on mine which has done well over 2000 rounds since I've had it, (105 Scenars at 2900 fps, RS 52), and it reputedly went round the galaxy on another rifle before I got it. Still good for 1 MOA at 600yds off a bipod. Pete

Brilliant! 😁😁😁 Pete

I use RS powders exclusively, and while I agree that the QL predictions with RS52 leave a lot to be desired, I've found it pretty much spot on with RS60. Some recent results in 6x47: 38.6 grains RS 60 115 grain DTAC (HBN) QL 2956, Labradar 2970 fps 39.4 QL 3008 Labradar 3020 fps However, neither of these grouped as well as 39 grains of RS62 which QL predicted 2932 fps, and Labradar measured 2854 fps. RS62 is a bit slow, but won't fry the barrel like RS60, and at 2854 fps MV, the 115's are still comfortably supersonic at 1000yds. These loads are OK in my rifle, but may not be in yours, so usual caveats apply. Pete

Yeah, but it won't impress your mates, will it ? Not shiny and expensive looking..................someone will no doubt pipe up about "Spends 5K on a rifle and reloads using a block of wood with holes drilled in it???" Mine are made from a bit of old decking joist, pine, I think, impregnated with some arsenic compound to stop rot.😉 Pete

Following a link posted here a while back, I just bought one of these..........................CNC machined black anodised aluminium, very well made, and closely following the profile of the original factory made cheese version. Everything fits as it should. Contact Adrian at: http://www.surreygunsmithltd.co.uk/ Pete

Are you sure about the barrel profile? This looks like a straight taper, the Palma is swamped...............then again, it might be the angle the photo was taken at. Pete

To illustrate my point, here's a practice card I shot on Stckledown at 1000yds (electronic, F-class scoring) a while back with a 6BR. This was on a reasonably calm day (for Stickledown), and a modest load producing an MV of 880m/s with 105gn Scenar bullets and standard KVB-223 primers, well within safe pressure limit. 7 out of 10 shots look like they're within 1 MOA. I could have pumped it up to find another node, but why? I'm happy with this result from a barrel that looks like been round the galaxy a couple of times, fired off a home made bipod. Pete

Agreed..........I've noticed a tendency in discussions on reloading to imply that "faster is better"..................comments like "back off half a grain when the bolt gets too stiff to open", or "when you notice a shiny patch on the case head", and those above about pierced primers. This gives the wrong message to those starting to reload. The whole point of rifle shooting is to try and get a decent group at whatever distance you shoot at, not to fill your chrony display with 9's (and possibly ending up with brass fillings, or wearing bits of your bolt and receiver). Pete

I've found Litz's Point Mass Ballistics Solver to be very good, and the huge tome it comes with is a mine of info. It's saved me shedloads of time and hassle. Pete

Is there a "consumer" ballistic calculator that will get POI within 0.5MOA of point of aim at 1000yds?..............on Stickledown on a windy day? I'd like to see a demo of that................ Pete

I only ever necksize until the cases get a bit stiff to chamber, usually after 3 or 4 firings. Then I run them through a body die and neck die. Flame anneal after 5 or 6 firings. I'm not a good enough shot to be able to claim there's any difference in group size owing to the small differences in case volume. Pete

I flame mine in the dark so that I can see the actual colour. Gave up messing about with tempilaq..............the gas flame varies as the gun heats up, so keeping an eye on the colour and adjusting the exposure time works best for me. I'm on a batch of 6.5x47 cases that are still going strong after 22 firings, annealing after every 5 or 6. Pete

I came to the same conclusion, albeit by a slightly more Heath Robinson approach involving a pair of long nosed pliers and a couple of burnt fingers............. The Lyman melter got the salt up to 550C in around 25-30 mins at full throttle, but with the knob at 2/3rds of it's travel, the temp swing between power on and power off was over 50C. Needs more work.................I guess that when the melter is used for lead, it's nowhere near as critical. Pete

Nope, just "B/FL TO". It looks like it might be a "Type S Full Bushing die" going by the illustration in their catalogue, but a search on the part no gives 0 results......and there's no "S" on the die. Pete

I have a two die set, 223 Rem. One die has "223 REM NK 3S" stamped on it, the other has "223 REM B/FL TO". The latter has a floating bush which is too large to fit the NK 3S, so can anyone tell me what "B/FL TO " stands for? I was under the impression that only the bushed dies were designated Type "S". TIA Pete

What does "ttt" signify? Pete