OK, this is a question for the older jokers and a chance to pass along tips learned the hard way at the load bench.

What do you do that might be outside the norm and not according to instruction(s) at the load bench?

My .02 cents:

I decap as a separate step, clean and prep. Prep for bottle neck cases includes sizing and neck expanding (on the down stroke) as separate steps.

I weigh all charges for rifles and anything approaching max charges for handguns.

If a particular rifle hints that it is run out sensitive my first step is to index the cases after measuring RO and orienting the case in the chamber in like fashion for each shot. Easier done with single shots, or by single loading a repeater. The gun's response will tell you if this is an issue and if so, pull out the neck turning equipment and have at it...a wee bit at a time. There are other ways to deal with concentricity issues, but a uniform neck wall is a good start.

I anneal for jacketed bullets about every 4-5 shots and every other load cycle for lead. If loading cast bullets, the M-die or equivalent is a godsend and a taper crimp is the way to go.

Primer pockets are cleaned with a uniformer with each loading. It does it's job on the first round and cleans better than any tool I've used.

What's in your bag of tricks?

I suggested indexing rounds to a friend. His groups improved so much he thought I was a genius.

Look into every case after throwing a charge and before seating a bullet to check for proper powder level, too much or too little.

I load all my rifle loads on a pair of Dillon 550's.

One is set up for .223/.223AI and I run H335/Lever through the Dillon powder thrower.

The other is set up for .260, .243AI and 6 Dasher (swap the primer tube and feeder bar for small rifle primer) and I use a chargemaster for stick powder.

Bushing dies, micrometer seaters, Whidden tool heads and One Shot make cranking out good ammo pretty quick and easy.

I don't clean primer pockets, I throw all my charges, I don't tumble brass, I don't full length resize.

I do neck anneal, when I notice that necks seem to be getting a bit hard when sized.

Like SBTCO, I look into each charged case to see that the powder is to the expected level.

I neck size and then trim all new brass, so that it is all the same length and the mouths are squared up, before lightly chamfering inside and out.

When fireforming brass for my Lee Enfields, I use a thin strip of tape or o-ring around the case just in front of the rim on the first firing, to hold them hard back against the boltface and get them fully and concentrically formed to these (fairly large) chambers, without stretching. This is pretty specific to these rifles though.

There are no doubt many other things that you work out or pick up along the way. Things like using a case mouth tool to remove the crimp from primer pockets on brass that has them, for example.

Having consistent systems too, such as having my bench set up so that every process step proceeds from left to right, to avoid getting mixed up as to where I'm up to, and locking the door on the gunroom to avoid distractions.

Laffin here. I have been successfully loading .30-06 and .270 WSM rounds for the past several months, and I don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. I would assume that I'm doing things all wrong, if I weren't putting bullets right where I want to. I guess I take too much of a simplistic view of the process.

I came to understand that weighing powder charges is a waste of time for a lot of my shooting purposes. With capable rifles I've shot half moa ten shot groups with thrown charges of long stick powders like 3031.

I take steps to eliminate runout from the get go.

Yep. Load straight ammo. Like shot placement is to killing power, straight ammo is to accuracy.

I sort cases by neck concentricity or variance of neck wall thickness. Neck size with a good bushing die or the Lee collet die. Use a good seater die that seats bullets straightly. That will get you most of the way there. You can certainly try different bullets and powders, definitely try different powder charges and seating depths and even different primers as those can all make noticeable and sometimes significant differences, but straight ammo is the foundation of it all. It's amazing how many different combinations work when the ammunition is straight.

Now how much your rifle can utilize your super straight and super accurate ammo is a story for a different thread...




Also, since we're educating the kids, brush and floss your teeth, get a good education, and stop that before you go blind.

Or even if the rifle is up to it, how much can I get out of the difference between moa and half moa in a given circumstance?

Not sure I read that right, lemme get my glasses.

I think that true for quite a few applications, but with others the scales get some exercise. Targets 1-5 illustrate the point I think.

My best trick is understanding what things really cost, then spending money to save money. For instance, the cheapest way to get 30-06 brass is to buy loaded ammo in bulk. I recently bought 1,000 rounds of 180-grain Winchester Power Point 30-06 for about $625, or 62.5 cents per round. Buying Winchester brass and bullets, powder, and CCI primers online would cost 91 cents per shot plus Hazmat fees. (I didn't count taxes or shipping for either, so that's a wash.) Now I get to shoot 1,000 rounds, which will take about a year, for less than the cost of components without having to take the time to load it. Once it's all gone, I'll have a boatload of good, once-fired brass for load development. And if I'm forced to go hunt something on short notice, then I can use what I have on hand.

My second-best trick is understanding that I'm trying shoot big game animals from field positions inside of about 400 yards, not win Palma matches. I pay more attention to getting quality trigger time than I do to getting match-grade accuracy. If a load shoots 1.5 MOA or a little better with a Nosler Partition or Barnes TTSX, then I'm happy. That saves a LOT of time at the loading bench that would be better used shooting offhand, over a rucksack, or sitting with a sling.


Okie John

Cool topic.

I too decap all fired cases in a separate operation. I also clean all, or most of the powder residue on the outside of the necks with Hoppes #9, then throw them in a tumbler for a few hours. Probably doesn't make much of a difference in actual performance, I just like clean cases.

I use check weights to set my balance scale at the start of each and every powder charging session. I use stick powder exclusively, which can be very course. So I weigh every charge. Tried digital scales years ago, but noticed they would lose calibration often enough during the powder charging sessions to be a real pain in the neck. Once set, the balance beam scales are rock solid.

Seldom use expander balls anymore, except to clean up the necks on virgin brass. I discovered years ago, the neck expansion step made a lot of straight case very crooked. These days I use pin gages/bushing dies to measure/set neck tension. I don't turn necks. I like to use Norma and/or Nosler brass so I never found it to be necessary.

Usually neck size only for the first 2 or 3 firings, then anneal the necks and use a body die to set back the shoulder and resize the body.

Use a "critter", if I have one, to measure shoulder set-back and bullet seating depth. A "critter" is about an inch or so of the tag end of a barrel reamed to shoulder depth with the same reamer as used on the chamber. Of course this is available only from a gunsmith with a rebarrel job. It is a very useful tool. First time I saw one, had to call the gunsmith to ask him what it was and what was it used for. As soon as he told me, it was an "A Ha" moment.

Only crimp cartridges .40 caliber and up, but I haven't hand loaded the ,375 H&H much. I may discover the .375 H&H needs crimping too. Like to use the Lee Factory Crimp die.