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Old November 15, 2011, 11:12 PM   #1
Lilswede1
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Am I being Anal or what

Dillon 550 Progress press
Dillon Digital Scale
Hornady tool attached to calipers measures ogive.
Loading .223 using 2230 and 50 gr. Blitzking bullet.
I get a variance of +/- .001" on my powder.
And +/- .001" on seating depth.
Is this enough to affect accuracy.
Ammo is for critter shooting in Montana but I like to have my shooting as accurate and consistent as possible.
What you guys think?
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Old November 15, 2011, 11:22 PM   #2
1Hobie
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Yes. You're as close as you can get outside a lab.

hundreds maybe, thousands yea sure(I meant that worrying about .001 is not a worry). What's the gun you're shooting? What twist rate and barrel length?

That being said, press on, what the heck it's yours to shoot. BTW, what's your run-out, brass weight deviation, bullet weight consistency, and so on and so forth?

Not making fun of you, I really like taking the time to produce fine rounds.
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Old November 15, 2011, 11:23 PM   #3
AllenJ
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+/- .001 is very small, you won't see a difference.
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Old November 15, 2011, 11:24 PM   #4
kilimanjaro
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5/1000ths is plenty close for tolerances at home reloading benches. You really can't shoot any better than that, anyway.
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Old November 16, 2011, 09:05 AM   #5
Don P
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Quote:
Am I being Anal or what
Yes. Can you shoot the rifle with 100% of its accuracy that has been built in? If yes than still anal about ammo. You asked and opinions are given.
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Old November 16, 2011, 09:51 AM   #6
jepp2
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A book that has been suggested on here many times "The Precision Shooting - Reloading Guide" edited by Dave Brennan is an excellent resource to guide you in improving the accuracy of your handloads.

I'm not quite sure the powder accuracy number you quoted?

But rather than focus on holding the OAL to +/- .001", you might have better results focusing on:
-bullet selection, weight variation, and seating distance off the lands
-brass selection, preparation, weight variation
and so on and so on.

I personally believe .004" of bullet T.I.R. will impact accuracy much more than the same .004" variation in OAL. Not that OAL isn't important, but other variables may be more important. If your brass is varying in weight significantly, you can spend all the effort in world getting the same powder charges and still have pressure/velocity variations.
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Old November 16, 2011, 11:55 AM   #7
RevGeo
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No such thing as being too precise with reloading. It's not necessarily necessary to produce the tolerances you are using for accurate ammo, but so what? If you are happy with what you are doing keep doing it.
I'll just bet you are turning out some consistanly accurate loads.
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Old November 16, 2011, 12:16 PM   #8
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Read this article about perfect conditions and shooting. Don't know if you have seen this yet. We can control atmospheric conditions and still not shoot well.

Secrets of the Houston Warehouse

http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/max357/houston.html
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Old November 16, 2011, 12:47 PM   #9
wncchester
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"I get a variance of +/- .001" on my powder."

That's incredably accurate, I've never seen an affordable scale that would be that close, .1 gr. is the norm! And it really wouldn't matter, both primers and even closely selected cases will make a bigger difference than that.


"And +/- .001" on seating depth."

Your bullets will usually vary more than that, don't sweat it.


"Accuracy" (consistancy) in reloading is important but there's a limit to how much total consistancy matters. A properly developed load is much more tolerant of small variations in powder and OAL than many seem to understand.
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Old November 16, 2011, 06:18 PM   #10
Lilswede1
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My bad on orginal thread

Powder charge wasn't off +/- .001" it was +/- 1/10th grain.
Trying to load 26.0 gr. Accurate 2230 and the Dillon drops 25.9 to 26.1 gr.
I am loading these rounds for a friend who will meet me in Montana next spring and we will shoot up some gophers and dogs..
I check each round and make sure all his are right on 26.0 gr.
After his 600 - I have 2500 to reload for myself. On reloads I will be shooting
was wondering if I need to be so anal.
Will be a month before I can get to the range and confirm what I learn here.
Someone was right too, at 65 years young I cannot shoot nearly as accurate as I hope to be making the bullets.
On a good eye day at the range I am almost satisfied with a 1/4" MOA at 100 yds. 3 out of 5 touching and the other 2 close.
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Old November 16, 2011, 07:04 PM   #11
1Hobie
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What gun are you shooting?

It really boils down to, among all the things mentioned above, is the capability of the rifle you're using. I'd like to know what you're using. 1/4 MOA is pretty darn good! How's it stay together farther out?

I spent a lot of time learning how to produce better loads for my PSS 700 in
.308 flavor. I got her to print pretty tight with most loads. Not benchrest by any means, but good enough for me to be happy.

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Old November 16, 2011, 09:17 PM   #12
30Cal
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I'm a big fan of measuring results on a target. If I can't measure it and it isn't necessary for safety or function, I don't spend the time.
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Old November 17, 2011, 02:34 AM   #13
Lilswede1
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Gun used is a

Tikka T3, 1-12 twist stock gun although I did tweak the trigger a little to soften it up. Also has a 4.5 - 14 Nikkon scope
Had a Rem 700 and a CZ but was not happy with either.
The Tikka shoots a lot better then me.
Have tried several powders H335, 748, Benchmark, Varget but 2230 really meters better then most and shoots good in this gun.
The Blitzking bullets shoot pretty much the same as V-max or Nosler's but are more devasting to the critters.
When working up a new load I will take my son or grandson and have them shoot several groups.
Amazing what young eyes and steady hands will do for a grouping.
We have a private gun range that only goes to 100 yds. but was making quite a few 200+ yd. shots on gophers last spring. We figured an 85 - 90% kill rate at that range. One confirmed hit each at 287 and 305 (partner using range finder). Even with the scope can't see any further.
Got some good video of the blow-ups (whole 'nother story).
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Old November 17, 2011, 08:47 AM   #14
jmorris
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Quote:

Powder charge wasn't off +/- .001" it was +/- 1/10th grain.
Just goes to show, your not too anal.


Really, measure the consistancy of the brass and bullets you are loading with to see how close they are. It also depends on what tools you are using to measure with. A digital caliper has a resoultion to half a thousandth but is not that accurate.

A digital powder scale will show you to the tenth of a grain but what if the powder drop is throwing 26.5(9) grains and one a hundredth heavy hits the scale and it displays 26.6. The weight wasn't off by a tenth but it looks like it.
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