Hello all, I have been reloading for a little while, but have just started looking around on here and started really trying to get some better loads. I am loading
30-06 with 165g boat tail soft points
I have varied the depth that I seat the bullets, and the powder.
I am shotting them through a bolt action savage, and when everythings right I can shoot 1/2groups at 100yards, but I am not as consistant as I would like and I know I can do better.

I am not sure how to decide on the proper depth to set the bullet and I am not sure how to measure how far the bullet is off the lands.

Any tips, advice or other info you can offer me would be a great help.

Thanks

kirker912. well, first of all welcome to the web cite. I load for 9 different calibers. the way i set my freebore is to take a cartridge that is full sized, then ream the inside just till the bullet being used has a slight tightness to it . i insert the bullet about 1/2 the way in the neck of the case load it in the action so it's in front of the extractor. when i close the bolt the bullet will seat itself and the bolt will lock. i eject the case carfully and measure the overall lenght. i recess the bullet another .020",set the bullet seater to that col. works for me cause 4 out of 7 rifles i have are wildcats. you can buy a col gauge and cases but it can get pricey. if you do a lot of different calibers. to each his own is what i say , but this is how i do it and it works for me. Lots a luck with your endeaver.reloading is a lot of fun and piece of mine. Dave

If you have a load for your Savage that will shoot 1/2" at 100 yds stop right there and use it! IMO, that's a very respectable load (and shooting).

Fireball.. That sounds like a good way to get the bullet seat depth to me. I had tried something like that before but didn't know how much to set it back after that, and wasn't real sure of myself since it made the load quite a bit longer than the factory ones. I'll have to load some like that and try tomorrow if the weather isn't too bad

craigster...thanks, I've been pretty happy with that.. though I am never done trying, I always feel that I can do a little better with more knowledge. Especially when I hear you guys on here discussing strain gauges, pressures and things like that. Sounds like a lot of the type thing I studied in college.

Another Q... which bullet do you all reccomend? Is the boat tail good, or should I try another. i eventually would like to be shooting at 400yards and further.

You seem to be on track with the loads. Before you change your loads up shoot the current ones at 400yrds. Try several loads. You may be surprised to find that your best 100 yard load is not the best 400 yards load. Bullets move around more during flight than people think. a .5" at 100 does not mean 1" at 200 and so on. I have seen .3" loads open up to 5" at 300 but a 1" load consistently shoot 2" at 300.

Don't angst too much about your cartridge length. Mostly it's another one of those "chicken soup" things that reloaders do. If you're shooting occassional .5 groups, what you need to do is find out what you're doing to get the .5 and keep doing it. Don't change anything about your reloading technique, just be very careful that you're doing the same thing over and over. When you do change something, change only one thing at a time and give the change the opportunity to add or subtract from your overall package.
Unless you've done quite a bit of bench shooting, I'm gonna guess that your bench technique needs some brushing up. What is your bench set up? Are you using bags or a front rest? Toe bag? How do you handle the rifle between loading a round and pulling the trigger? There are no answers, just more questions.

You are right about that one. I really dont have much when it comes to bench technique. i have never used bags, but would be interested in getting some and learning to use them. I have been making my shots using a blanket as a front rest and my fist between the forarm and blanket. I try to get to a position where I am on target when relaxed. Then I make my shot after I exhale and before I start to breath again.

Between shots I normally don't lift my head from the rifle. I take my right hand, open the action and load the next round.

Some of that I learned from studying some old military manuals, and the rest comes with years of shooting. What are your suggestions?

Kirker912,

Over the years I've had better accuracy with flat base base bullets, but that's just my experience. As far as bullet selection goes, try some of the match grade bullets. I'm not gonna suggest what brand to use, every rifle is different. I have a few rifles that shoot their best with el cheapo Remington hollow points and don't do too well with "match grade" bullets. Go figure.

Forgot to mention, two very elementary things I have found that have improved my shooting, a good trigger and a quality scope. I think you will find that your groups will be smaller with a 12x scope than a 4x, and better with a 2lb trigger than a 6lb. Also, I like to use 1/2" target spots. As the old saying goes, aim small, shoot small. Hope this helps.

Sounds like you're going in the right direction overall. First off, make you up some bags. Stop by a couple of car port sales and buy you some kids blue jeans. Cut some 8" tubes out of the legs, get some heavy duty rubber bands and some sand and, viola, sand bags. make them up fairly firm. Use one as a toe bag. That's one under the toe of the stock (at the rear of your set up. Put your rifle into the bags and adjust it until it's on target without you holding it. Slide the rear bag forward and back to adjust you elevation.
With a 30-06, when I'm ready to fire, I grasp the wrist firmly with my right hand (but not a death grip, that'll cause canting) and draw it into my shoulder, I use my left hand to move the toe bag around for a perfect alignment of the sights. I make minor adjustments in elevation by squeezing or relaxing my hold on the toe bag. I try not to "force" the sights into alignment.
Another technique is called "free recoil" but with a 30-06, I don't do that. I save that for .22 cal varmint rifles.
I agree, as posted above, a higher powered scope and a small aiming point makes for smaller groups. I have an old steel tubed 12x Weaver that I use for load development and commonly use .5-1" stickers for my targets.

Aim small.. shoot small. That sounds real familiar. I should probably change scopes. Do you think 12x is enough or should I go higher? I have an 8-32x44 that I have on another rifle. I've been thinking about trading those out and putting that on my 30-06.

I'll try to make up some sand bags this week. I've got to wait a couple days till the sand drys out. We got a couple inches of rain last night.

I use filter sand for mine. Get it at the hardware store and it's already dry. Plus it doesn't get that funky odor that creek sand does after a while.
I'd put the bigger scope on the '06 for load developement but I certainly wouldn't leave it on it.

Just wondering, why wouldn’t you want to leave the larger scope on the 30-06? You also give me a good idea about sand. I can use some of the blast sand I have in the shop. I never though about that stuff getting an odor to it when it comes from other places.

Also, I am wondering if I am sizing the brass farther than needed. I am using RCBS dies and they have me running the shell holder up till it touches the die. When I go to pull the case back out of the die it drags quite heavily on the center shaft the goes down inside of the case. Is this normal or should I not run the cases so far into the die?

IMO a 8x32 would be of no use on a 30-06. Assuming you're gonna use the rifle for hunting, it's just way too much magnification. Remember that as the magnification goes up, the field of view goes down.
What you're feeling on the downstroke of the ram is the resizing ball pulling thru the neck of the case. Put a bore brush in a drill motor and run it in and out of the necks of your brass, then take a Q-tip with a little resizing oil on it and very lightly lube the inside of the neck. (I assume you have a tumbler, if not, dispence with the inside neck lube) before you resize them. The resizing ball should be easier to pull thru and as a side benefit, your cases won't stretch so rapidly. What you're doing is full length resizing your cases. You'll learn other stuff later but for right now, you're doing okay.

I use Fireballs method to make a dummy for each bullet I use. size the case no powder, no primer. lube the bullet with Imperiel sizing wax. dirt cheap and a must have. seat the bullet into the case enough to hold it and use the bolt to push it home. Once i get the seating depth set to where I want it I size the dummy to that AOL and set my seater each time off of the one. Once the throat moves and the bullet needs move I pull it and start over. q-tip the expander ball with imperiel every so often and the drag will go away. I shoot 338-06 and a 280Ai free recoil. it gets kinda brutal on the bench, but it is the best way for me to get good groups. Basically line the gun up on target, with out indexing the gun lightly cradle the rifle and touch it off. recoil gets a running start at you. slams instead of pushes. but you do not twist/torque or pull the gun when you press the trigger. I get a flat a possible so my body has bone support not muscle support. 06 based rounds is a big as I can go shooting free recoil. It is a good method, just beware of it maybe causing a flich.

That makes a lot of sense. The inside of the necks looked pretty dirty on the last ones I reloaded and I didn't clean them up before I resized them. So my order is, and please correct me if I'm wrong.
1. clean and lube necks
2. resize and deprime
3. tumble cases
4. prime
5. powder
6. seat bullet

I have been concirned about developing a flench after a while so every time I shoot I put one round in the box with no powder and an old primer. That way I dont' know when its comming and I get a check each time I go out. Do you all agree that this is a good check?

Folks,

First, to a rookie like me, this is a gold mine of information. So thanks for the help. I've got a question regarding dies. I have inherited an older (but in great condition) RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press, but have a particular caliber I would like to load (besides my trusty 30-06) that RCBS does not make dies for. Is there any issue using Lee dies in a RCBS press? I'd like to know before I buy the dies...any thoughts would be appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by Dcube33:
Folks,

First, to a rookie like me, this is a gold mine of information. So thanks for the help. I've got a question regarding dies. I have inherited an older (but in great condition) RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press, but have a particular caliber I would like to load (besides my trusty 30-06) that RCBS does not make dies for. Is there any issue using Lee dies in a RCBS press? I'd like to know before I buy the dies...any thoughts would be appreciated.

Welcome to AR.

No problem whatsoever, modern dies have standard 7/8-14 threads as do reloading presses. There is one exception to this, old Lyman dies and presses had a 3/4" thread. Lee dies (and all others) will work just fine in your Rockchucker.

Kirker,

That's one way of self-checking for flinching. Another would be to buy a "snap-cap" (one of the spring-loaded plastic inserts shapped for your specific caliber) and have a friend put it in the rifle while your back is turned. This way you don't waste a primer and bullet in a dummy round and you don't risk harming the firing pin by dry-firing (although I've heard that the risks of dry-firing on a limited basis may be minimal, but why take the chance?). When I was learning to shoot as a high-schooler my father used to do this for me and it helped a lot. For safety I recommend the person putting the shell in the chamber slide the round into the chamber most of the way but NOT close the bolt - only you should do that once you're ready in safe firing position.

dcube33... I'll have to pick one of those up this weekend. I am headed to kansas city, MO for work, but it just so happens that there is a Cabellas in KC so I've managed to extend my "work" so I can pick up a few things.

stillbeeman... I found a bore brush about the right size today, chucked it up in the drill and went to work on the cases today before I sized them. That made them so much easier, and comparing them visually they look better too. It rained all day so i didn't get a chance to shoot any of them. I would think that this would make the cases more uniform in fit to the bullet.

I think your sequence is right on. ( that means its like I do it ) Using the dummy round as a flinch check is pretty cute. I wisht I'd thought of that. I will certainly use it in the future. Sometimes you can develope a flinch from just spending too much time on the bench. It goes away when you get rested but it plays hob with your last groups.

Note to Dcube33: you'll probably be passing that rock chucker on to one of your kids some day. I have a RCBS Jr press that I bought used over 40 years ago and it's still going strong.