I think i am in the right forum. I am trying to load for straight out accuracy. I dont know what people mean when they say case matching, for weight, etc. Can any one shed light on this subject for me thanks. One more thing ive seen case capacity in grains of water?? Im lose there to. thanks all

bush

I think everyone is afraid to take on your question because it would take a book to answer it. Matter of fact, there are several books already written. If you can get your hands on one you'll learn a lot more than bits and pieces from us guys. Most Loading manuals will give you a start and then you can move up to books that are devoted to accuracy, such as some of the Benchrest books.

In a nutshell, any accuracy that comes from your brass will be enhanced if the cases are all the same. So most guys will buy a bunch of brass of the same lot number, sort it by weighing each individual case and grouping them into smaller lots, even filling each case with water, and weighing them full, to see if the internal volume (capacity) is the same.

That's only the first step. Then you make the flasholes all the same size and length, uniform the primer pocket depth, trim all to the same length. Turn the case neck walls to the same thickness. Get the idea??

Not everyone believes that all these things are important or necessary. For grand-daddy's 30-30, probably none of them are. For a Benchrest rifle, probably all of them are. All other rifles are somewhere in between.

Don't let this stuff scare you. Most of the things are easy to do and what better way to pass your time.

I'll let others fill in more details and tell you their opinions.

Good Luck

Ray

Thank you very much, Is there a book that you suggest. Ive read every reloading manual I have. Thanks for clearing some things up

I would go check out the following:

www.6mmbr.com
www.benchrestcentral.com
www.extremerifleaccuracy.com.
the last one is Mike Ratigan. He has written a book about benchrest, and all of the steps in prepping cases, etc to shoot groups in the "zeroes" at 100 yards. He is is Oklahoma; 580-256-2963 after 4:30pm CST.

It's a good read, and well worth the $41 for a softcover or $50 for the hardcover version, both include shipping. If you've ever wondered what it takes as far as equipment and technique to win a world championship, this is the book for you. I got mine about a month ago, and have read it three times.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

here are a couple more books that are real eye openers. for accuracy buffs.
The ultimate in Rifle Accuracy by Glen Newick
Dead On, by Tony M Noblitt and Warren Gabrilsks
Dave

Some folks get 1/3-MOA accuracy at 300 yards, 1/2-MOA accuracy at 600 yards and 3/4-MOA accuracy at 1000 yards with virgin (new, unfired) or full-length sized brass with a case weight spread of 1 percent. So I don't think a 2.5-grain spread across a batch of .300 Win. Mag ( 1.7-grain for .308 Win.) cases makes a difference. There's other things much more important.

Go to Sinclair International and get a copy of the "Benchrest Primer" If you can absorb all the information in there you will have the ability to produce ammo that you will have all the confidence in the world in when you squeeze one off.

thanks all

ok Jim White Where do I find the Benchrest Primer? Is it a book , online article?? Thanks

It's a book available at Sinclair Intl. I have both Glenn Newick and Mike Ratigan's books. They are really good.
Fred Sinclair posts here occasionally, do a search on his name, and send him a PM.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Bart B,

maybe, but I feel very confident saying that those people have once or twice done that, the serious accuracy students of any discipline spend a fair amount of time to eliminate the variables they can, and working on the two they cannot: wind and mirage.

Case Prep takes about one minute per case, and then, aside from an occasional anneal and trim; those cases are good until the primer pockets expand.

F'r instance, and not at all to puff me up; I won several pretty prestigious Hunter Class benchrest matches in the early and mid nineties. From 1990-1993 I was a Top Five shooter at every match I shot. I match-prepped thirty 308 cases, and neck-sized only. I bought 10,000 Sierra MK 150gr bullets and sorted them by length. I bought a 48lb keg of H4895. Then I practiced. I KNEW that any shot that did not score a 10-X was an error in condition assessment. I knew that. When I won the Oregon State Match I tied two other people at 100 yards and won the tie-breaker on "X" count. I did the same thing at 200, same two guys; same result. Those two other guys shot the same basic set up I did, even used the same bullets. They decided it was too much trouble to use the Sinclair Bullet Comparator for each one of those Sierra MK's. I found that there are three different ogive forming/pointing dies at Sierra for those bullets. I measured and learned that there is a short, a medium, and a long point up die, and with the short zeroed on a digital mike, the medium was .006" longer and the long one was .011" longer IIRC. Gauge twenty shorties, set the bullet .010" off the lands (standard on .308's) and the longest ones are jammed into the lands .002". I could load five of each one and shoot them at 100 yds. With my 36X B&L scope I would have three slightly different groups. All three were in the low .3" range, but they were nearly 1/4" apart on centers. If I pay $3.35 a gallon to fuel my Dodge Turbo P/U and drive 400 miles to Portland to shoot a HCBR match, I'm wasting an eight hour drive each way and nearly $180 in fuel costs to finish near the bottom of the pack.
You can only use your best judgment on the wind and mirage, but you can control all of the other variables. So you need to do that, or you are wasting your time shooting at a match.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

PS: I shot nearly 3300 rounds thru that rifle, and only lost five or six cases thru primer pocket expansion. The rifle still shot in the high .3's when I sold it.

Mike Ratigan is the current World Champion BR shooter. You will not find a more comprehensive book than Mikes.
Butch

In case anyone is looking for an easy accuracy fix through handloading:

I've found it useful to sort and cull cases and bullets by weight, though once you start buying match components the variations in weight and form diminish.

Once you get beyond basics + 1 or so, there are theories and opinions regarding accuracy that fly off in all directions. A lot of people have gone to jam seating to try to eliminate certain variables and uniform start pressures. Other people don't see any improvement doing that. I don't see a lot of serious competitors in the BR matches shooting Sierras anymore. If they use "factory" bullets they seem to use Bergers or possibly Shilens, but here's someone posting Sierra info pertaining to BR shooting....I don't get to as many matches as I used to, so take that for what it's worth.

I shoot mainly in the middle of the pack and so look for any advantage I can get. I've read everything I could get my hands on that was written by successful BR and High Power shooters. A lot of it was contradictory. Some of it just did not work for me. Some did. Looking back, I'd opine that time spent reading all that could probably have been used more profitably at the range, but after dark or on rainy days, it's nice to have something to read.

If the original poster is looking for accuracy in an off the shelf factory rifle (not stated in the post) he may be wasting a lot of money on it if he goes with a lot of the above advice.

People have mentioned also above that practice will do more than all the handloading techniques and tricks combines. I have to agree. If you don't have a rifle built to tolerances that can benefit from using techniques like jam seating and meplat rimming and case neck reaming and turning or internal capacity sorting, they're all a waste of time and money, but practice will always improve your aggs no matter what rifle you shoot. The information in reputable reloading manuals and a good neck die will do about as much as needs to be or can be done for your typical Remington or Ruger or Winchester, etc... Of, course it's fun to tinker and the gadgets and gizmos are neat..........

Thanks amamnn

I have never tried shilen or bergers, but I will sometime. and yes the gun is built to shoot. Shoots good so far I am lookin to make the "Perfect" handload . Well I will try Thanks all