Let's talk about precision reloading

[opsoff1]

I agree, and it reinforces a hard lesson. I try to impart this everytime a friend / fellow shooter / coworker wants to get into reloading - "Buy the best you can afford up front, because you'll invariably want better stuff and all the cheap stuff is justed wasted $ and effort" I have boxes of equipment <ahem> mistakes...

[taliv]

great thread. some new tools here i've never seen.

[Waylander]

I agree, and it reinforces a hard lesson. I try to impart this everytime a friend / fellow shooter / coworker wants to get into reloading - "Buy the best you can afford up front, because you'll invariably want better stuff and all the cheap stuff is justed wasted $ and effort" I have boxes of equipment <ahem> mistakes...

I have a feeling the stuff you and some others have boxed up would still be upgrades for me!

[Steel head]

great thread. some new tools here i've never seen.

I'm also liking this thread.
I just started loading 223/5.56 in the last few months and the info on this thread is great.

[opsoff1]

Another fine tool is the Vern Juenke bullet checker. The USAMU uses one of these to screen their long-range bullets. As Vern didn't make a whole lot of them, they're very tough to find (or to find someone willing to part with his).

Well, I got info back on the next generation of the Juenke machines....wow, just simply, wow....
and like I thought - I needed to be on all fours and properly lubed when I looked at the price...

The company that is producing exact copies of the original, has them listed at $3900 each. (+ tax/SH for a total of about $4142) This includes 1 hr of tech support on the phone.
Any additional"tech support" on the phone is $240 / hr.

They are backed up at least 6 weeks right now.

They do offer kits as well - they will only be sold via Ebay and will list for $1850 and does not include any tech support.

They also intend to raise the price to $2090 for a kit and $4680 for a completed machine.

So - It appears that I will stay with sorting bullets by way of my caveman techniques.

[QuietShootr]

Well, I got something out of this thread. I have been chasing that last .002 of runout the last year or so, and after your comments about your T-7's turret wobbling, I sat down tonight, made sure the bolt was as tight as it would go, and sonofabitch if I can't wobble that turret a couple of thousandths just by pushing up on the forward edge of it. The sleeve doesn't LOOK like it's too long, but clearly it is. Grrrrrrr.

I'm going to take it to a machine shop tomorrow and have it shortened.

[weggy]

I weigh all my bullets, just because Sierra says they weigh 168g doesn't make it so. I also mark the case with a sharpie so the it goes back into the chamber the same way every time. I used to shoot a Rem 40xbbr in .308. Gave up bench rest because it made me crazy. Took up Trap Shooting.

[eperk]

I weigh all my bullets, just because Sierra says they weigh 168g doesn't make it so. I also mark the case with a sharpie so the it goes back into the chamber the same way every time. I used to shoot a Rem 40xbbr in .308. Gave up bench rest because it made me crazy. Took up Trap Shooting.

That's hilarious. I was looking for an alternative to bench rest myself. I go crazy trying to corral in all the variables. Think I may take up trap myself.

[opsoff1]

I weigh all my bullets, just because Sierra says they weigh 168g doesn't make it so. I also mark the case with a sharpie so the it goes back into the chamber the same way every time. I used to shoot a Rem 40xbbr in .308. Gave up bench rest because it made me crazy. Took up Trap Shooting.

I would humbly suggest that anyone / everyone should refrain from weighing bullets. The payoff vs the time/frustration investment isn't worth it.
If you want to sort bullets - do so by sorting lengths from base to the ogive contact point. After that - sort by bearing surface length. All require minor tool investments, but nothing expensive. Beyond that - the next process worth considering is either meplat trimming/uniforming or bullet pointing dies - both are different variations on uniforming the meplat (point) of the bullet.
And - obviously - using better bullets will help tremendously; i.e. Bergers, Clinch River, Fowler, Barts, Lapua, Swampworks etc - most made with J4 jackets which are incredibly uniform. The big mfrs. Sierra, Hornady etc are "usually" fair to good. The biggest issue with these mass produced "match" bullets is that they suffer from jacket concentricity issues - which aside from some VERY expensive testing equipment are a fact of life - you get what you get.
Personally - I have found Sierra's for example to vary wildly in base to ogive lengths. I have seen a single box have a varience of .001 - .003" wich in the grand scheme of things, is awesome. Then again, I have measured other boxes and found 3 or 4 completely different and wide disparity of "groups" of measurements - probably the result of bullets from different dies being batched together into a single box.
It helps to check..

[Xsail]

That's hilarious. I was looking for an alternative to bench rest myself. I go crazy trying to corral in all the variables. Think I may take up trap myself.

Yep, a person could drive themselves nuts trying to control all the variables while 90% of it can be attained by prioritizing. From my precision rifle I get .5-.75 MOA without BR primers, without turning necks, without weighing brass, and without weighing or measuring bullets. The time needed to get that nitpicky isn't worth it in my book....O.L.