Neutron Boy
Member
Hi all
I am getting back into reloading after a long time off - I am now retired and have some time on my hands. I am actually busier in my personal life (no more work life) than ever before.
Well after drooling over the Ruger Precision Rifle for a long time, I finally found one that was available in 6.5 Creedmoor. I bought some dies, Starline brass, 140 gn bullets, StaBall 6.5 powder, and have a large supply of primers from before.
I loaded for many calibers in the past, but for my 22-250, I took care to minimize the bullet to lands distance. I was checking the internet to see what that distance should be and it seems like 0.010" to 0.020" is the usual. I saw some articles on how to measure for optimal COL and it seems everyone is buying gauges for this. Years ago, I read about somebody that simply took a sized and trimmed piece of brass and used a Dremel to slice the neck vertically. This loosens up the grip on the bullet. You then put the bullet in the rifle and close the action to push the bullet into the case. That COL should be from the bolt face to the lands. You then reduce that dimension by the 0.010" or so stand off and you are in business. I did this with my 22-250 and got fantastic chrony results. I loaded up in 0.2 grain increments for 9 different powder weights and ran them over the chrony. The data for my best load had a Standard Deviation of 6.4 fps and a spread of 17 fps for a 5 shot string. I think that spells success.
Question 1) I couldn't find any reference to the COL method I described above. It seems cave man simple and effective. Is is a bad practice?
Question 2) I also noted that in my recent searches on COL, it seems like people like to use fire formed cases to make the COL measurement. I feel like that is the wrong thing to do because I full length size my cases. Resized brass would be a truer representation of the accurate COL for my rifle. The only way it would not be were if I were to not resize or I guess, only neck size.
I am getting back into reloading after a long time off - I am now retired and have some time on my hands. I am actually busier in my personal life (no more work life) than ever before.
Well after drooling over the Ruger Precision Rifle for a long time, I finally found one that was available in 6.5 Creedmoor. I bought some dies, Starline brass, 140 gn bullets, StaBall 6.5 powder, and have a large supply of primers from before.
I loaded for many calibers in the past, but for my 22-250, I took care to minimize the bullet to lands distance. I was checking the internet to see what that distance should be and it seems like 0.010" to 0.020" is the usual. I saw some articles on how to measure for optimal COL and it seems everyone is buying gauges for this. Years ago, I read about somebody that simply took a sized and trimmed piece of brass and used a Dremel to slice the neck vertically. This loosens up the grip on the bullet. You then put the bullet in the rifle and close the action to push the bullet into the case. That COL should be from the bolt face to the lands. You then reduce that dimension by the 0.010" or so stand off and you are in business. I did this with my 22-250 and got fantastic chrony results. I loaded up in 0.2 grain increments for 9 different powder weights and ran them over the chrony. The data for my best load had a Standard Deviation of 6.4 fps and a spread of 17 fps for a 5 shot string. I think that spells success.
Question 1) I couldn't find any reference to the COL method I described above. It seems cave man simple and effective. Is is a bad practice?
Question 2) I also noted that in my recent searches on COL, it seems like people like to use fire formed cases to make the COL measurement. I feel like that is the wrong thing to do because I full length size my cases. Resized brass would be a truer representation of the accurate COL for my rifle. The only way it would not be were if I were to not resize or I guess, only neck size.
