Winchester brass is great. I've had some problems with them while devolping loads for my 22-250. The necks started cracking so i sent them in and Winchested decided it wasnt my fault and rembursed me with a lot of 100 new virgin brass. I was VERY pleased with that and i probably wont buy anything else now.
By COAL or COL i mean the Complete Overall Length as specified by reloading manuals.
Beleive it or not, im an relitively new to this. I started reloading last spring. I really did my homework. This is key to devoloping accurate rounds efficiantly without wasting money/time. It will save you alot of frustration and will make you a more compitent and safe reloader. that being said; I first started with loading 3 sets of cartidges (5 in each set) in differnt powder charge weights, working my way up. (i loaded them all at once, then shot the lowest ones first while looking for signs of high presure as i went up in charge weight) after shooting the lowest, mid, and HOT loads i found that the mid range was most accurate. I stoped loading the hot loads becuase the primers were getting pushed back onto the bolt then not getting pushed back into the case by the recoil. They were sticking out of the case by a 1/16th of an inch. This is actually a sign of low presure, but for what ever reason, i quit loading them.
Neck sizing means that only the neck of the catridge is strethced outward to allow the new bullet to be seated. When you fire your round, the case stretches out to seal the chamber, then flexes back to allow extraction. when you neck size cases, you allow the case to keep the deminsions of the rifle where the case touches the shoulder.
It may create head space problems in your rifle though, everyone is differnt. When you allow the case to stay the same after it has stretched it is perfectly aligned with your bore. after shooting a case a couple time you will have to trim it so the case neck doesnt bottom out on the throat of the rifle. To neck size your cases go to your local hanloading dealer or Sinclair International and ask for a neck sizing die in your particular caliber (.224). this die is just like your Full Length sizing die except it doesnt size the case body, just the neck.
Don't buy a tasco! lol, ive exprienced many of them and didnt like one. buy a BSA Mill-dot. It is simular to the Contender model except the contender doesnt have mill dots i beleive. i was looking at a mueller with a german #4 reticle but i decided i wanted mill dots. Both of these scopes are in the $100 - $150 range. It was more then i wanted to spend too, but they are the perfect combination between decent glass and ruggedness. Mill dots are a very usefull tool as they help to compensate for bullet drop with a little practice. They are actually for ranging targets but this is rather complicated if you've never used one before.
btw, switch to H380. H380 was devoloped for the .22-250. some old guy a long time ago put 38grs of H380 behind a bullet and got excellent accuracy. Hints the name "H38.0" and it still holds true today. There is much more reloading data avialable for this powder. Not as much as Viht but i think Viht is too hot. i like my barrel the way it is. H380 is a ball powder which allows you to more accuratly measure and despense than some other powders. It also provides a consistant burn rate which greatly aids in accuracy. If you want accurate rounds, dont use your RCBS or equivelent powder depensor to throw your complete load. set it to throw a few grains low then get a powder trickler to add that last few grains while on the scale to get it EXACTLY on. This is how i make my accuracy rounds.
Also buy a couple reloading manuls. they are very informational. If you want data, get the Hornady 7th ed. If you want techniques and accurization get the speer manual, which ever is newest.
Hope this helps!
if you need anymore help just email me at
[email protected] I'll be glad to help.
. Try .005 from the lands. I've read that some benchrest shooters shoot bullets as large as 6mm seated .020 INTO the lands. You shouldn't have any problems with getting close to touching.
