"Match grade" reloads

[Nordeste]

Hi all . It just came to mind. Guess a lot of us are competitive shooters (in my case, handgun only but plan on buying a rifle in the future) and we shoot our reloads in competition. I shoot IPSC Production, obviously in 9 mm and train and compete with my reloads. Thing is, my competition ammo gets a different treatment. It's what I call my "match grade" ammo .

First of all, for my "match grade" ammo, I only use once fired brass. That brass gets cleaned (I don't own a tumbler nor plan on using one in the future) the way I usually do (1/2 gallon can with a lid, hot water, white vinegar, dish soap, good shake, leave there for a couple of hours, rinse in water with baking soda, leave to dry or dry with a hair drier). Then it gets lubed, resized and decapped and gets another wash. With the second wash, most of the primer pockets show up clean or with very little residue. After drying them again I start with the reloading and check charges and OAL more often than usual. It's a bit more time consuming than usual, but I have the peace of mind of having paid the closest attention to detail, and so far, it has paid off.

Do you treat your match ammo any different than your training one?. Any ideas or inputs are welcome.

 

[Sam1911]

Nope. I use range pick-up brass for everything and run them all through the press and dump them in a box.

I do try to look at each round as I load mags to catch any flipped primers or obviously bad cartridges. I did find a flipped primer once. Unfortunately I found it by "click" instead of bang, and I took second place by 0.5 sec. C'est la vie.

After however many thousands or hundreds of thousands of rounds I can't really picture what obvious benefit I'd be gaining by spending more time to prep pistol cases for one of the practical shooting games.

Seriously? WASHING the brass? That's a bit over the top...

And why do you lube 9mm brass? There's no need.

...

Wait...washing it TWICE? What the heck?

You'd see FAR more benefit from your time if you spent the extra washing and lubing time on the range practicing.

 

[Nordeste]

Those washes take no more than five minutes of shake, except for the first one (when I leave them in there for a couple of hours). I usually watch a movie with my girlfriend and go back to my reloading. That way she can't complain I'm not paying attention to her . This is usually done during weekend afternoons that are spent at home due to bad weather (I live in a rainy area) so being at the range wouldn't be an option anyway...

I know there's no actual need of lubing 9 mm brass. But Mr. Lee, in his manual, states that carbide dies or not, a light spray of his lube diluted in alcohol (1 to 10 proportion) is not a bad idea. I did try and found out it's true. Makes resizing much easier. And that lube isn't that pricey .

 

[ArchAngelCD]

All my handgun ammo is of high quality. With any shooting I need to do the ammo comes right of my basement shelf where all my reloads sit.

 

[gacajun]

The only thing I see the OP missing is to case check each and every match round. I shoot CAS and case check each bullet and shotshell that I shoot.

 

[Otto]

Wait...washing it TWICE? What the heck?

Why not? I frolic with mine in the bathtub.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Why not? I frolic with mine in the bathtub.

Now that's a scary thought!

 

[Sam1911]

Ah. We'll no a spritz of lube doesn't hurt anything. I was picturing you lining each case with a lube pad or something. .

I don't understand washing the brass when tumbling is fast and doesn't introduce moisture (yuk).

 

[Kp321]

Sorry, but all that extra work is not needed when shooting IPSC. Reliability is the goal,not ultra precision. I shoot NRA Bullseye and USPSA and my reloading is more precise for Bullseye. Holding the X ring at 50 yards requires better gun and ammo than the A zone of a USPSA target at 7 to 15 yards.

 

[rduckwor]

I have to agree. Running through 250 roundsper match, I want to do as little case prep as possible. Into the tumbler for a hour an then on the press. Precision rifle is a different story.

RMD

 

[Glock Doctor]

1. That's NOT, 'match grade' ammo. (But, it is real clean!)

2. You, positively, do not need match grade ammo for IPSC shooting.

3. Unless the case lengths are all mic'd, identical in length, and run through a case gauge you're not even close to match grade.

4. The one single, absolutely necessary, requirement in order to build match grade ammo is to uniformly turn the casemouth diameters to exactly the same thickness. Bullet seating, uniform primers, primer hole prepartation, and precise head spacing (sizing) are, all, secondary considerations.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Why not? I frolic with mine in the bathtub.

Now there's an idea.

 

[Nordeste]

Guys, please note that I wrote "match grade". It is between quotation marks for a reason. I know, more or less, what proper match grade requires, but as I do use that ammo only at matches, I call it that way. Sort of a joke.

I might be taking some unnecessary care, but I've seen some reloaders experiencing problems at matches, then others who do reload but shoot commercial ammo at matches ... Well, I prefer to shoot my reloads, but making sure I'm doing things right and double checking each step. And of course I check every case before it goes into my LCT, and after

Tumbler?. Not for me. So far I'm "handwashing" my cases but an ultrasonic is on the way, along with a universal decapping die. Some others got their spent cases inside the washing machine, using different containers, just until their wives found out . The bathtub thing looks kind of dangerous. If a stuck case in the washing machine is likely to create a costly failure in the machine, due to that tendency that cases have to sneak into tight spots, go figure if you get a stuck case somewhere weird... and you have to explain that at the ER .

 

[MtnCreek]

I'm still trying to figure out where the rainy part of Spain is.

If a stuck case in the washing machine is likely to create a costly failure in the machine

I know for a fact that a pocket knife in a dryer will put tiny dings in the drum causing it to ruin every piece of clothing dried in it. I'm still a little gunshy from that, so I won't be using any of the wife's stuff for reloading.

The one single, absolutely necessary, requirement in order to build match grade ammo is to uniformly turn the casemouth diameters to exactly the same thickness. Bullet seating, uniform primers, primer hole prepartation, and precise head spacing (sizing) are, all, secondary considerations.

Neck turning 9mm's ?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Sounds like a huge waste of time and energy, plus a waste of good brass to only use once fired.....I tumble and go back to loading. The only time I cull brass is after the neck splits. I have 40 year old brass that has been loaded numerous times.

 

[Potatohead]

I like a shot of lube on my 9mm cases also.

What makes something "match grade" anyway?




.

 

[plmitch]

Sounds like a huge waste of time and energy, plus a waste of good brass to only use once fired.....I tumble and go back to loading. The only time I cull brass is after the neck splits. I have 40 year old brass that has been loaded numerous times.

Well said. I use it it till I can't.

 

[Nordeste]

MtnCreek, all of the Atlantic coast (here called Cantabric sea) gets a good share of rain, particularly the northwest, which is where I live. It's called the "green Spain" for a good reason. In fact, it's raining right now .

 

[genebofunk]

Same deal. Only checking that I do besides having a lock out die is dropping them in a 20 slot case gauge for level 2 or higher matches. If you shoot more than I few matches a month all the extra time you are spending doing prep could be used to dry fire or getting ahead on my rounds that I will need for the next fee months worth of matches.

 

[1KPerDay]

I load my "match/competition" pistol ammo differently than my indoor range stuff, in that I fill it with stinky/smoky lead pills that help to occlude the targets so I do even worse.

 

[gspn]

Why not? I frolic with mine in the bathtub.

Just when I thought hot brass down the shirt collar was the worst thing that could happen with empty cases...

 

[mstreddy]

I thought the rainy part was the plains -- where the rains fall gently on...

Seriously, while I don't compete, I do check every round for my auto-loaders with the "plunk test". I use a lone wolf barrel in my G17 and it's very tight, so it becomes my "chamber gauge". If it fits there it will fit in any other 9mm chamber.
I've learned that lesson the hard way. Nothing like getting a case that wasn't sized enough stuck in the chamber and requiring the wooden mallet and other implements to clear. Not fun and I imagine that it would cost you the match.

I have also invested in case gauges (wilson mostly) for most of my rifle calibers. That way I know that the sized/finished round will fit my chambers.

And, yeah, I don't think I want to "frolic in the tub" with my spent brass. - it might shrink.

 

[Taterhead]

I agree with others that washing for a second time is probably overkill. I NEVER clean primer pockets for pistol - match or otherwise. Never a primer seatin issue. A couple of hours in my vibratory cleaner then off we go. If one decided that he needed to have cleanish primer pockets, I'd use a universal decapping die first and then clean.

Since a lot of brass is lost at matches, I prefer to use older brass for that when I can. Realistically, I don't mess with sorting pistol brass. Bolt action rifle brass is a whole different animal though.

 

[Rule3]

I used to wash my brass but now send it out for Dry Cleaning.

 

[LeonCarr]

My "Match Grade" pistol ammo in 9mm starts with Sierra 115 Grain JHP Bullets. I have found that these are the most accurate 9mm bullets in my handguns, but YMMV.

I then use once fired same headstamp brass and clean the primer pockets on each one for consistent primer seating. Range testing at 50 yards from a sandbag rest will determine the best powder charge for best accuracy. You can test from closer distances, but testing at 50 yards/meters will show without a doubt what the most accurate load is.

After that, practice is what will help you get the most out of your "Match Grade" ammunition. Lots of people like to label things like ammunition, firearms, barrels, etc. as "Match Grade", forgetting that the first thing you need to be is a "Match Grade" shooter.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr