LiveLife
Member
As to loading match grade ammo on the Pro 1000 - already had this discussion many times with other match shooters.
What defines match grade ammo? Consistency.
1. Bullet - We weigh our match bullets to cluster/group same weight ranges. I use Montana Gold FMJ and weight variance bullet to bullet is often less than 1 gr (which is my match standard). If your bullets vary more than 1 gr, just group the same weight bullets together.
2. Case - I reserve once-fired and best condition brass for match shooting. If I have any concerns, they will become my practice/range/plinking brass. I always full-length size the cases and spot check the case length if there's any concern.
3. Powder - I consider less than 0.1 gr variance good enough for pistol match shooting. My Pro Auto Disk throws W231/HP38 very consistently, no more than 0.1 gr variation charge to charge.
4. Primer - All of my match grade ammo gets hand primed for consistent ignition. I do not experience failure to go bang on hand primed cases. BTW, all of match shooters I know hand prime their cases.
5. OAL of seated bullet/round.
So, when we discussed reloading match grade ammo on various progressive presses and verified our findings (steps #1 - #5), it came down to #3 consistent powder charge and #5 OAL as steps #1, #2 and #4 were not depended on the progressive press used. We made trips to each other's houses to check the bullet weight, powder charge, and OAL using several different scales and calipers. Most of us used Montana Gold FMJ, but those using plated bullets found that bullet to bullet weight varied, sometimes by 3-4 grains and not all match shooters clustered/grouped their bullets by weight (who's got that much time?).
When we checked each progressive press on a 1000 round run, many were surprised to find some "non-Lee" powder throws "drifted" over time. Some confessed that they have to check their charges every 100 rounds, some every 30-40 to make sure the charges didn't drift. I told them I didn't have this problem. As long as I am using the correct disk number, I only have to weigh the first few throws to verify that powder sufficiently settled in the hopper. We weighed the powder charges from my Pro Auto Disk several times at the start of a 1000 round run, during and at the end - all the charges were consistent.
As to consistent OAL, if you keep your bullet seat/taper crimp die cleaned regularly, you shouldn't have this problem. Essentially, nobody had issues with OAL. Some pointed out the play between the Pro 1000 turret and the top of the press may have an issue with consistent OAL. After taking some measurements, we determined that as long as the ram lever was brought all the way down on each down stroke, the play was not an issue as final bullet seating was determined by the upward most movement of the shell plate carrier against the die.
After we all loaded and checked our 1000 rounds of match ammo, we did some comparison range tests. The match ammo loaded on my Pro 1000 not only matched the accuracy of other loads, but many other match shooters got tighter shot groups using my match ammo. Believe me, we had some "can't believe this" discussion afterwards. Our primary consensus was that step #3 was the most critical aspect of consistency as Pro Auto Disk's volumetric powder charging "could not" drift over time. Many stated that they normally do not weigh their match bullets (who's got that much time?) and planned on switching to Montana Gold if their random weight checks continue to show weight variations.
As long as you are using quality components (same weight bullets, good cases and powder that meters well) and hand prime your cases, there is no reason why Pro 1000 cannot produce match grade ammo.
What defines match grade ammo? Consistency.
1. Bullet - We weigh our match bullets to cluster/group same weight ranges. I use Montana Gold FMJ and weight variance bullet to bullet is often less than 1 gr (which is my match standard). If your bullets vary more than 1 gr, just group the same weight bullets together.
2. Case - I reserve once-fired and best condition brass for match shooting. If I have any concerns, they will become my practice/range/plinking brass. I always full-length size the cases and spot check the case length if there's any concern.
3. Powder - I consider less than 0.1 gr variance good enough for pistol match shooting. My Pro Auto Disk throws W231/HP38 very consistently, no more than 0.1 gr variation charge to charge.
4. Primer - All of my match grade ammo gets hand primed for consistent ignition. I do not experience failure to go bang on hand primed cases. BTW, all of match shooters I know hand prime their cases.
5. OAL of seated bullet/round.
So, when we discussed reloading match grade ammo on various progressive presses and verified our findings (steps #1 - #5), it came down to #3 consistent powder charge and #5 OAL as steps #1, #2 and #4 were not depended on the progressive press used. We made trips to each other's houses to check the bullet weight, powder charge, and OAL using several different scales and calipers. Most of us used Montana Gold FMJ, but those using plated bullets found that bullet to bullet weight varied, sometimes by 3-4 grains and not all match shooters clustered/grouped their bullets by weight (who's got that much time?).
When we checked each progressive press on a 1000 round run, many were surprised to find some "non-Lee" powder throws "drifted" over time. Some confessed that they have to check their charges every 100 rounds, some every 30-40 to make sure the charges didn't drift. I told them I didn't have this problem. As long as I am using the correct disk number, I only have to weigh the first few throws to verify that powder sufficiently settled in the hopper. We weighed the powder charges from my Pro Auto Disk several times at the start of a 1000 round run, during and at the end - all the charges were consistent.
As to consistent OAL, if you keep your bullet seat/taper crimp die cleaned regularly, you shouldn't have this problem. Essentially, nobody had issues with OAL. Some pointed out the play between the Pro 1000 turret and the top of the press may have an issue with consistent OAL. After taking some measurements, we determined that as long as the ram lever was brought all the way down on each down stroke, the play was not an issue as final bullet seating was determined by the upward most movement of the shell plate carrier against the die.
After we all loaded and checked our 1000 rounds of match ammo, we did some comparison range tests. The match ammo loaded on my Pro 1000 not only matched the accuracy of other loads, but many other match shooters got tighter shot groups using my match ammo. Believe me, we had some "can't believe this" discussion afterwards. Our primary consensus was that step #3 was the most critical aspect of consistency as Pro Auto Disk's volumetric powder charging "could not" drift over time. Many stated that they normally do not weigh their match bullets (who's got that much time?) and planned on switching to Montana Gold if their random weight checks continue to show weight variations.
As long as you are using quality components (same weight bullets, good cases and powder that meters well) and hand prime your cases, there is no reason why Pro 1000 cannot produce match grade ammo.
