Ramshot TAC

[kestak]

Greetings,

This one is for the experts here and probably the experts with a lot of gray hair or no hair left on their skull

I am shooting bench rest .223 55 gr Hornady SP at 100 yards.

I am loading 25.1 grains of Ramshot TAC.

I am using PMC brass trimmed, deburred, chamferred, primer hole cleaned. I almost kiss each brass with my lovely lips.

I read over and over in those magazines people shoot with different primers get different grouping.

I used Wolf .223, Wolf SR Magnum, CCI 400 and CCI 41 and I got the same nice 1/2 MOA grouping when I did my part with a flyer here and there in a blue moon that will print maybe 1" away from the group.

So, my first question: Why magnum primers and normal primers give the same accuracy performance? Am I just lucky?

My second question: I use LR magnum with .308 and 30-06 with Ramshot TAC because they are the only ones I could put my hands on. A friend let me use a few LR normal and I found out ignition is not as good (I found some unburned powder). I NEVER use the max load and ALWAYS start with the lowest load + .5 grains to make sure I am not under the minimum. Ramshot book is using LR normal. Am I commiting heresy?

Please note that I do not see any sign of pressure: primer looks good, with the bolt action the bolt opens nicely and the cases resize and growth normally.

Thank you

 

[loadedround]

I am one of those with little hair left and over 40 years of reloading experience. I by no means am an expert or claim to be . Having said that, I do have to comment that every rifle is different, just like each snow flake is different. You will find that different components, mix or match, will shoot differently in individual rifles. What I am trying to say that there is not a definitive answer to your question. Examine several different reloading manuals and you will see different combinations of components giving the same pressures and velocities. You have to experiment with your own rifle to determine the best primer, powder, and bullet. Good luck and good shooting.

 

[longdayjake]

Is handloading why all my hair is falling out? Geeze! Knowing that having too many guns causes boat accidents and now this????? How are we gun owners to survive?? Oh well, its worth it.

 

[ochadd]

Been loading for maybe four years and have found very little difference between Remington BR and CCI 400 primers in three different rifles chambered for .223. The pattern is the same. Benchmark, Varget, and imr4895 powders. PMC, GFL, Winchester, and LC brass. Full sized resizing vs neck sizing. There hasn't been a combination that I could definitively say worked better with one primer or the other.

My take on reloading has changed allot this year. I was in the "kiss" every case crew for a couple years after having been a quantity kind of guy for the first year. Honestly either I'm just not good enough or my rifles aren't good enough to make use of that last 5% of accuracy. Sorting cases by brand, sub grouped by the number of reloads, sub grouped by the number of trimmings, never shoot for groups with different lots of the same bullet and powder, etc. It makes me feel good about my process and I love the fact my confidence is higher but the proof is in the pudding and my groups just don't change enough to point to a component change other than the type of powder or bullet used.

 

[NCsmitty]

Using CCI primers exclusively, my rule is to use magnum primers with ball (spherical) powders, and standard with flake or extruded powders.
Also, magnum primers in any charge over 70gr in a large case.
Differences will be less noticeable in the much smaller 223 case, evidenced by your test groups, and as you found out, more noticeable in the larger 308 & 30'06 charges, resulting in some possibly unburnt powder.
A chronograph may be able to detect the difference in the primers.

When changing primers with a worked up load, it's wise to drop your charge by 5%, then work back up.


NCsmitty

 

[freakshow10mm]

Sometimes primers can effect accuracy in certain loads, in certain rifles. I've seen some drastic changes in our test rifles, some groups opened up over 3 inches when we switched primers. Some haven't changed a bit. You might not see it at 100y but maybe at 300. I've shot loads that did 4 inch groups at 100y but were MOA after than to about 400y.

Generally speaking when you change components there is a change in the consistency of your load, for better, worse, or no change (measurable) at all.

 

[Sport45]

My guess is that the primers are affecting the groups but it is not noticed because the bullets are affecting the group size more. Try a BTHP match bullet 62-68gr and repeat the primer experiment.