Consistency, or lack thereof

[CK1.0]

Yes indeed. I can't imagine trying to begin reloading, and learning precision fundamentals with the rifle, at the same time. One variable at a time.

My thoughts on learning the reloading process -- it depends on your temperament (tool user or not), your instinctive attention to detail, your observational skills, and your understanding of combustion mechanics. All of these are important factors. I wonder how many understand combustion mechanics, or basic inorganic chemistry. You can reload w/o knowing such things but IMO understanding them will help you understand the whole process and the end result cartridge you've loaded.

I get you, and agree, mostly…

Hate to be a “reloading heretic” some more (actually, that’s not true, and is kinda my whole vibe here lol), but IMHO the only combustion mechanics reloaders really need to be aware of is doing it like NASA does it: more fuel (powder) = more speed/pressure/recoil, less fuel = less speed/pressure/recoil, and that the less case fill you have, the more important it is that every charge is the same to the nearest kernel or your SDs will get shitty (probably loosely related to something like a race car’s carburetor or fuel injection: run it too lean and it’ll stall more easily and get erratic if shit isn’t dialed in, running it lean means it becomes more important that the fuel delivery is consistent and precise).

When they all come out the same, they all tend to want to go through the same hole. Getting there, and doing it batch after batch is the hard part.

 

[Josh Umsted]

If you’re winning NRL22 matches you’re doing pretty damn good lol.

And that’s a perfect example of a load only mattering so much, because everyone’s rimfire ammo comes out of a box!

That said, .22LR = no recoil, and it’s not the same thing.

Sounds like you’re on the road to gaining better recoil-management… and when you get it dialed in fully, I know your groups will shrink and become more consistent, regardless of what happens in the reloading room (as long as the stuff is consistent… think boxes of Lapua Center X or whatever the hot shit is for rimfire, not the shit you used to be able to buy at Walmart lol).

Yup. The factory .308 with no muzzle brake let me know right away. Still working on it, but I can spot my impacts/misses. Big improvement.

My .22 likes Lapua Long Range at the moment and groups about .36” @ 50 yds. For .25” targets at 50 yards, group size matters. I cleaned that stage today, another first. Yay me.

 

[flogxal]

CK -- I actually sent an email to Jeff Siewert asking a few questions, using my knowledge of combustion in V8 engines. He quickly and politely told me the rifle cartridge isn't reliant on outside air and fuel so be careful with what I assumed I understood about internal ballistics.

 

[carbonbased]

I do think your sliding and bouncing front rest (and maybe your rear one) are definitely adding massive noise to your reloading analysis.

This is what I do to counter shitty range benches that don’t allow me to get square behind the rifle:

Rotate them 180°. Use a good bipod, and do what Frank and Mark teach at their classes: clamp a piece of wood down to get your bipod some purchase.

The Phil Velayo vid above has that exercise to teach you how to not overly load your bipod, and that comes in handy when you have a solid setup to push against. Don’t overdo it.

I now also use a piece of tough welcome mat to better replicate dirt (deaden bounce). It seems the vast majority of PRS shooters use the stock rubber feet, according to that PRS blog “What the pros use”.

I use Frank’s bench method of leaning in at the hips and squaring up, all the better to replicate prone (which I cannot actually do due to my neck).

1) square up, do Phil’s bridge technique
2) hands off gun, aim gun with body, notice if bipod is binding. If so, re-square bipod to target.
3) add grip hand, pull back into shoulder
4) breathe; see up/down reticle movement (Phil)
5) if ret movement isn’t plumb, you’re not square
6) slide rear bag in, pull up slightly and squeeze to limit reticle heartbeat bounce
7) shoot

Early in my journey, I tried a Bald Eagle front rest with a Protektor front bag and a Protektor 13b rabbit ear rear bag. Hated it. Felt like I was in a box, not connected to the gun or to shooting. Felt like the setup was trying to get the human less involved (not more) in the event. Yuk.

But maybe you’ll find that’s your thing. You’ll just have to experiment. If you do go squeeze bag, get a Mark Taylor one @Enough Said. Best one I’ve run across (tried Tab and Precision Underground). I can’t quite tell what kind of rear bag you’re using.

 

[CK1.0]

CK -- I actually sent an email to Jeff Siewert asking a few questions, using my knowledge of combustion in V8 engines. He quickly and politely told me the rifle cartridge isn't reliant on outside air and fuel so be careful with what I assumed I understood about internal ballistics.

I wouldn't be careful or be worried about shit because I never load even close to the line where anything to worry about starts. None of that "did a ladder up to signs of pressure and backed off a .5 grain" BS here lol. And, who the fuck is Jeff Siewert and why would we give a shit about what he thinks? Is he the new reloading Jesus or something?

Unless someone's got a name that's hard to pronounce and a degree from MIT, and launches rockets, spaceships, and satellites for a living, IDK if we should care about what they have to say about combustion at all or even think that what they have to say relates to what we do unless they've done it too.

If they've written a book about ballistics and/or reloading for rifles and are selling it as though they've got it all figured out, I'd be especially skeptical.

 

[Mean_Man]

Didn’t read the whole thread. CCi 210? Did you mean Federal?