Cameron I think we have a problem!!!

Guest · Jan 6, 2011

Kranky,
Attention to detail aids in accuracy, especially long range accuracy. My preference totally. I can tell you my experience in using the the inertia puller and re-seating the bullet does make a difference in tension. I inspect each loaded round carefully when completed and doubly check the seating depth. Ever check the seating depth on your loads after they have been cycled through your gun, in and out of your pockets etc after a hunt or hunting season? I will not assume anything in the process of reloading. It could be the difference between success and failure. But that's just my opinion.

CAhunter · Jan 6, 2011

Wisc- I would probably shoot the test loads and see how they do. BTW What powder are you using with the 165AB? Just because the powder doesnt shake around doesnt mean that its to much powder. A compressed load can build less pressure than a load with ample space just depends on the powders burn rate.

Dr. Mike- How much neck tension do you like? I have been considering getting a few more bushings for my 243AI and seeing what effects it has. Also how much clearance do you like between chamber neck size and a loaded neck sized round?

kraky · Jan 6, 2011

Don--re this guys test loads......my advice to "just shoot em" comes from quite a few years experience reloading and trying to watch his posts. From what I interpreted he was nervous about shooting them thinking slightly less neck tension or slight compression might be dangerous. Neither are. I have reloaded for years using all kinds of dies including fl, neck dies, and lee collet dies and bump dies. I know alot about neck tension and often check it no matter what die I'm using. I also have plenty experience working with pulled loads using collet pullers and inertia pullers. While I agree that for hunting it is best to have decent tension I didn't see he was going hunting with these loads.

One of the things I've found over the years is when you get a good load you can change some things around and it still shoots good. This is what I thought the shooter was after....a good consistant load. It's my guess if his gun likes the load it will like it whether he has .002 neck tension like pulling and reseating (and the lee collet die) often produce. Or, if it has .003-.004 neck tension like you get from neck dies and fl dies.

Bottom line is...I would go shoot em any day....and learn a bit from my experience. Thats what reloading should be about. Not following one path....but exploring a few and seeing what happens.

DrMike · Jan 6, 2011

CAhunter,

I'm not overly concerned about neck tension as I am developing hunting loads and not benchrest loads. However, there should be sufficient tension that I can't move the bullet by grasping with with my fingers. In general, unless there is a flaw in design of the sizing die, there will be sufficient tension. kraky is right that there is no particular danger in shooting the cartridges. They will not, however, necessarily be as accurate as they might have otherwise been because of the difference in tension. Will that make a difference in the real world? Hard to say. Will the difference be enough that it would cause the loss of an animal? Again, hard to say. That is the reason that for hunting ammunition I want to know what I'm carrying and control the variables as much as possible. It is my practise that when reseating bullets after pulling them, I do neck size the cartridges as previously described just to be able to generate useable data, which may save me redoing the tests later.

Guest · Jan 6, 2011

Dr. Mike and Kranky,
Good explanations, see your points totally.

Thanks,
Don

wisconsinteacher · Jan 7, 2011

Well thanks for the info. I did pull the bullets and saved the charges. I have learned a lot from this post so again thanks. I hope to load up some ammo this weekend. I am using H4350 I believe. I am not at home right now so I may be off a little bit.