Long range reloading, ES, SD

[Dwh7271]

For those reloading for extended range (800-1000yds and up) what processes are you using to keep ES down?
Concentricity, annealing, etc.
I'm just curious as I have a number of little things I do but am always seeking to improve it. (you don't have to reveal your big secrets :grin: )
Obviously the less ES you have the lower the vertical out a ways. That's kind of the rationale behind the question.

 

[TackDriver284]

For those reloading for extended range (800-1000yds and up) what processes are you using to keep ES down?
Concentricity, annealing, etc.
I'm just curious as I have a number of little things I do but am always seeking to improve it. (you don't have to reveal your big secrets :grin: )
Obviously the less ES you have the lower the vertical out a ways. That's kind of the rationale behind the question.

I don't have an annealing machine, yet, but I keep track and sort all my brass to number of firings. I never mix brass that has been fired a different number of times. I only weigh / sort match bullets for long range paper shooting, hunting bullets don't matter to me. I full size with a bushing and I make sure there is .002" neck tension to avoid variables with neck tension because I cannot anneal. If using a .001" bushing sometimes you will feel light or snug bullet seating due to neck hardness after a few firings, so its reason I use .002" mostly so most bullet seating feels about the same from round to round. I trim each brass equally to book trim length, deburr lightly especially on fired cases because its been deburred when it was new, so don't take too much material off. Then I clean up the necks with a very fine steel wool wrapped around a worn out bronze brush attached to a drill. Also primer pocket uniform and clean the pockets. I use a RCBS hand primer and I seat until I feel it bottom out in the primer pocket. I use a Chargemaster to quickly weigh charges and drop each charge on a FX-120 to final weigh to the kernel. I seat bullets with a Redding Competition seater, and I measure every few rounds to make sure the measurement from base to ogive is the same or very close. I use only Lapua, Norma or Nosler brass due to less case prep. Below are some examples of my 300 Win Mag's ES but only in 3 shot groups.

 

[Dwh7271]

Cool.
Thank you!

 

[SACdan]

I follow pretty much the same process as TackDriver, but I recently added the Hornady Concentricity tool to the prep process. It was very interesting because even with all the steps I was taking to have near perfect loads, one out of every five to ten cartridges was out of alignment by as much as 8-10 thousandths... I had been getting flyers randomly, and since using the tool I have virtually eliminated them (except for when there is a problem with the shooter). I highly recommend the tool if you want precision!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Dwh7271]

I picked one up thanks!