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When I used to hunt more before moving I'd reload 150 Grain Hornady SST with IMR 4350 slow burning powder 48 grains for .30-06 savage bolt gun. Saved over $25 a box of 20 and it was way more accurate.

A bench rest guy at MSSA obsessed with putting holes through each other showed how you could get a OAL gage and customize the bullet seating depth for single shot rifles. He was a 6BR or its trash kind of dork. It didn't work though with semi auto or bolt gun mags as well but you could adjust it some.
 
Heard Springfield rechambered an M1a in the round. It has very low drag bullets and a lot of range. I'd recommend buy reloading dies and a cheap press it'll pay for itself by halfing your round costs. You can get 6-10 reloads a casing. Or if your frugal like stepdad, he reloads till the brass splits on all NATO junk calibers. 7.62 NATO holds the edge slightly in price on bulk buys the surplus crate and common big box store commonality around the globe if that matters.
You can even fill cases with water to hydraulically blow out Bredan primers though they take a bit of work to make more reloader friendly. Most people assume Bredan is junk but if frugal you can make it work for cheap.
Your highly opinionated on things you know little about. The NATO ammos are excellent rounds for many things, they are relatively inexpensive to shoot, with proper reloading are capable of excellent ballistics and accuracy, keep brass trimmed and necks annealed properly and the brass will last many reloadings, check for stretching in the web section just ahead of the extraction groove, don't size more than necessary, and beaware of your guns chamber headspace and size to match and brass cased 7.62 NATO or 5.56 NATO can go as many as 20 reloadings. As fir a cheap press buy a good quality one and produce good quality ammo. Ihave been reloading rifle and pistol ammo for 30 years and in that time have had one seperated head, 3 blown/stretched primer pockets, a couple of stuck cases due to overpressurization, and about a dozen split necks (all less than a 1/16" long and due to work hardened brass).
Berdan primers are not usually worth the effort to reload due A) additional expensive tooling and B) difficult to get primer C) they are worth it if the ammo is not available in a Boxer primed case.
For some people punching single hole groups is fun as it takes a skilled shooter, a quality rifle, and ammo tuned specifically for that rifle.
 
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I don't know the case life of 6.5CM don't own one.
Case life is a function of heat, pressure, and working the brass during reloading, pretty much the same as barrel wear, heat and pressure are the enemy. I have several " barrel burner" calibers with 2500 rds through them that when allowed to cool between shots, using modern powders, and kept to sane velocities are nearly as accurate niw as when new. Two are 220 Swifts, a 225 Winchester, and a 223 Remington (the 223 shoots about 1.25 MOA after almost 10k rounds from a 1993 REM 700 BDL Varmint Special, new it shot .25 MOA after I tuned the rifle, trigger, ammo and properly broke in the barrel, I also never rapid fire any barrel that isn't chrome lined).
 
In many ways reloading is a lot like motor building. Done badly it can have pretty catastrophic consequences. But done correctly it can be very rewarding. Just like motors it's hard to save money unless you shoot quite a bit, especially pistol rounds. Big caliber rifles rounds are a different story though. Rich has great advice, especially annealing. That's the number 1 way to extend brass life. (Assuming reasonable case pressures.) To squeeze the most accuracy out of any rifle reloading and working up a rifle specific round is really the only way to go.

And now for something completely different: I got super lucky and was able to buy a Colt Single Action Army brand new from a large online dealer. There are very few made nowadays and finding one is like winning the lottery. This particular one has very dramatic case coloring. It's a 357 magnum which I'll mostly run .38 Special through. I plan to reload wadcutters for it.

Gratuitous pic attached.


Tony

Colt SAA:
Colt-SAA-357.jpg
 
Cool Tony. Always wanted a SAA.



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Thats on my dream list as well in .45 Colt, along with a Shiloh Sharps 1874 Creedmoor or Quigley in 45-120, and of course handloaded with paper patch bullets (because I like complicated processes, requiring precision).
 
When I used to hunt more before moving I'd reload 150 Grain Hornady SST with IMR 4350 slow burning powder 48 grains for .30-06 savage bolt gun. Saved over $25 a box of 20 and it was way more accurate.

A bench rest guy at MSSA obsessed with putting holes through each other showed how you could get a OAL gage and customize the bullet seating depth for single shot rifles. He was a 6BR or its trash kind of dork. It didn't work though with semi auto or bolt gun mags as well but you could adjust it some.

I'm one of those guys obsessed with putting the second bullet thru the first hole.

Y'all might be surprised what bullet seating depth does for accuracy. Pretty amazing. You can watch the groups shrink and grow as bullet depth varies.

First, we find a primer/powder/bullet combination that gives a minimum standard deviation in muzzle velocity. Get that SD down as low as possible. Then measure the chamber, and determine minimum seating depth that will give "zero bullet jump." The bullet is seated just deep enuf that it meets the lands in the throat. Load 5 rds that depth. Then adjust the die, and load 5 rds .005" deeper. Then .010", .015", etc, and take 'em to the range.

What it does is amazing.

Some of MY steps to putting the second bullet thru the first hole. YMMV.
 
I'm one of those guys obsessed with putting the second bullet thru the first hole.

Y'all might be surprised what bullet seating depth does for accuracy. Pretty amazing. You can watch the groups shrink and grow as bullet depth varies.

First, we find a primer/powder/bullet combination that gives a minimum standard deviation in muzzle velocity. Get that SD down as low as possible. Then measure the chamber, and determine minimum seating depth that will give "zero bullet jump." The bullet is seated just deep enuf that it meets the lands in the throat. Load 5 rds that depth. Then adjust the die, and load 5 rds .005" deeper. Then .010", .015", etc, and take 'em to the range.

What it does is amazing.

Some of MY steps to putting the second bullet thru the first hole. YMMV.
And then there are additional steps like case neck turning, primer pocket and flash hole reaming, neck size only. Accuracy loading is all about consistency and attention to detail.
 
I have an RCBS reamer tool works well and their case trimmer dies for .30-06. Lyman also makes some good trimming tools. Had a Lyman scale and chunked it in the trash. Same with that Lee scale. Do not trust Lee powder scale with life. Got a nice mechanical Hornady scale. The increments were milled right specs. My Lyman was defective and the quality was poor but sadly the slots were off center and the indicator would appear at wrong charge weight.

Never got into the whole annealing or case forming or wildcatting crap, too much time for my tastes.
 
Then switch to 6BR?
some of my friends who shoot out to 1000 yards use the 6BR BRX Dasher 6.5 and so on.
I have only been shooting 100 and 200 yards, you have to agg .200" or better to win most matches.. we use mostly 36 power scopes and as several have mentioned about the glass it is more about how well the scope holds point of impact.
 
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That's right, Rich. I gotta load to fit one chamber.

Mine.

And I'm in no rush. I've got all evening to press one box. :wink:
 
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For you long distance shooters, if you’re not familiar with this site:

https://precisionrifleblog.com

You really need to check it out. The author tries to base everything on empirical evidence and his own research. I’ve met him and he’s incredibly smart and very focused on what he does. It’s well worth going back through his scope testing to get an idea of how he does things.

For us Texas shooters this article is a great example of the kind of testing he does:

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2016/06/19/powder-temp-stability-hodgdon-extreme-vs-imr-enduron/

It tests the temperature stability of a couple of powders that claim to be temp stable. Also points out that he uses a $3,800 powder scale!


Tony
 
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I'm one of those guys obsessed with putting the second bullet thru the first hole.

Y'all might be surprised what bullet seating depth does for accuracy. Pretty amazing. You can watch the groups shrink and grow as bullet depth varies.

First, we find a primer/powder/bullet combination that gives a minimum standard deviation in muzzle velocity. Get that SD down as low as possible. Then measure the chamber, and determine minimum seating depth that will give "zero bullet jump." The bullet is seated just deep enuf that it meets the lands in the throat. Load 5 rds that depth. Then adjust the die, and load 5 rds .005" deeper. Then .010", .015", etc, and take 'em to the range.

What it does is amazing.

Some of MY steps to putting the second bullet thru the first hole. YMMV.

With the new lead free bullets it seems to work opposite of the traditional approach. I'm getting better accuracy seating the bullet up to .100 off the lands. Barnes bullets recommends the jump in there reloading data.
 
With the new lead free bullets it seems to work opposite of the traditional approach. I'm getting better accuracy seating the bullet up to .100 off the lands. Barnes bullets recommends the jump in there reloading data.

Each firearm is its own special animal, I have two nearly identical Rem 721's in .270 Winchester one likes the Barnes 130gr bullets seated against the lands, the other likes a short jump of about .01" iirc (to lazy to dig out my loading record books to confirm exactly what the distance is), however both shoot equally well. The one is actually the rifle I hunt with due to its uncanny ability to put the first round EVERY time to the point of aim from a cold barrel, my usual pre-season ritual for this rifle is to take it out of the case at the range fire one shot as a fouling shot, then wait at least 30 mins for gun to fully cool back to ambient temp then fire another shot "for record" (which has always gone where it should, 3" high at 100yds), fire two more shots to confirm its still putting the next two within about .75" of the first one, then back into the case until the first day of hunting. During the hunt the gun never comes into a warm atmosphere beyond ambient, and it does not get cleaned until the end of the season, then back into the safe for next year. Eventually that .270 will go to my son or daughter and the other will go the whichever doesn't get my other one. The last child will get the 30-06 or .243 Winchester (their choice). A lot can be said for a rifle that does exactly what you expect it to everytime and it inspires confidence in difficult shots.
 
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Each firearm is its own special animal, I have two nearly identical Rem 721's in .270 Winchester one likes the Barnes 130gr bullets seated against the lands, the other likes a short jump of about .01" iirc (to lazy to dig out my loading record books to confirm exactly what the distance is), however both shoot equally well. The one is actually the rifle I hunt with due to its uncanny ability to put the first round EVERY time to the point of aim from a cold barrel, my usual pre-season ritual for this rifle is to take it out of the case at the range fire one shot as a fouling shot, then wait at least 30 mins for gun to fully cool back to ambient temp then fire another shot "for record" (which has always gone where it should, 3" high at 100yds), fire two more shots to confirm its still putting the next two within about .75" of the first one, then back into the case until the first day of hunting. During the hunt the gun never comes into a warm atmosphere beyond ambient, and it does not get cleaned until the end of the season, then back into the safe for next year. Eventually that .270 will go to my son or daughter and the other will go the whichever doesn't get my other one. The last child will get the 30-06 or .243 Winchester (their choice). A lot can be said for a rifle that does exactly what you expect it to everytime and it inspires confidence in difficult shots.

I used to enjoy reloading for accuracy and kept a fair share of notes so I could reproduce good loads. Calif has banned lead in hunting bullets and I have started to work up some new loads. So far I'm getting fantastic results right off the bat using Barnes Bullets reloading data. In fact so good I don't think Ill play around to much more. I think the main reason it was originally recommended for backing the lead free bullets off the lands was to reduce the pressure spike of trying to push a harder bullet down the barrel. Improved accuracy was just a great bonus!! The only one Im having trouble with is the 22-250. The slow 1-14 twist wont spin the longer copper bullets fast enough to stabilize.

22-250, 243, 308, 375JDJ, 270, 300 Weatherby and 30-378 Weatherby

IMG_7142.jpg
 
You guys might enjoy benchrest . com. I shoot 6PPC the most accurate cartridge to 300 yards in the world as of now.
Trout
 
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A couple pics before family time begins. This rifle is like brand new. The receiver is a December of 1944 build; new stock, new Criterion barrel, new park job, this rifle is ready to go! My wife and I started out a 4:45AM and arrived at the South Store around 7:35AM. We talked briefly with a Vietnam veteran until the store opened, which they opened 5-minutes early! We were back on the road by 8:30AM.

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A couple pics before family time begins. This rifle is like brand new. The receiver is a December of 1944 build; new stock, new Criterion barrel, new park job, this rifle is ready to go! My wife and I started out a 4:45AM and arrived at the South Store around 7:35AM. We talked briefly with a Vietnam veteran until the store opened, which they opened 5-minutes early! We were back on the road by 8:30AM.

oeqnVqH.jpg


x5hU9xs.jpg


rx9WTut.jpg


zp08EnL.jpg


YJC2CwK.jpg

Very Nice! I picked up a March 1945 Springfield service grade back in December, and was very pleased when I opened the case! It has the original barrel still, and appears to be all original except for the operating rod and the stock.

As for me, I recently acquired my first two Kalashnikovs, and I must say, I am a fan!
 
Well, with the new site design, I can finally load photos with no issues again... So here are my Kalashnikovs

The first is built from a 1965 Romanian MD63 parts kit, all numbers matching

The second is built from a 1984 Yugoslavian M70BI parts kit, non matching numbers, but the builder matched them for me
This one also has a scope rail on it, and I picked up a Russian PSOP scope for it.


Finally, I have my 1973 Romanian MD64 RPK, built from a numbers matching parts kit.

All rifles are all original with the exception of the barrels and the receivers.
 
Gun porn is the finest kind, even if I'm not particularly fond of AK's. Great rifle but recalls some bad times.

@DRAGON64: Kinda wish I hadn't asked you to post pictures of your "new" CMP Garand. Must...have...one...
 
Gun porn is the finest kind, even if I'm not particularly fond of AK's. Great rifle but recalls some bad times.

@DRAGON64: Kinda wish I hadn't asked you to post pictures of your "new" CMP Garand. Must...have...one...

Sorry about that... I do love the M1. I ordered some pure tung oil for the stock. I ordered from Milk Paint, as it is one of the companies that many M1 Garand owners really love, as the product is truly "pure" tung oil, and not some varnish with a little oil in it. Formby's comes to mind... I also ordered all of tools I need to get back to reloading for the M1 again.
 
OK I have a new rocket sport: Team Bow Skeet!

Consists of offense and defense:
Offense: Fly and recover a standard clay (must fly in saucer configuration) on an a or b motor without breaking the clay (over grass, obvi.)
Defense: Attempt to break clay with a bow and a flu-flu bird arrow. (must break clay on boost or coast, penalty for breaking it while under chute or when too close to the ground on boost. But if chute fails to deploy? Clay is fair game, even if sitting on the grass!).

Safety rules: One clay launch and one bow shooter with one flu-flu arrow at a time. Blunt-tip flu-flu arrows only, subject to safety inspection. At least 50 yards clear downrange of the launch area to avoid injuries.
 
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