COAL and brass issue...

[strebblo]

And yep, whip the pin out, although I've never had a primer pop over about 200-300 live primers I've removed over the last few years. I always use safety glasses though all the same

[enigma]

1 litre of IPA to 100ml of lanolin.....so that's a 1 to 10 ratio. same stuff as Dillons spray

[strebblo]

I've not heard of that before, though it doesn't sound like it's doing the best job there! Imperial sizing wax is good, as are the lyman and hornady spray lubes, but for cheap and effective the lee stuff takes some beating and I've always got a tube of it stashed - never had a stuck case using it and a kitchen sponge also makes a decent enough lube pad for pennies and saves putting too much on.

For neck sizing on the cheap you can do quite well with just powdered graphite but imperial wax is very good all round...

[enigma]

To be honest the problem is not with the lube , its me not knowing how much to use and letting it dry etc. I'm kinda getting to grips with all this stuff now, but unfortunately that is no panacea for it all and deviating from written rules to make things work is the unwritten rule here. I started out treating it like an aerospace kinda component (I'm an engineer ya see) and really theres greater tolerances than you think....

It is very difficult making those small steps when there is no one to turn to but having you guys around eases that transition..you have all been a good support in every respect. Thank you

[Blackbaronfish]

Don't forget to use a case that has been fired through the rifle. If you don't, you may get wrong measurements.

BBF

[Black Beard]

1 litre of IPA to 100ml of lanolin.....so that's a 1 to 10 ratio. same stuff as Dillons spray

Waste of beer.

[Parabuteo]

FORGET ABOUT THE LANDS.Just load to recommend cartridge length with a few different powder charges and see what happens.I chased the lands with some rifles then got a 204 with a 200 thou jump from coal and got a superbly accurate round with the book measurement.Did the same with my 243 and 308 and both shoot well.
Atb
dave

Makes sense.

Unless you are loading for precision (bench rest or F) the results with a factory or mag OAL can be fine.

I used to shoot FTR and spent god knows how many hours fretting over loads, but its a catch 22. Your load evaluating ability will improve as your bonding with and shooting your rifle improves.

My go to rifle now is an AR15, and you are pretty well stuffed by mag length so what do you do? Adjust your load only within recommended loads and go shoot. If the group is acceptable (Circa 1-1.5MOA) and it extracts easily, crack on.

Its amazing how setting a bullet right back can have the same accuracy as being set forward, and you are a damned sight less likely to knock a bullet out or concentric while mag loading if it is deep seated and fully supported, even crimped (I now crimp for my 2 service rifles and it definitely makes a difference, particularly as the bullets get walloped hitting the feed ramps).

Try not to flit about and keep notes, its amazing how much cash people will throw at a rifle when all they need to do is get to know their kit and develop their technique.

[enigma]

lol blackbeard....and yeah you are all right aint gonna worry to much till I shoot this batch off and then its a suck it and see moment.

[223AI]

To be honest the problem is not with the lube , its me not knowing how much to use and letting it dry etc. I'm kinda getting to grips with all this stuff now, but unfortunately that is no panacea for it all and deviating from written rules to make things work is the unwritten rule here. I started out treating it like an aerospace kinda component (I'm an engineer ya see) and really theres greater tolerances than you think....

It is very difficult making those small steps when there is no one to turn to but having you guys around eases that transition..you have all been a good support in every respect. Thank you

Bin the lube and get some imperial or hornady sizing wax

[sarge4318]

Bin the lube and get some imperial or hornady sizing wax

Or make your own.
1:20 lanolin with propan-1-ol.

[enigma]

1 litre of IPA to 100ml of lanolin.....so that's a 1 to 10 ratio. same stuff as Dillons spray

That's what I have done sarge but used a 1 in 10 mix

[223AI]

Or make your own.
1:20 lanolin with propan-1-ol.

By the time I've bought the ingredients (don't have them knocking around) and spent the time I'd rather spend £7 on some imperial wax which will last me nearly as long as my FAC

[sarge4318]

That's what I have done sarge but used a 1 in 10 mix

Sorry, Enigma, didn't see your post (or thought it was about beer as well ;-) )

I haven't had a sticky one yet with a 1:20 ratio but I've only been using it for about 18 months. The joy of making your own is you can adjust the mix as you want.

[Lashenden]

Just one last thing folks...it just so happens I have primed 10 rounds could I just take the pin out my rcbs FL die and just reform them without having to decap em..

Taking the decapping rod out also means that you'rve removed the internal neck sizing 'ball' which sizes and help to make the neck concentric on the return stoke. so when you resize them again you will probably find the necks are noticeably tighter than before. Should be totally safe to resize again with out the pin, but safety glasses are always a good idea when handling primers. I've never had one go off either, but if it did it would be like a miniature fragmentation grenade in my face - ouch.

[SandyB]

FORGET ABOUT THE LANDS.Just load to recommend cartridge length with a few different powder charges and see what happens.I chased the lands with some rifles then got a 204 with a 200 thou jump from coal and got a superbly accurate round with the book measurement.Did the same with my 243 and 308 and both shoot well.
Atb
dave

I also bought a comparator and shell casing for my .204 & .223, and just done the same for .260 Remington. In the end, the information gained was useful but not used, but opted to try the OCW (optimum charge weight) method with a couple of powders I had. Made up a number of batches of rounds increasing powder charge by .2 increments. Plenty of vids on utube about OCW or ladder test. Found the charge to SAMMI (book length) that would shoot a ragged hole group, and stuck with that. That was several years ago, and still shoot the same loads, in fact I went through a phase where I tried different bullets but all loaded to SAMMI length.

Regarding the over cam, forget the 1/4 turn, you physically need to adjust the locking ring on the die body to the point where the press cams over. Watch the press movement with the die body in the press, you will see the ram raise to the top, then drop marginally at the last movement of the lever. This is called the over cam, but you probably know this already as an engineer? What bench press are you using?

Norman Clarkes in Rugby have good reloading stock and I always use Hornady One Shot. Put your brass in a bag, spray the cases in the bag, rub them together and then size.

Stuck cases are a PITA, but it happens and annoyingly end up with those odd round numbers such as 97....