Thread: Reloading Poser

Gents a quick general qn for the gurus out there in happy reloading land.Q.Would you expect mild multiple X reloaded cases splitting necks @ the point of firing not holding zero on that round.Or would you expect that round to be a flyer resulting in plus minute of deer?Got a bit of hair pulling going on with my gat @ the moment.Wanting to confirm the barrel is shot out and eliminate alternative possibilities. Cal = trebly.cheers

If your asking if neck splits affect accuracy, it didnt in my grendel when I started getting them.

That's exactly wot I,m asking ,and I've experienced dozens and dozens over the years while holding zero.Its just I,m such a skin flint,I can't bring my self to biffing reloaded cases til they fail on the neck.Firming up my suspicions the barrel is done.cheers

Just count the holes where there was no neck split, easy way to keep track is to have a copy of the target at the table, mark a mimic of the hole after each shot and label it. This assumes you have a spotting scope and you don’t need to walk to the target to check your group.

After you have shot a dozen or so rounds, you should be able to sort the splits from the non splits. If the non splits are holding a tighter group than the splits, then you can conclude that they are contributing to the inaccuracy.

Heading down to shoot some paper right now.Had figured that was gunna be my course of action.Dont have the luxury of a spotter so will take it as a fitness exercise.Coming from a purely hunting bent,I find shooting paper a chore rather than a pursuit.All I've been doing lately is educating local animals,but the penny has dropped.cheers

What's the rifle, crown look ok, does it actually shoot a group or just random all over the place?

Used to be sweet as a nut moa til recently.gunna get a Smith with a bore scope to assess the crown as don't trust my eyes.Todays range shoot should tell a tale that's blindingly obvious with my ratshit vision.

I bought a 7x57mm that was being sold on behalf of a guy cheaply who had bought new because overnight it had gone from being a tack driver to not grouping and him missing shots. When I saw it, shoppie and I spotted it had a very slight bulge right down at muzzle end just behind front sight. So the price was negotiable accordingly. As it was a 24in barrel, I had it chopped to 21 and threaded. Now my goto winter (rain, mud, bush) hunting rifle. Took a nice fallow at 87m neck shot early on, plenty of goats since. But I'm only a 220m hunter lol. Anyway, do check for a muzzle end bulge as well.

No not a rare stainless A l,but a very well worn working rifle of the last 35yrs with not a skerett of blueing left.Grandad's axe syndrome.On her 2nd stock and 2nd barrel.Time for its third me thinks.No ring bulge visible,very worn bore with flat rifling with blunt edges.[ATTACH]229979

Looks like a nice rifle. Gunsmith with borescope is the answer. Pretty hard to tell with the naked eye.

View of muzzle swallowing all 100% of the ovige, resistance encountered @ transission to full .224 shank of the projectile Thoughts??

Id think shank is what it needs as thats what is in contact with bore. Did this all of a sudden happen? Havnt changed a process or component if your hand loading for it?

Do a measurement to where the projectile contacts the rifling to see how far advanved your throat has gone.
If you don't have a dummy case etc you can do a rough check using a cleaning rod.
Close the bolt and push cleaing rod hard up against bolt face. Mark the point on your cleaning rod at the muzzle.
Remove bolt and drop a projectile into the chamber. Give it a gentle tap or push with your cleaning rod to ensure its in conact with the rifling.
Push cleaning rod carefully down the barrel again taking care to not dislodge the projectile. Make sure you have a jag on the cleaning rod for both measurements. If you don't and your rod has a female end the end will go over the tip of the projectile and give a reading error.
Mark cleaning rod again at the muzzle.
Measure between the 2 marks and compare that with a loaded round.

My first 22-250 had grouping issues after many many rounds. It would fire a goodish group followed by a shotgun group. Never consistant. I didn't have a bore scope back then so did the simple measurement with the cleaning rod and was horrified that the projectile contact with the rifling, due to throat errosion, had moved a good distance up the barrel. Also, when I pushed the projectile with the cleaning rod I could feel roughness.

Treble 2? Should last forever.
Check the muzzle with a magnifying glass. Check for sharpness of the rifling and for any rifling lands that is different to the others.
Back in the day gunsmiths didn't have borescopes and even now some don't.
Run a cotton bud around the edge of the crown. Any loose thread indicates a burr or rough spot. This is usually an issue with new rifles though.

Might be in need of a shorten & recrown to bring the glory back.