Alpha Brass - More Powder Tests - Worth My Time?
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- Опубликовано: 7 окт 2024
- Well, I thought I would take the time before the PRS season starts up again to see if I can find an even better powder charge for my new Alpha brass. I loaded up another 3 charges and tried some 10 shot groups with them.
Numbers are pretty good. This is still new, unfired brass. So this is also my fireforming shots. I am thinking I will probably need to do a little fine tuning after I process this all. Anneal, size, mandrel. My Lapua loads had changed a little after that. I'm not sure if it was because the brass was processed and changed slightly, or was it just my barrel needing to be cleaned, lol.
I have more testing to do, I think. But, I would like your thoughts!
Am I wasting my time with these tests? I still want to get all my 200 pieces of brass fired so I can make them all the same through my process. I don't know if I should do a few more powder charge tests, or just call it good and pick one of these.
It seems to me, all of my groups at 39.1, 39.2, 39.3 and 39.4 grains are making plenty acceptable groups on target for my PRS needs. The speeds are slightly different, but not up to the same as my Lapua load at 39.2 yet either. I am still new, so any input and thoughts on this would be appreciated! I want to get a good, dependable loading figured out in the next few weeks so I can make up a lot of rounds to be ready for the first 2 matches when they start back up in September!
I still have a few weeks to get ready, but I am trying to get a little ahead of the crunch time. I can keep going up and see when I hit 3000 fps, I notice that over 3000 my groups open up a lot. But staying just under seems to work well for my barrel.
I kinda want to keep going until I find the charge that gets me at 2990fps, so I may need to just keep going and find it.
Or, I could be wasting my time.
Please let me know what you think!!
I appreciate you watching and any input you have to share with me!! Thank you for spending some time with me, and have a great day and an awesome weekend!
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I had to go back to my previous camera for this. Had to get a repair done. Back to normal next video! So, my big question here is, am I wasting time testing more powder charges? I seem to be getting decent enough groups. I should really shoot for groups a little earlier, I ran out of light and that made the target harder to see for me. But, should I keep going and see if a little more speed looks good like it did with my Lapua brass? Or, just pick one of these and tune on it and stop fiddling with powder charge weights? Opinions are welcome!! Let me know.
Thank you for watching. Have a great rest of your day!!
Me too Chad I like the smell of fresh podwer there something about it that makes me happy. 😊
@@Moraprecisionreloader I was just pouring that in and was talking to myself. Had to leave it in to share the joy of that smell with everyone who appreciates it!!
Good to see you, Oscar. I hope you have a great weekend!!
Nothing wrong with them groups Chad, you got it sorted mate, time to have fun, cheers Yogi ✌️
@rosalindstewart7013 Thank you! Yeah, seems to group well with a range of charges. I kinda want to keep going to see hownit does at 2990 fps, but I think it might change a little once I size and process this brass. Maybe do a batch processed my way and see how it looks.
Trying to get all this testing done before matches start next month! I still have a few things to try, but I know if there was a match next week my ammo would be plenty good as it is. I am on a quest to make the best I can tho, so going to keep going and find the optimal loading.
Thanks for stopping by again and watching! Have a great weekend!! Cheers!
Hello my fellow Okie! I am a firm believer in testing.
@Charles_ONeal Good evening, Charles! We have had a hot one this week!! Went outside at work around 10 this morning and my truck said it was 108 already!! Oklahoma August 🤣
Yes, I think my group sizes are good for each of these, so I have a range to pick from. Got 50 more cases to fire form, then get sized and mandreled. See if that changes it any. I have a few weeks before matches start again, so I am gonna get this dialed in before. Hope to be in the running to make the guys who have been doing this for years get nervous I'll beat them!! Lots more to practice and test, but I am determined to get better!!
Thank you again for stopping by and watching. Appreciate your time, Charles. Have a great weekend, sir!!
Howdy Chad. I really enjoy your “no fear”approach to experimentation. You have a very scientific mind, I think. Always enjoyable to follow your path on this journey. 🤛🏻🔫🇺🇸
@viejo2a hey, Walter! Yeah, I always was in AP maths, sciences, and English classes. Then got put into Trigonometry, Calculus, college Calc, college Trig, and high level science classes during high school. I was way ahead of most 🤣 Amd I was still bored!!
I have some more tests to do. Going to get this all dialed in really well and get started at the first match with some good ammo and hopefully better skills to use it with! Score even better this year!!!
See you on the lives this weekend. Have a great weekend, Walter!!
Hello Chad......Seeing and watching others using the FA Intellidropper never gets old..... I love that machine...... I just picked up a E.P Integations Annealer... an awesome little machine... Keep it up buddy!!......... haha chad is now doing hunting videos...lol
@michaeldunn150 Awesome!! Tell them I sent you to check out their stuff 🤣 I am trying to be friends with them. I really like this loading block. I move around so much, I worry I will knock my funnel off the cases. Now, I can lock them down and no wiggle!!
I was gonna get their annealer, but then had the chance to get the AMP, figured that would be best in the long term.
I think I need to run another test on the weights my Intellidropper is giving me. I seem to have 1 or 2 out of each of these 10 groups that is outside the others by a bit. I figure either charge slightly different or it's just the new, unfired brass not being as consistent. I should maybe just get into sizing all of these and see if that smooths out my numbers. Might change my powder after that. Still have like 40 or so to fire form tho.
Always seem to have more I want to do!!
Hunting video? Cause I'm out after dark? 🤣 It was like 107 Monday so I was waiting as late as possible!! Over 110 today! Whew!
Thanks for stopping by, Michael!! Have yourself a great weekend, man. See you in the next one!
@@ChadKelly7 Hunting videos because the bunny that you were stalking......lol Yeah those reloading blocks are great. I don't really use blocks because I charge everything under the press by the Intellidroper. I usually calibrate the machine every time I turn it on and then do a powder calibrate. and I will double check the weights on another hand scale.... It usually is on par every time.... Have a great weekend Chad.
@michaeldunn150 O yeah! Forgot I left the bunny chase in 🤣 He let me get close!! Got a few kinda friendly rabbits on my place.
Good to know the dropper is usually on point. I keep it on so it's always warmed up. I'll probably verify again next time. But, after my last comment i went and looked at how many cases I have left and noticed something I missed. Might video that and show in next video. The necks are not perfectly round on every case. A few are a little deformed. I bet that is where my off numbers came from! I will test and make sure!!
I recently did a big test with 12 different powder charges at 10 rounds each and there's definitely a sweet spot where the ES and SD shrink. For this powder (VihtaVuori N140), it was about 2/3 of the way up from the lowest charge. It's like they are big-ish at low powder charges, then shrink down at the sweet spot, then the ES and SD get larger again towards the higher charges. It's not surprising that the group sizes behave the same way... so, all you need to do is find that sweet spot. 😁
@DocJustinT I think I got lucky and found that spot on my 2nd charge, lol. I was looking, still have 50 cases to fire form. But as I was counting them, I noticed some of the necks are slightly dented! I bet that is what was giving me the couple of speeds out of the normal range.
Trying to decide if I should just run those last 50 as they are, maybe mandrel their necks, or just skip to sizing my fired cases and mandrel them, then test my charges again. See what is going to give the best numbers after processing.
Choices to make in the next few days and then go with the best plan for this weekend's testing projects.
I think I can trust that any charge I pick in this range will be plenty accurate enough for what I need. I really think it might change a little after running thru the process and getting to their 2nd firings.
Choices again, lol. I might try a little of everything if I have time. I really still want to get my speed closer to 2990 and see how it groups there. I think a few more tenths and I'll have it!
Always more to do, as you well know!! And I am always learning and trying to improve it all. I will get it dialed in pretty soon I think!
Good to see ya, Justin! Hope you had a good week.
@ChadKelly7 , I like to keep things consistent, so if it was me, I'd do what you did on the first (150?) of your Alpha on the remaining 50, just to keep them all the same. Then you can iron out any small details, like using the new mandrel die, on the second firing on all of them. I'm still... I guess the word is suspicious, or maybe curious... about Alpha brass being hard (or harder than typical) given what I found when looking up what brass alloy they use (alpha phase brass), and I suspect that's how the company got their name... maybe? I've never used fancy brass, for the most part. Typically, I shoot Lake City brass, and occasionally Starline in a few oddball calibers. One thing I like about Lake City brass is that it is extremely repeatable and predictable, and since it's military contract brass, it is very abundant and typically quite affordable in bulk. How's the reloading supply situation in your area? Around here in eastern Tennessee, things are mostly back to normal availability, though prices are still slightly high... although small rifle primers have dropped in price a LOT lately. Most powders are in the $40-50/pound range with some under $40/pound. Bullets... they are still hard to find locally (not much demand for match bullets around here... mostly hunting bullets), so I buy my projectiles online almost exclusively. I will be receiving 500 Starline brass in 6.5 Grendel on Saturday, if the USPS tracking info is correct, so I can start resizing it down to 22 ARC as soon as it arrives. My barrel won't get here for about 6-7 more weeks, and I keep telling myself that it's not a bad wait time compared to the custom Bartlein AR-10 barrel I had made during "peak stupidity" (that's what I call the Covid-Era). I had to wait 8 or 9 months on that one! I was hoping to either get in some Harley time or range time this weekend, but the weather forecast is calling for a soggy weekend (it hasn't rained here for about 10 days so we're very overdue for the rain). I might shoot in the rain anyway, if it's not too heavy or windy, because the range down the hill from me has a roof... no walls though, so if it's windy I'd still get soaked.
@DocJustinT I am hoping that when it is time to replace my barrel it is not in a tough to get time. I have already decided that if things get crazy, I am going to just order one so I have it when I need it! It was so hard waiting that long for my Platypus, but I built this rifle in the time between ordering it and when it arrived. So, I kept myself busy and got another gun out of the time 🤣
Not much local for reloading stuff. Academy has decent primer prices still. Average for CCI usually on hand. But, I have a lot now. Forgot to keep track after a dozen packs, so I am well stocked for at least 5 more barrels 🤣
They don't have much powder tho. I just wait for Powder Valley to have a sale and pick it up. Have 13 to 14 pounds of H4350 on hand now. Will probably get another 8 before end of year.
Think last was 365.39 for the 8 pound. Not bad for that powder.
I would like to find out about the hardness of this Alpha brass. If/when I bugger one up, I will mail it to you so you can test it and find out!
Just saw Area419 has a 7/8th sizing die out soon. Gonna get it when available and see if better than my current die. Of course, now that I have a mandrel die, they will release it. They have a nice looking decap/mandrel. Worth a look I think. I like the new toys 🤣
I also am influenced by good reputations, so that's why I am running Alpha and Lapua over the common brass on the market. I think it's quite a bit better than the Hornady. I do need to test that at some point tho.
Hey, I did think of something you may be able to answer for me!
Will I need to adjust my sizing die for this Alpha brass? Set for the Lapua, but not sure if it's now set to just that brass, or shoulder bump set to my chamber now? I know I need to use a different bushing for the neck, but what about the thread in setting? Trying to save time and not have to go back and reset that, lol.
@ChadKelly7 , that's probably a good idea to get a new barrel as soon as you can and just have it on hand when needed. I know several F-Class shooters that buy 4-5 barrels at a time, mostly because their definition of a shot-out barrel is way more stringent than most other shooters. Oddly, in all my shooting, which I'd estimate at around a quarter million rounds, I've only ever shot out one barrel... but I have so many guns that I rotate through that most never get bad... well, that and I don't have any "barrel burner" calibers. I'm interested in your luck with that mandrel because I've never used one. I just stick with the resizing buttons that are built into the dies. If I need to tighten up the neck tension, I just hone the buttons with 1,200 grit sandpaper a tiny bit at a time until I get the desired size. As for resizing your Alpha compared to Lapua, you should be good to go (or really, really close) since all the dimensions are based off of the outside of the brass. The only real difference would be if one has larger or smaller case volume due to the brass wall thickness. Hornady makes good brass, but it is typically thinner and softer than most. I don't have much Hornady brass (just some from range pick-ups that I load as fouler shots before shooting my match loads), but when I resize it, there's practically no resistance on my reloading press handle, like it's made out of butter.
@DocJustinT Yeah, I am nearing the halfway point. Probably order a barrel next month. Just be prepared. Good idea. Thanks for costing me more money 🤣
That is what I was thinking. Should be set for the shoulder bump needed for my chamber. Weird thing is how little they changed dimension at the shoulder from new to fired. Gotta check more, but first several were 0 to .001 longer.
I can attest to Hornady brass being thin. My initial tests with the AMP were obvious. The Lapua were crispy, but the Hornady had holes burned through the necks in a few places on each piece. Much thinner!!
I guess it's just good to find what a person likes and keep using that. Consistency seems to be the main key to this game. That is what my goal is, make my stuff as repeatable as I can and go hit the steel!
The mandrel die is eze to set up just run the die down till it touches the ram when it's all the way up and done. Make sure you use a good lube it is a lil tight. Also if you are not imputing your bullets weight it might help too
@kyley808 Thank you! I have not stopped running around long enough to watch a set up video yet. That is super easy. I figure it should be since it's not working the neck or body any.
I got the new Alpha Munitions case lube to test out as well.
So, when doing the mandrel step, I need to make sure and have some lube on the inside of the neck? I got some little foam tip applicator swabs a while back. Might be the job to try them out!!
Thank you for stopping by and sharing this info! I appreciate this, Kyle.
Have yourself a great weekend, sir!!
You can lube the inside of the neck but make sure you also lube the outside as well and make sure you are using the bullet weight on the garmin it might help. I would wait till your brass is fire formed as well to start loading Have a good and safe weekend brother
@kyley808 I did notice some slight changes after sizing my Lapua. Figured that might be a thing across all new to fired brass. May just run through the last ones and form them, then size and mandrel. Then get my final powder settled on. Thanks! That was just the order of operations I was hoping to get input on with this video!
I will deprime, anneal, lube and size then just mandrel without cleaning the cases, so should stay lubed.
Really appreciate this info!!
@@ChadKelly7 that's exactly what I do i don't clean twice. You can also mandrel then spin the case then mandrel again some people like to do that. I also make my own lube with lanolin it's really good
@kyley808 Good to hear my thought process is on the right track.
So, like run the case up into the die, drop the ram, twist the case in the shell holder 90 or 180 degrees and run it up again? I assume to make sure it's uniform?
I might do a test of half with one and half with two runs thru the die. More things to test out to find what works for me! Always seems when I think I am close to figuring it out, I find something new to try and make my ammo better, lol.
Looking good Chad! I remember you getting an Insta360 at one point. I was curious what you use for recording your videos if you don't mind sharing? I went through your Library but i may have missed it. I'm looking at the insta360 Ace or PRO version but im also wondering if my phone will continue to work just fine. TIA Chad!
@jknewb6276 hey man! I got the Insta Go 3. The little mini camera. I seldom use it tho.
Mainly I use a DJI Osmo Pocket 3.
Or my GoPro 11 I think? This video was with GoPro. Audio not very good in my opinion. Some things were not linking and recording like I wanted.
But got the Pocket back. They replaced it. The screen went wonky and wouldn't stay put. Fixed now though!
The Ace is a good Action Cam. Mainly if you want to do a lot of AI effects. I don't see much use for them making shooting videos, so that one is not on my list. If you want a small, easy to use camera a GoPro or Osmo Action 4 is a good option also. Bigger than any camera is audio though. Having good microphone and recording solid audio makes a world of difference. People will usually deal with worse video quality if audio is good, but they leave fast if audio is terrible.
Plus, RUclips compresses so much, high end video footage is lost. I record and upload in 4K, but most people likely watch in 480 or 720. But, if they want to use 1080 or 4k, my footage is there for them.
Hope that answers some of what you wanted to know.
Let me know if you have more questions. Happy to help you!
@@ChadKelly7 hmmm definitely some things to think about, I'm not going to jump into anything too quickly unless I find a good deal maybe but I was just thinking I've used my phone for awhile maybe it be worth getting something different. That dji pocket 3 looks so cool I forgot you had that, I'll definitely get with you for any more questions! Thank you Chad!;
@jknewb6276 Good deal. Ask anything and I will tell you what I think and suggest.
If you are not just wanting to get a new camera for the sake of buying something, (I tend to do that a lot 😂) then I would recommend you find a good, affordable mic that you can use with your phone. Learn to make audio sound good and you will be much better off than having better looking videos.
🤘🏼🙏❤️🩹😳🙏🤘🏼
@cw2a Always trying to find the best way to go, lol. It seems I will be in good shape no matter my powder charge. Might just get into processing the brass and see if anything changes after, then decide.
I still have a lot to learn it seems 🤣
Thanks for stopping by, CW!! See you on the live streams this weekend!!