I haven’t started reloading yet but these are some fantastic reference materials that I am excited to learn from. Bound to save me soooo much time, money, and frustration when someone with experience can warn you of where they’ve learned from
@@JR-ql5gl Lots of info out there! You will find a HUGE variance in opinions and what is and isnt necessary. Start basic and then you can start experimenting and testing with all of the "extra" stuff.
This is a great video! I load my precision ammo very closely to this. The only thing I really do different is I still wet tumble, mostly because I just like the way shiny brass looks. And I use two Hornady Auto Charge Pro scales/powder dispensers side by side. My SD's are in the 7-8 range which I think is acceptable for my current level of competition.
if wet tumbling works, absolutely. The biggest benefit we've found with dry tumbling is that the carbon is NOT removed from the inside of the necks and stays as a consistent "lube" when you're seating a bullet instead of doing it dry or trying to use graphite or something. Neck Tension is a HUGE contributor to load consistency.
thanks for keeping this potentially complicated task as simple as possible. I shot factory ammo for years bc I heard so many different reloading processes it was intimidating. if I had stumbled upon this when I started shooting competitive, I would have started reloading much sooner.
Stick to factory ammo please, maybe even blem stuff. We're all tired of you rolling off the couch, randomly coming to matches, and stealing trophies from people. We need all the help we can get out here.
So I’ve been reloading for almost 2 yrs shooting prs and nrl hunter regularly see single digit SDs in my ammo for large strings of fire. Uh I wet tumble with dawn dish soap, lemmie shine and no stainless media. When I do my brass cleaning I’m doing 500pcs at a time so the brass isn’t moving a lot or bouncing off each other. It might not look new but there is no exterior dirt. And I dry them all in a cheap food dehydrator. Good for thought for anyone new.
Fair to say the Lock n Load single stage probably isn’t ideal for precision rifle reloading, with how the bushing has a rubber o-ring on it that gives a little cushion, plus with the cam-over that is more pronounced than other single stage presses. Looks like I need to snag a rock checker or a Redding or something before I get down the road too far with 6.5CM. Great video Allen! Happy to see that my decision to not do some of the additional brass prep steps wasn’t a bad one.
I been reloading 18 years and long range shooting for 25 . Not saying I know everything but I’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years to reduce muzzle velocity variation ( SD’s /ES’s ). I started out with a Lee press at the very beginning then went with a big boss 2 press years down the road and now I have the Area 419 press since the year it released . I also been using the A&D fx 120i with the auto trickler my countryman Adam McDonald from New Brunswick Canada released from day 1 and I Anneal with the Amp annealer . Let me explain why stainless wet tumbling is far superior to dry vibratory tumbling . Any accomplished reloader will agree with me that the name of the game as far as reloading is consistency , I think we can all agree with this . First of all dry media tumbling does not clean brass , it polishes brass , wet tumbling with stainless media cleans brass by removing the carbon build up that is inside the brass casings something dry tumbling cannot do , dry media only polishes the surface of the casings . The accumulation of carbon build up inside of once or twice fired brass is not the same as let’s say 6 or 8 times fired and so on there for creating an inconsistency. Another disadvantage of dry media tumbling is it leaves a light dusting on the surface of the brass , not as bad if you apply a polish to your dry media but still leaves some , the disadvantage of this is that light dusting ends up inside you good quality sizing dies . The light dusting has a mixture of carbon and media dust making it very abrasive to inside of your good dies. Another disadvantage of the light dusting that stays on the surface of your brass is it will cause longitudinal scratches on the surface of your necks as it makes its way between the neck bushing and brass neck . Those longitudinal scratches creates a pathway for potential premature split necks down the road . Another disadvantage of dry tumbling is if you anneal your brass in the AMP annealer , after running hundreds of brass casings in the annealing machine , you will eventually have pieces of carbon flaking off from inside of your brass after being cooked at 900° falling inside your nice expensive machine , it will eventually accumulate inside there . Dry tumbling is bad news for your nice expensive sizing dies , the carbon mixed with dry media dust is very abrasive to your high end sizing dies and other equipment. Stainless wet tumbling cleans your brass to a new like condition on the inside of your brass not allowing an accumulation of carbon build up keeping your brass very consistent.
I won't spend the time to argue with you. I will say that the current world record for 1000 yd light and heavy class were both cleaned by hand with a towel and they didn't clean the inside.....If the carbon build up in those cases didn't affect a world record group then it's not worth doing by someone like me who isn't setting records. There are guys a whole lot smarter than you and I who disagree with you. ruclips.net/video/crYoUKPvFyA/видео.htmlsi=vaLX0ARNKxg9msWd
@@FullCircleReloading yes Erik Cortina that I have been following for over a decade , he said he does not care if he wears out his dies or equipment, his answer is he will just buy more . For me and I’m sure many reloaders love to takes care of their nice high end sizing dies and other equipment. I just can’t see myself inserting dirty brass inside my annealing machine . Lots of methods work but for me I love consistent brass and I’m always striving to improve and learning . If I was running Lee dies I would not care so much but dies like area 419 or SAC dies , I prefer not to expose them to abrasive carbon .
@@levigne25 I shoot an awful lot. I have never seen a die wear out from corncob but we can also have an agree to disagree moment. I'm ok with that. I mentioned that we may have different methods and this is what works for me. If a die wears out after 50,000 rounds then it is what it is. My current 6.5 creed die set from Redding has right at 40k rounds through it and still performs like the day I bought it. I'll keep rolling the dice on my current methods. We truly appreciate your input and I appreciate the view even more, it;s always nice to see other opinions and experiences and test those theories for other shooters to see.
@@FullCircleReloading I agree with you that the corn cob itself will not wear metal , it’s the carbon that is mixed in the corn cob that is the culprit . If you have time check out your brass casing necks with the macro camera from your phone , you will see the longitudinal scratches . Another thing I like doing is using a dedicated decapping die to remove primers , using your high end dies to remove primers is just exposing them to all that grime .
Thanks for the video. I don’t use equipment as nice as yours but what I have is working fine. With that, if someone is thinking about upgrading anything, and they want to start small, that plastic powder funnel needs to go. I use a Satern funnel and I couldn’t believe how much easier the process became. I’ve never tried the one you mentioned, I’m sure it’s great though. Thanks
@@Wmbhill it’s pretty amazing how much of an upgrade such a small piece of equipment is. You wouldn’t think it matters so much but it really is quite the upgrade.
Great video. Just found this channel yesterday ( the .308 VS 6.5CM ) and this video made me realize where I should spend more money on reloading equipment and where I don't. I just got into longer distance shooting a few years ago with my Tikka T3X TacA1 but I also just started ordering parts for a custom bolt rifle that I'll be using from now on. I know I'll want to start reloading as well but for now I'm just using factory ammo such as the Hornady ELD Match.
Reloads will take you to the next level when properly done. A good set of dies, good scale and good equipment to measure matter a lot. As long as you pair it with quality components then it’s easy as cake.
@@FullCircleReloadingI have a Defiance AnTI X action on order and I'll be placing the order for the IBI barrel this coming week. Going to get it all set up in a MDT LSS Gen2 chassis
Same process really, besides maybe increasing neck tension a bit and stripping the bolt to find your lands (which mostly you're limited by mag length anyway)
@@EverydayReloadingandShooting we going out a long time ago that hunting .010 to .020 isn’t always the best way to get great results and we often find in factory rifle that you can’t even get that close to the rifling because the free bore is so long.
I found this video very informative. I would like to know what differs in the process for a "long range" 3 gun load. Something like .223 with 69gr or 77gr bullet. I guess where I get lost is bumping the case or measuring jump to the rifling with a Ar style bolt vs a bolt action presentation gun. Don't know if that would be a video idea for the future for you.
For more accurate results like you mentioned at 9:41, is it possible for to remove the ejector on the AI at the user-level? I know AI has some proprietary/unique things - not sure if this is one of them or not. Haven’t seen any videos on AI bolt ejector removal.
@@FullCircleReloadingYes sir, and if you have any other considerations on crimping, neck tension etc for gassers, I’d love to hear it all. So far I’ve just been sticking to saami dimensions and pre published seating depths but am curious how you guys approach it.
@@joe4678for gas guns, I don’t even try to get to the lands. You’ll rarely be able to get close because you’re so limited by the magazine. I typically load at or near the published load data. As far as neck tension goes, I want .003 or .004. Greg, the other guy who’s been commenting, may do something a little different. I don’t crimp gas guns. With proper neck tension, you shouldn’t have to and most match bullets, you can’t crimp without causing negative affects on the bullet. It’s a variable I just said entirely, caveat being, you have sufficient neck tension which is a measurable variable.
@@FullCircleReloading got it! Thank you for the replies. I’d seen one of Greg’s older reloading videos on another channel which is how I found my way here, and learned to save some time by not messing with stuff that won’t matter for my applications. Staying tuned to both of ya. Merry Christmas fellas.
I use Redding graphite neck lube when I resize. Im using a simple Hornady FL sizing die. Is it typical across ALL reloading dies to feel a pop when the Ram handle is pushed forward removing the brass from the die. Is this also common with neck bushing dies. Sure is nice to have a bolt to release all the tension to take those measurements. Great video.
Great video, thanks for sharing. What do you think of ultrasonic cleaning, it does take care of all the carbon deposits and primer pockets but brass doesn’t get out “polished” so what I do is ultrasonic, anneal, sizing and then dry tumbler…. What do you think and what cleaning solution you suggest for ultrasonic that doesn’t “oxidize” the brass? Thank you again
We actually started with ultrasonic and it works well. Any solution designed for it specifically has worked really well but you need to use distilled water to keep it from leaving spots.
Awesome video. Just realized I need to upgrade my reloading bench again with scales. Can a pierced primer cause accuracy problems and do you tend to go to a specific press for more consistency.
@@huntersmith1061 I don’t deprime before tumbling. It goes from the range bag, straight to the tumbler. I clean before anything goes into the die because I don’t want mud, dirt, gravel dust…whatever, in my die. It’ll build up and cause headaches down the road and depending on what’s on the case, could mar up the inside of the die.
I do. The Mandrel is actually built into the sizing die with the area 419 dies so there’s no need for a second step. I probably should have mentioned that in the video actually.
@FullCircleReloading that's the exact reason I was thinking also! I have already purchased all the calibers I reload for and will be parting ways with my Hornadys. Have you tried SAC dies?
SAC dies are top notch. I don't have anything negative to say. The only die I didn't LOVE was "The Seating Die" it was leaving some pretty ugly seating lines on the bullets, even when I switched to the other seating stems.
Love the video! Do you check/run new brass thru shoulder sizing to match your action before the first loading? Do you use any dry lube for bullet seating? Do you add any crimp after seating?
I don’t. I fireform all new brass. The only thing I do to it is make sure the necks are round, I do this by running it on a mandrel or by running it over the expander ball in the sizing die. Then I trim chamfer and debur if necessary(it usually needs it) I don’t seat with any lube and I don’t crimp very many cartridges. All straight wall and lever gun cartridges get crimped, past that, proper neck tension and run it.
Im sorry if I missed this but is there a specific reason why your zero press is so empty and you do not do seating on it? Kinda sad to see such an amazing press only being used for so little
We test and evaluate a ton of equipment and right now I’m testing the new dies so that’s all it’s being used for. When we do testing I try to only change one variable at a time to see where the most benefits are coming from.
Great video!!! One thing not addressed was how to get the initial shoulder bump worked out w/ the sizing die as yours was already correct. Do you start the die all the way out and keep screwing it down until it starts making the measurement shorter and then go until you've hit your mark? I know you say in the video about testing if the 2 thousands isn't enough, then adjusting the die, but I don't think it answers how you get started. I know the way I was doing this of setting the die down so it touches the press, then back off 2 thousands isn't the same thing as going 2 thousands off what the once fired brass measurement gives you.
I have the area 419 press and the sizing die you have. Generously lubed cases. Why am I have such a hard time getting the cases past the neck sizer on the withdrawl from the die?
Your lubricant isn't working correctly. I use isopropyl alcohol and liquid lanolin case lube and my mandrel pulls back through extremely smoothly. Also do you anneal?
What’s the best way to accomplish this in a AR platform where you can’t use the bullet and bolt to test length on the case and the bullet seating depth off the lands?
You can do everything the same with an ar. You can use locktite to get an overall length measurement. And checking shoulder bump is easy to do working the BCG with the upper off and pushing it by hand.
You actually can do exactly the same, although its a LITTLE more time intensive because you will just pull the barrel and do it by hand with your stripped bolt
DO NOT buy anything LEE. You Rockchucker will be just fine for a long while. Lots of great shooters still using it and making great ammo. The Forster COAX is a great press with a lot of built in features if you're doing multiple calibers and a quick change die setup.
This isn't a small investment. To build out a bench similar to what I have here: Area 419 -Zero- 1395 with stand -M-Dies 430/ea -Comparator set 300 -Funnel kit 100 -Dillon 550 1200 as it sits there. -A&D Fx120i kit- 1100 Sartorious with thrower setup- 2000 SAC Nexus- 785 Redding big boss- 280 Giraud with collets- 850 Tumbler and separator- 200 Misc tools and stands- 500 You're looking at somewhere around $12,000 or so not including the actual reloading components like brass and powder.
Great shop! My only question is that I didn’t see you anneal, you don’t clean primer pockets but you’re concerned with weighing powder to the kernel? To each their own but in my ELR light rifles I clean pockets, anneal and weigh my powder on a scale that is only accurate to .1 and have a consistent.3 rifle with a ES of 10. What’s your take? Thanks
@@MarkSebastian-w6i we anneal every other firing. I didn’t mention annealing, neck tension, load development or pressure signs. This was intended to be an intro to precision reloading and there money better spent on other equipment before diving into annealing. All that will be in the next video. We plan for this to be a 4 part series. To the primer pocket cleaning. No. We tested this and found zero measurable difference. I’m not setting world records but My comp load has an ES of 15 over a 40 shot string. That is WELL within the standard of accuracy we shoot for as field shooters. I don’t stress about it being accurate to a kernel. I just wanted to highlight the difference between one kernel and one tenth accuracy. Most budget scales are +\- .1 leaving you a two tenths wide window of accuracy and that isn’t acceptable for low ES. Something else to consider is, the larger the powder volume, the less that .1 matters where a +\- .1 on a smaller case like a dasher or 6BR matters a lot more.
@@Nlarose81time mostly but when I was testing it, I couldn’t actually measure the benefit doing it every time or every other time. At 5 firings without doing it, I was getting a measurable spring back in neck tension. So basically, I do it as often as I HAVE to without causing detriment to the load. Every time is the right way because it doesn’t hurt anything and guarantees the case is the same.
@@Nlarose81 the name of the game in reloading is consistency , annealing every firing will keep things consistent. Anytime you introduce an inconsistency it can show up in your neck tension / muzzle velocity . I remember in metallurgy class, annealing brass over and over will not harm it so long as you anneal at the correct temperature. Brass can also be water quenched or air cooled both .
@@SmackedInATL an AMP annealer. We will cover that in the next video. I also left out how we get neck tension and how we do load development. All that will be coming soon.
You left out another type of reloader: the person who wants to save money on their long range match, but wont stoop down to the lowest priced equipment. I don't any Lee equipment these days, due to having bad experiences with Lee dies. I use the basic Hornady dies these days, since there is no advantage to higher priced dies. My press is a hand-me-down old Pacific C Frame press, made in the days before Hornady bought Pacific. My powder dispenser is a Lyman Gen 6. I could have gone cheaper on any of this gear, but I didn't because I knew I would get great results with gear that wasn't the absolute cheapest.
There are a TON of different types of reloader but three main types, all of which we will be doing a video on. Nothing wrong with saving money in certain places and splurging in others. Although, there is a noticeable gain with nicer dies.
@FullCircleReloading I have put my ammo up against ammo loaded with "nicer" dies. There was no measurable gain for consistency. At the end of the day, a sizing die is a solid machined piece of steel. As long as you have it secured properly in the press, you'll get the same results every time. Now, that statement does come with the assumption that you're using quality brass, such as Lapua, Alpha, or Peterson, etc.
The problem we see with cheaper dies and presses is the press won't allow for consistent shoulder bump and cheaper dies won't allow for neck tension control or run out control. We have seen basic dies leave you with close to .005 neck tension and that's enough to actually hurt BC and pressure curves and we've seen some unbelievable run out come from Lee dies. Like we said in the beginning, we have seen incredible ammo made with cheaper equipment but we've come to find out it's a "your results may vary" type of situation. I am glad your dies are leaving you with awesome results though.
@@chrisfisher3900 you can absolutely tumbler liver rounds. As a matter of fact, that’s how the lube is removed from factory ammo. It’s tumbled after the fact. Complete non issue.
wau, i am so amazed how american people love guns soooo much. Are you veterans or just buying and shooting tons of iron for no reason? In europe if you just shoot without any war or being at least in military you would get tons of hate how big poser you are :) toy soldier
We are definitely a bacon loving, Pro-Gun country that loves to shoot for recreation but everyone on this channel is also former military. No posers here.
Now, get rid of half of that crap and keep it simple. Use a concentricity gauge, to set up your die set on a simple set of RCBS FL dies. Don't bs these guys, you should be able to get it done easily and simply, without half the fluff you spout. If you want to learn, you are more than welcome to come to my range, and I'll teach you..
I’m 100% positive that I mentioned you can make excellent ammo with cheaper equipment. I actually covered that…. And if you run quality dies, then that concentricity gauge is a waste of money. We test a lot of equipment to find where benefits are and aren’t. Most of the expense on my bench is to gain back time. Which I also mentioned….
@@FullCircleReloadingthis guy could have said exactly the same thing he said but in a more positive way. He could have said “great video! For you beginners out there, if this video has you a bit intimidated and you feel like you can’t afford all this stuff, don’t worry! You can totally get great results with (insert quality but more affordable stuff), but you’ll spend a little more time at the bench.”. Almost like you did at the beginning of the video 😂.
I wish this video was out in 2017 when I first started reloading. I would have saved a bunch of time and money. Keep up the good videos!
It’s literally our most requested video. We plan to put out a few of them.
@ I’m looking forward to seeing those. All the videos you put out are very informative and the podcast is great too.
@@jordandewitt2675 Appreciate you watching and listening!
I haven’t started reloading yet but these are some fantastic reference materials that I am excited to learn from. Bound to save me soooo much time, money, and frustration when someone with experience can warn you of where they’ve learned from
@@JR-ql5gl Lots of info out there! You will find a HUGE variance in opinions and what is and isnt necessary.
Start basic and then you can start experimenting and testing with all of the "extra" stuff.
That was one of the best reloading vids i have seen. Really easy to understand.
Thank you! That was the goal. We may dive deeper into each thing as we progress the video series if there is demand.
@FullCircleReloading i know i will watch
That was very informative. Badass reloading room as well.
Thank you!
Another great video guys. Thank you for trying to educate the masses, even the Fudds.
Thanks Jason!
Very good video, I found dry tumbling then decap was the most effective way also.
It's worked very well for us. Thank you for watching!
This is a great video! I load my precision ammo very closely to this. The only thing I really do different is I still wet tumble, mostly because I just like the way shiny brass looks. And I use two Hornady Auto Charge Pro scales/powder dispensers side by side. My SD's are in the 7-8 range which I think is acceptable for my current level of competition.
if wet tumbling works, absolutely. The biggest benefit we've found with dry tumbling is that the carbon is NOT removed from the inside of the necks and stays as a consistent "lube" when you're seating a bullet instead of doing it dry or trying to use graphite or something.
Neck Tension is a HUGE contributor to load consistency.
thanks for keeping this potentially complicated task as simple as possible. I shot factory ammo for years bc I heard so many different reloading processes it was intimidating. if I had stumbled upon this when I started shooting competitive, I would have started reloading much sooner.
Stick to factory ammo please, maybe even blem stuff.
We're all tired of you rolling off the couch, randomly coming to matches, and stealing trophies from people. We need all the help we can get out here.
@@FullCircleReloading 🤣
Another great video Allen thank you. You taught me a thing or 2. Keep up the good work. Enjoy all your videos see you soon.
Thank you!
So I’ve been reloading for almost 2 yrs shooting prs and nrl hunter regularly see single digit SDs in my ammo for large strings of fire. Uh I wet tumble with dawn dish soap, lemmie shine and no stainless media. When I do my brass cleaning I’m doing 500pcs at a time so the brass isn’t moving a lot or bouncing off each other. It might not look new but there is no exterior dirt. And I dry them all in a cheap food dehydrator. Good for thought for anyone new.
Thanks for sharing your process. There are a lot of ways to do it!
Fair to say the Lock n Load single stage probably isn’t ideal for precision rifle reloading, with how the bushing has a rubber o-ring on it that gives a little cushion, plus with the cam-over that is more pronounced than other single stage presses. Looks like I need to snag a rock checker or a Redding or something before I get down the road too far with 6.5CM.
Great video Allen! Happy to see that my decision to not do some of the additional brass prep steps wasn’t a bad one.
If you're buying a new press, the BEST cheap press is going to be the FORSTER COAX IMO.
@@FullCircleReloading what about a rcbs summit?(
I been reloading 18 years and long range shooting for 25 . Not saying I know everything but I’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years to reduce muzzle velocity variation ( SD’s /ES’s ). I started out with a Lee press at the very beginning then went with a big boss 2 press years down the road and now I have the Area 419 press since the year it released . I also been using the A&D fx 120i with the auto trickler my countryman Adam McDonald from New Brunswick Canada released from day 1 and I Anneal with the Amp annealer .
Let me explain why stainless wet tumbling is far superior to dry vibratory tumbling . Any accomplished reloader will agree with me that the name of the game as far as reloading is consistency , I think we can all agree with this .
First of all dry media tumbling does not clean brass , it polishes brass , wet tumbling with stainless media cleans brass by removing the carbon build up that is inside the brass casings something dry tumbling cannot do , dry media only polishes the surface of the casings .
The accumulation of carbon build up inside of once or twice fired brass is not the same as let’s say 6 or 8 times fired and so on there for creating an inconsistency. Another disadvantage of dry media tumbling is it leaves a light dusting on the surface of the brass , not as bad if you apply a polish to your dry media but still leaves some , the disadvantage of this is that light dusting ends up inside you good quality sizing dies . The light dusting has a mixture of carbon and media dust making it very abrasive to inside of your good dies.
Another disadvantage of the light dusting that stays on the surface of your brass is it will cause longitudinal scratches on the surface of your necks as it makes its way between the neck bushing and brass neck . Those longitudinal scratches creates a pathway for potential premature split necks down the road .
Another disadvantage of dry tumbling is if you anneal your brass in the AMP annealer , after running hundreds of brass casings in the annealing machine , you will eventually have pieces of carbon flaking off from inside of your brass after being cooked at 900° falling inside your nice expensive machine , it will eventually accumulate inside there .
Dry tumbling is bad news for your nice expensive sizing dies , the carbon mixed with dry media dust is very abrasive to your high end sizing dies and other equipment. Stainless wet tumbling cleans your brass to a new like condition on the inside of your brass not allowing an accumulation of carbon build up keeping your brass very consistent.
I won't spend the time to argue with you. I will say that the current world record for 1000 yd light and heavy class were both cleaned by hand with a towel and they didn't clean the inside.....If the carbon build up in those cases didn't affect a world record group then it's not worth doing by someone like me who isn't setting records.
There are guys a whole lot smarter than you and I who disagree with you.
ruclips.net/video/crYoUKPvFyA/видео.htmlsi=vaLX0ARNKxg9msWd
@@FullCircleReloading yes Erik Cortina that I have been following for over a decade , he said he does not care if he wears out his dies or equipment, his answer is he will just buy more . For me and I’m sure many reloaders love to takes care of their nice high end sizing dies and other equipment. I just can’t see myself inserting dirty brass inside my annealing machine . Lots of methods work but for me I love consistent brass and I’m always striving to improve and learning . If I was running Lee dies I would not care so much but dies like area 419 or SAC dies , I prefer not to expose them to abrasive carbon .
@@levigne25 I shoot an awful lot. I have never seen a die wear out from corncob but we can also have an agree to disagree moment. I'm ok with that. I mentioned that we may have different methods and this is what works for me. If a die wears out after 50,000 rounds then it is what it is. My current 6.5 creed die set from Redding has right at 40k rounds through it and still performs like the day I bought it. I'll keep rolling the dice on my current methods.
We truly appreciate your input and I appreciate the view even more, it;s always nice to see other opinions and experiences and test those theories for other shooters to see.
@@FullCircleReloading I agree with you that the corn cob itself will not wear metal , it’s the carbon that is mixed in the corn cob that is the culprit . If you have time check out your brass casing necks with the macro camera from your phone , you will see the longitudinal scratches . Another thing I like doing is using a dedicated decapping die to remove primers , using your high end dies to remove primers is just exposing them to all that grime .
Thanks for the video. I don’t use equipment as nice as yours but what I have is working fine. With that, if someone is thinking about upgrading anything, and they want to start small, that plastic powder funnel needs to go. I use a Satern funnel and I couldn’t believe how much easier the process became. I’ve never tried the one you mentioned, I’m sure it’s great though. Thanks
@@Wmbhill it’s pretty amazing how much of an upgrade such a small piece of equipment is. You wouldn’t think it matters so much but it really is quite the upgrade.
Great video. Just found this channel yesterday ( the .308 VS 6.5CM ) and this video made me realize where I should spend more money on reloading equipment and where I don't. I just got into longer distance shooting a few years ago with my Tikka T3X TacA1 but I also just started ordering parts for a custom bolt rifle that I'll be using from now on. I know I'll want to start reloading as well but for now I'm just using factory ammo such as the Hornady ELD Match.
Reloads will take you to the next level when properly done. A good set of dies, good scale and good equipment to measure matter a lot. As long as you pair it with quality components then it’s easy as cake.
@@FullCircleReloadingI have a Defiance AnTI X action on order and I'll be placing the order for the IBI barrel this coming week. Going to get it all set up in a MDT LSS Gen2 chassis
@@Lethal_Venom That will be a super nice hunting setup!
Another banger, fellas. Nice work!
Appreciate it!
Great video guys!
Thank you sir!
This is a great video, thanks! Future video idea- precision reloading for gas guns.
Same process really, besides maybe increasing neck tension a bit and stripping the bolt to find your lands (which mostly you're limited by mag length anyway)
Great Video!
Thank you!
Great work. I ain’t mad at it🤘.
Appreciate you!
Great video! Helps a ton!
Thanks man!
Good video, very similar to my process.
Thank you!
I like how you started .050 off of the rifling. A whole lot faster than going at .003 increments starting at .020.
@@EverydayReloadingandShooting we going out a long time ago that hunting .010 to .020 isn’t always the best way to get great results and we often find in factory rifle that you can’t even get that close to the rifling because the free bore is so long.
yeah i need this, just got some Alpha brass and im sitting here looking at it like "now what, I dont wanna mess it up" lol
It's easy. Just start with quality equipment and a good reloading manual, It's not hard at all and hopefully our videos will help.
I found this video very informative. I would like to know what differs in the process for a "long range" 3 gun load. Something like .223 with 69gr or 77gr bullet. I guess where I get lost is bumping the case or measuring jump to the rifling with a Ar style bolt vs a bolt action presentation gun. Don't know if that would be a video idea for the future for you.
@@dillonkepley9118 we will cover precision gas gun in another video but I don’t stress about being anywhere near the lands.
For more accurate results like you mentioned at 9:41, is it possible for to remove the ejector on the AI at the user-level? I know AI has some proprietary/unique things - not sure if this is one of them or not. Haven’t seen any videos on AI bolt ejector removal.
Yeah absolutely. Its just a roll pin that gets punched out like any other. Nothing fancy at all
Great video and channel, thanks for the info. Would love to know how you guys approach loading for gas guns also.
Thanks Joe!
Do you mean sizing the case and finding the lands?
@@FullCircleReloadingYes sir, and if you have any other considerations on crimping, neck tension etc for gassers, I’d love to hear it all. So far I’ve just been sticking to saami dimensions and pre published seating depths but am curious how you guys approach it.
@@joe4678for gas guns, I don’t even try to get to the lands. You’ll rarely be able to get close because you’re so limited by the magazine. I typically load at or near the published load data. As far as neck tension goes, I want .003 or .004. Greg, the other guy who’s been commenting, may do something a little different.
I don’t crimp gas guns. With proper neck tension, you shouldn’t have to and most match bullets, you can’t crimp without causing negative affects on the bullet. It’s a variable I just said entirely, caveat being, you have sufficient neck tension which is a measurable variable.
@@FullCircleReloading got it! Thank you for the replies. I’d seen one of Greg’s older reloading videos on another channel which is how I found my way here, and learned to save some time by not messing with stuff that won’t matter for my applications. Staying tuned to both of ya. Merry Christmas fellas.
We appreciate it man. Thank you!
I use Redding graphite neck lube when I resize. Im using a simple Hornady FL sizing die. Is it typical across ALL reloading dies to feel a pop when the Ram handle is pushed forward removing the brass from the die. Is this also common with neck bushing dies. Sure is nice to have a bolt to release all the tension to take those measurements. Great video.
It’s common with every die that uses an expander ball. It’s significantly lessened when you remove it.
Great video, thanks for sharing. What do you think of ultrasonic cleaning, it does take care of all the carbon deposits and primer pockets but brass doesn’t get out “polished” so what I do is ultrasonic, anneal, sizing and then dry tumbler…. What do you think and what cleaning solution you suggest for ultrasonic that doesn’t “oxidize” the brass? Thank you again
We actually started with ultrasonic and it works well. Any solution designed for it specifically has worked really well but you need to use distilled water to keep it from leaving spots.
Awesome video. Just realized I need to upgrade my reloading bench again with scales. Can a pierced primer cause accuracy problems and do you tend to go to a specific press for more consistency.
A pierced primer while firing from the pin?
You do a lot of throwing!
Do you deprime before tumbling?
Also have you seen any adverse affects with running dirty brass through a resizing and decapping die?
@@huntersmith1061 I don’t deprime before tumbling. It goes from the range bag, straight to the tumbler. I clean before anything goes into the die because I don’t want mud, dirt, gravel dust…whatever, in my die. It’ll build up and cause headaches down the road and depending on what’s on the case, could mar up the inside of the die.
Great vid.! Any reason why you do not mandrel the case neck?
I do. The Mandrel is actually built into the sizing die with the area 419 dies so there’s no need for a second step. I probably should have mentioned that in the video actually.
Phenomenal Video! I am looking forward to future videos. How are you liking the M-Series dies? I have been impressed with mine so far.
They are the best dies I’ve ever used and the convenience of swapping cartridges while using their die body is super nice.
@FullCircleReloading that's the exact reason I was thinking also! I have already purchased all the calibers I reload for and will be parting ways with my Hornadys. Have you tried SAC dies?
SAC dies are top notch. I don't have anything negative to say. The only die I didn't LOVE was "The Seating Die" it was leaving some pretty ugly seating lines on the bullets, even when I switched to the other seating stems.
Love the video! Do you check/run new brass thru shoulder sizing to match your action before the first loading? Do you use any dry lube for bullet seating? Do you add any crimp after seating?
I don’t. I fireform all new brass. The only thing I do to it is make sure the necks are round, I do this by running it on a mandrel or by running it over the expander ball in the sizing die. Then I trim chamfer and debur if necessary(it usually needs it)
I don’t seat with any lube and I don’t crimp very many cartridges. All straight wall and lever gun cartridges get crimped, past that, proper neck tension and run it.
Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Im sorry if I missed this but is there a specific reason why your zero press is so empty and you do not do seating on it? Kinda sad to see such an amazing press only being used for so little
We test and evaluate a ton of equipment and right now I’m testing the new dies so that’s all it’s being used for. When we do testing I try to only change one variable at a time to see where the most benefits are coming from.
Great video!!! One thing not addressed was how to get the initial shoulder bump worked out w/ the sizing die as yours was already correct. Do you start the die all the way out and keep screwing it down until it starts making the measurement shorter and then go until you've hit your mark? I know you say in the video about testing if the 2 thousands isn't enough, then adjusting the die, but I don't think it answers how you get started. I know the way I was doing this of setting the die down so it touches the press, then back off 2 thousands isn't the same thing as going 2 thousands off what the once fired brass measurement gives you.
On the Area 419 M-Series you run the micrometer all the way down and then back it off a few thousandths and then go from there!
All those primers are a beautiful thing😂
Unfortunately, I haven't been turning through them like we normally do. Almost all of them of CCI450s or small pistol.
I have the area 419 press and the sizing die you have. Generously lubed cases. Why am I have such a hard time getting the cases past the neck sizer on the withdrawl from the die?
What size mandrel do you have in it?
Your lubricant isn't working correctly. I use isopropyl alcohol and liquid lanolin case lube and my mandrel pulls back through extremely smoothly. Also do you anneal?
What’s the best way to accomplish this in a AR platform where you can’t use the bullet and bolt to test length on the case and the bullet seating depth off the lands?
You can do everything the same with an ar. You can use locktite to get an overall length measurement. And checking shoulder bump is easy to do working the BCG with the upper off and pushing it by hand.
You actually can do exactly the same, although its a LITTLE more time intensive because you will just pull the barrel and do it by hand with your stripped bolt
Is the Dillion good enough for making precision ammo?
Is there anything wrong with my rock chucker or do I need an upgrade?
Rockchucker is just fine
Best to really upgrade and get a Lee.
DO NOT buy anything LEE.
You Rockchucker will be just fine for a long while. Lots of great shooters still using it and making great ammo.
The Forster COAX is a great press with a lot of built in features if you're doing multiple calibers and a quick change die setup.
@@FullCircleReloading I dont have any and am new to this, could you explain why not to get a lee?
There's no reason not to.@Nixqy
Awesome video! Quick question on a step not covered- when do I anneal the brass?
It varies alot and everyone has their own opinions on it.
Some people do it every time, some people only ever 3-5 firings, some people never
If you want top of the line equipment, what is the budget to build out this workspace?
This isn't a small investment. To build out a bench similar to what I have here:
Area 419
-Zero- 1395 with stand
-M-Dies 430/ea
-Comparator set 300
-Funnel kit 100
-Dillon 550 1200 as it sits there.
-A&D Fx120i kit- 1100
Sartorious with thrower setup- 2000
SAC Nexus- 785
Redding big boss- 280
Giraud with collets- 850
Tumbler and separator- 200
Misc tools and stands- 500
You're looking at somewhere around $12,000 or so not including the actual reloading components like brass and powder.
Reloading $0$, we do not toss bullet seated ammo, we seat each complete round in to a tray.
Thanks for your rundown on how you reload!
Great shop! My only question is that I didn’t see you anneal, you don’t clean primer pockets but you’re concerned with weighing powder to the kernel? To each their own but in my ELR light rifles I clean pockets, anneal and weigh my powder on a scale that is only accurate to .1 and have a consistent.3 rifle with a ES of 10. What’s your take? Thanks
@@MarkSebastian-w6i we anneal every other firing. I didn’t mention annealing, neck tension, load development or pressure signs. This was intended to be an intro to precision reloading and there money better spent on other equipment before diving into annealing. All that will be in the next video. We plan for this to be a 4 part series.
To the primer pocket cleaning. No. We tested this and found zero measurable difference. I’m not setting world records but My comp load has an ES of 15 over a 40 shot string. That is WELL within the standard of accuracy we shoot for as field shooters.
I don’t stress about it being accurate to a kernel. I just wanted to highlight the difference between one kernel and one tenth accuracy. Most budget scales are +\- .1 leaving you a two tenths wide window of accuracy and that isn’t acceptable for low ES.
Something else to consider is, the larger the powder volume, the less that .1 matters where a +\- .1 on a smaller case like a dasher or 6BR matters a lot more.
That’s fair. Thanks for the reply. I did subscribe. Looking forward to your follow up videos.
Opinion on Giraud vs Henderson?
Both are great. I prefer the Giraud because its a 100% self contained unit. No drill, plate to mount or clamp, no mess.
I have both and will trade my Giraud for another Henderson if anyone wants a Giraud.
This is an awesome video. Subbed. I've been wanting to start a "custom ammunition" business myself. What kind of licensing would I need?
You need a Type 06 FFL and explosive production specific insurance.
What sam said is correct. a Type 06 and insurance is how to go about it properly.
Do use a Dillon's press for 6 5 Creedmore
Yes, you can.
Do you guys anneal your brass? I know you said that by the time you need new brass you also need a new barrel and I didn’t know if you guys anneal.
We do! I typically do every 3 firings using an AMP.
Okay perfect, why do you anneal after every 3 firings, instead of after each fire?
@@Nlarose81time mostly but when I was testing it, I couldn’t actually measure the benefit doing it every time or every other time. At 5 firings without doing it, I was getting a measurable spring back in neck tension. So basically, I do it as often as I HAVE to without causing detriment to the load. Every time is the right way because it doesn’t hurt anything and guarantees the case is the same.
@@Nlarose81 the name of the game in reloading is consistency , annealing every firing will keep things consistent. Anytime you introduce an inconsistency it can show up in your neck tension / muzzle velocity . I remember in metallurgy class, annealing brass over and over will not harm it so long as you anneal at the correct temperature. Brass can also be water quenched or air cooled both .
How are y'all annealing?
@@SmackedInATL an AMP annealer. We will cover that in the next video. I also left out how we get neck tension and how we do load development. All that will be coming soon.
No annealing ?
We anneal on an amp. I didn’t cover that, setting neck tension or load development. That’ll all be in the next video.
i shoot F-class, and I haven't cleaned my brass in 12 years. i haven't seen any ill effects.
Lots of benchrest shooters I've seen do nothing but wiping brass off for cleaning.
06:30 did I just see a live round going into the tumbler?
@@RAD_outdoors_tv you absolutely did! You can tumbler live rounds with absolutely no issues and is the fastest way to get rid of lube.
@ learn something new everyday!
@@RAD_outdoors_tv just dont do it for a long time.
You left out another type of reloader: the person who wants to save money on their long range match, but wont stoop down to the lowest priced equipment. I don't any Lee equipment these days, due to having bad experiences with Lee dies. I use the basic Hornady dies these days, since there is no advantage to higher priced dies. My press is a hand-me-down old Pacific C Frame press, made in the days before Hornady bought Pacific. My powder dispenser is a Lyman Gen 6. I could have gone cheaper on any of this gear, but I didn't because I knew I would get great results with gear that wasn't the absolute cheapest.
There are a TON of different types of reloader but three main types, all of which we will be doing a video on. Nothing wrong with saving money in certain places and splurging in others. Although, there is a noticeable gain with nicer dies.
@FullCircleReloading I have put my ammo up against ammo loaded with "nicer" dies. There was no measurable gain for consistency. At the end of the day, a sizing die is a solid machined piece of steel. As long as you have it secured properly in the press, you'll get the same results every time. Now, that statement does come with the assumption that you're using quality brass, such as Lapua, Alpha, or Peterson, etc.
The problem we see with cheaper dies and presses is the press won't allow for consistent shoulder bump and cheaper dies won't allow for neck tension control or run out control. We have seen basic dies leave you with close to .005 neck tension and that's enough to actually hurt BC and pressure curves and we've seen some unbelievable run out come from Lee dies.
Like we said in the beginning, we have seen incredible ammo made with cheaper equipment but we've come to find out it's a "your results may vary" type of situation. I am glad your dies are leaving you with awesome results though.
The aggressive way you point at the camera intimidates me.
😂 as it should!
Uhm pro tip don’t throw live rounds in your vibratory tumbler😂
@@chrisfisher3900 you can absolutely tumbler liver rounds. As a matter of fact, that’s how the lube is removed from factory ammo. It’s tumbled after the fact. Complete non issue.
wau, i am so amazed how american people love guns soooo much. Are you veterans or just buying and shooting tons of iron for no reason? In europe if you just shoot without any war or being at least in military you would get tons of hate how big poser you are :) toy soldier
We are definitely a bacon loving, Pro-Gun country that loves to shoot for recreation but everyone on this channel is also former military. No posers here.
what is raloading lol
Its how us Missouri folks say it.
Now, get rid of half of that crap and keep it simple. Use a concentricity gauge, to set up your die set on a simple set of RCBS FL dies. Don't bs these guys, you should be able to get it done easily and simply, without half the fluff you spout. If you want to learn, you are more than welcome to come to my range, and I'll teach you..
You didnt happen to fight in the korean war, did you?
I’m 100% positive that I mentioned you can make excellent ammo with cheaper equipment. I actually covered that…. And if you run quality dies, then that concentricity gauge is a waste of money. We test a lot of equipment to find where benefits are and aren’t. Most of the expense on my bench is to gain back time. Which I also mentioned….
Concentricity doesn't matter. And the Area 419 M-Series dies produce almost zero runout.
@@FullCircleReloadingthis guy could have said exactly the same thing he said but in a more positive way. He could have said “great video! For you beginners out there, if this video has you a bit intimidated and you feel like you can’t afford all this stuff, don’t worry! You can totally get great results with (insert quality but more affordable stuff), but you’ll spend a little more time at the bench.”. Almost like you did at the beginning of the video 😂.
Wow you couldn’t be more wrong 😂
Thanks
Thank you