At 63, I've been doing this almost all my life and eventually in my mid 20's made a career in law enforcement with it, similar to GB490. I can easily attest he not only "knows his stuff", he delivers it in a well put and understandable manner. Listen carefully and heed his teachings ;)
This guy is a wealth of knowledge and i am glad you make these video's i am finding i ignore all the younger people around my age and listen to the oldies when it comes to shooting advice. You guys have been around longer and done it all anyway.
This is all gold, I've got these videos saved and their gold for loading and shooting.. there is so much crap information out there that's what's makes these videos so good.. good down to earth real life information.. not some internet jackwagon.. thanks gunblue...
you remind of my late uncle and my father both of these men are well spoken and a great wealth of knowledge and i appreciate your willingness to pass on your thoughts and experience
He is an absolutely a breathe of fresh air...practical and correct! I see no 'egg shells' with this information...which again is so easy to breathe in. You sir, are better than any Professor I had in college.
Thank you for making detailed videos that explain more than the process of reloading. Being new to the reloading hobby, most videos leave me with more questions than answers which is frustrating. You videos are making me more confident and comfortable with reloading and less worried about blowing my face off.
People can call me back assward yet again being a vet I had a serious interest in firearms my entire life yet did not care to invest before now in my late 40s now I've devoured countless hours of your content and I'm ready to license up own shoot reload hunt and enjoy and trust me there is no way how far astray I would've landed based on local word of mouth and so called sport shop pro advice pushing for a short Barrell 300wm for a first bolt gun man don't want to start further gripes but sir thank you very much. If I can pass on 20%of what you thought me my kids will be Gun trivia champions amongst today's crowd.
getting started in reloading,in 2 months of absorbing info, you have had the most impact of what info i keep and understand.thank you for your time and willingness to pass on to others.
This guy is a treasure for sure! But if you’re getting into reloading checkout johnnys reloading bench. The guy has excellent videos on several dozen different calibers and all aspects of reloading. Especially making smart first purchases. Goodluck
I am a staunch believer that bad data is good data. Thomas Edison had 10,000 failed attempts to design the alkaline battery. I could never believe that he threw away data/notes of all of those failures and what he tried along the way. I try to write everything down; especially load workups and the causes and effects of the behavior of my loads. I want bad data because I know that I'll learn the most from it! This is the best channel on YT!
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Once again I learned valuable information from your video. When you held up your paper target, at the top, it read "100 yards". I use the same target and I have been misreading it, "1000 yards". My groups are atrocious. With my newfound knowledge I believe my groupings will drastically improve. Thankyou!
The varget may cause some throat erosion because it's a way hotter powder than my old imr 4350 but both videos helped me think through my problem to confirm I was going the right way the varget is a published load from hogden that is like shooting a reduced recoil load with no sacrifice in speed or energy. Thank you so much and I'll be checking your channel regularly. Thank you again.
I experienced exactly what you described with ball powder groups suddenly getting tight, except I was using Varget working up loads for my 308. A couple of charges were around 2 MOA, then with the next charge level the bullets were tearing through almost the exact same hole. The next charge up expanded to about 1.5 MOA.
What you are seeing is the oscillation of the barrel, as it passes through center in each node of vibration. If you time your charge increments properly, you can hit different sequential nodes right on the money. You'll sometimes see two adjacent groups that offer excellent accuracy, in which case you need to profile (test) in-between them to find that elusive sweets-spot for that particular cartridge, bullet and rifle. Isn't physics interesting? ; )
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 308. heavy barrel with 147gr. training ammo. Just shot today first time and I got sub moa at 100meters, the bullets went in the same hole. At 150m was also the same just the 3rd bullet went on the side which is this what you exactly wrote or perhaps is my failure. We shot from the table position on bipods and did not used pillows to make it more stable when shooting. But I get what you said about right momentum.
Tremendous. The way you explain and provide ways to understand your concepts makes you an exceptional teacher. You remind me of a friend I lost who knew the material like yourself. I wish I could sit on the porch, ask questions and listen. You come across like a sincere grandfather trying to pass on tradition and experience. Keep the videos coming!
It's so good to see people going so in-depth about reloading. My first hunting rifle was a cheap single-shot .308, and I spent a while getting into reloading about the same time I bought that rifle. Within a few trips to the range and a little effort, I had that cheap rifle grouping well into the 2/3rd inch group range. One of the best parts of that is knowing exactly what to expect from your rifle, and not guessing. The only downside is that it's all on you, a miss is certainly going to be on the part of the operator. So no excuses, haha.
Much appreciated advice, which has thrifty shooters, as myself, getting better performance and saving $$$. Am avid viewer and share with others when possible. Thanks.
I just found your channel tonight and I really like the info your sharing. I've been reloading for extreme long range shooting for several years. Trying to get my wife's rem 700 25-06 deer rifle to shoot before deer season starts here in Texas. It use to do good at first but accuracy is faltering, It would shoot just under an inch but has wandered to levels of accuracy that's not acceptable even for a hunting rifle It was in a plastic stock. I'm doing a bed job on a new stock. I've got lost in the bs fokelore on accuracy and this video is pulling me back home. Thanks
That's a generally accurate round. If it was accurate before, but has slipped, these are the things I would examine, which may include one or more: 1. If the gun has been fired extensively, re-check your overall chamber length. The throat may have moved forward slightly due to erosion, which may indicate a longer overall cartridge length. It's not uncommon for slightly overbore guns. 2. If you made any changes to the gun since its accuracy days, or are using different ammo, try going back to its previous condition and ammo. 3. Wood stocks can warp over time. Check to be sure that the barrel has either firm upward pressure, or preferably, free floating is clear the entire length with at least the thickness of a matchbook cover, and perhaps more if it's a featherweight barrel. Barrel to stock collision will ruin accuracy. Likewise, examine your shooting method and be sure you are not contacting the barrel in any way. 4. Check your stock to receiver bedding. Be sure there are no obstructions that would cause bridging between the screws. I once discovered that my old Sako 270 accuracy suddenly fell off, and it was because I had reversed the position of factory installed stock shims. Everything was fine after I corrected it. 5. Three-screw actions require particular care when mounting a stock. The central screw should only be secured to firmly retain the trigger guard, but should never be torqued tightly. A drop of medium Loc-Tite on it will allow a casual fit, without the screw being loose. 6. The 25-06 powder fouls a bit quicker than other guns, owing to the relatively small bore diameter to the relatively large powder capacity. Best accuracy is maintained by cleaning after every 15 to 20 shots. Don't be aggressive. Follow my method on cleaning rifles professionally and keep it simple. Never use harsh solvents formulated to remove copper. They attack steel. Sweets and others like it have killed many gun barrels, including one of mine in my younger days. 7. My 25-06 was fabulously accurate with 120 grain Sierra Spitzer bullets and a full charge IMR-4350 with a standard primer, and nearly as fine with 100 grain Spitzers and the same powder. It's a cartridge that usually rezponds to full bore loads. It's also a gun that heats up swiftly, so be kind! 8. If you are glass bedding, certain things require attention. Find the shank of a machinists drill bit that fits the stock holes and set it aside for later. I prefer Acra-Glass gel or Devcon gel as they dont run. Determine what your free float clearance is, and shim the barrel accordingly with a winding of tape about five inches in front of the receiver, to keep the barrel centered. But don't bind the barrel against the stock, causing bending and bridging to the receiver. Tighten the stock screws firmly enough to bed the action and trigger guard home, but don't torque them as if you are mounting the stock normally. I like to run the front screw and tang screw in until they are very firm, then back off just a nudge to relieve any tension on the receiver that could warp it. If you have a center screw, run it in last, just enough to seat it firmly, then release all pressure, with no torque whatsoever. After the bedding has set and you have cleaned it up, then you can reef it. Don't remove the action until at least 24 hours. Action screws will be tightly contacting the compound when you have finished, and will require clearance. Using progressively larger drill bits that you can easily run into the stock holes, gradually open the holes, finishing with the one that you had previously set aside. Be sure you don't raise a burr on the bedding job. When you are done, check your barrel clearance. Check for free clearance of magazine box, safety, and trigger components, that nothing should have contact to the glass compound.
Randy, I'm not certain that my reply to you was posted as an attachment to your note. My reply appears two levels below your post. Good luck with that 25-06!
GunBlue490 I went home this morning and torqued the stock down on the new wood stock that I glass bedded and I shot 5 rounds of 100 gr nosler balistic w44 go of varget= sub 1/2" groups and 100gr match kings awesomeness. It's a shame match kings aren't deer rounds. Thank you for your videos.
Just shot today with Howa 1500 Kryptek 308. heavy barrel with 147gr Training ammo. And what a joy... that used rifle made sub moa at 100 and 150meters. I can imagine with Hornady 168gr at 300 should results be just perfect.
Provided your rifle is in good shape, your ammo is the single most important component. Properly handloaded ammo will outshoot factory ammo 99 times out of 100.
thank you so much for your valuable info. I have a question, can you apply the same process for handgun cartridges? As an example, can you work up a load for your 4" 357 and gain better accuracy?
Have a a Rem 760, 30-06 my dad bought in 1976. Became mine in 1980. Always shot 165gr and 180gr. Even with premium ammo, best groups were 1.5 to 2.5" at 100 yards. No problem in south Louisiana woods ... err jungle ... 6 years ago went on a hunt in Nebraska panhandle. No problem for my .270, but one has to have a backup rifle. So, put a new scope on the '06 and to sight it started with cheap Russian or Serbian 145 gr ammo to get on paper. Shot three rounds and had a 1" group. Fluke right? Then did it two more times. Long story short, I now shoot 150gr SST's into 3/4" groups with that old gun, some even 5/8".
I am new to load development, you make total sense when saying only make one change at a time. So my question, if you find a powder and charge that work well can you then fine tune it using seating depth? Or will seating depth change everything. In other words if I find to one powder and charge to be the best recipe, if I change seating depth can another powder be even better when used at the new seating depth?
Reloading / making your own ammunition is beyond a waste of time. That doesn't mean *you* can't think it's fun, and *you* are free to have fun, but there's overwhelmingly a negative return on time invested for the vast majority of shooters.
That maybe your opinion. But If you work up a load that half’s or even quarter your groups from factory ammunition. That feeling of improving your accuracy is TOTALLY worth the time in reloading. Only Just shooting factory bullies is boring to me😃
thank you so much for your valuable info. I have a question, can you apply the same process for handgun cartridges? As an example, can you work up a load for your 4" 357 and gain better accuracy? Thank you and God bless
Pistol Pete Yes, the same protocol applies, but with much reduced scale. With many handgun cartidges, you are working with less than three grains, and the progressions will be only two tenths or so. Be sure to get a pistol measure that can be adjusted to such finite levels. Most rifle measures have drums that are far too coarse for precise measurements below ten grains.
Question: I've been reloading for many year with my 25 + year old Dillon 550. Mostly pistol but I do load 5.56. I find the extruded powers greatly fluctuate in my Dillon powder measure. Both small and larger grain powders are very consistent. Its just that pencil lead shaped types of powder seem to mess with my loads as much as a grain of weight. Do you have a preference on powder types or powder measures?
Hi, I recently found your channel and am really enjoying your videos. I have a question regarding .270 Winchester barrel life. Some people have suggested it is as low as 1000 rounds while others have suggested up to 3500 assuming proper cleaning/waiting for barrel to cool between shots. I shoot a Browning X-bolt and have heard they are notoriously hard to rebarrel, so if barrel life is low I would consider selling and switching to a different rifle in .308 Win. People online have said I will lose very little ballistically and gain much in barrel life by making the switch. What do you think?
Always allow guns to stay as cool as possible under the circumstances. A .308 Winchester cannot be compared to the .270 Winchester. They have totally different bullet shapes at comparative velocities that greatly favor the .270 over any .30 caliber until you get up to the .300 Winchester Magnum, and then you are using lots more powder and bullet weight to reach the same targets, with the same sectional densities. If you are looking for a gun to plink endlessly with, the .270 is not your gun though. It's a rifle intended for shooting large game at long range.
I won't be plinking with it but I will likely be putting around 150- 200 rounds through it per year for a bit of hunting and alot of practice (in various positions at different ranges). If the barrel life is only 1000 rounds, it is worse than most magnum calibers and I could see myself wearing it out in a few years. When I was researching calibres everyone up here (Canada) suggested .270 Win as the best all around calibre when considering ballistics, ammo availability, recoil, and barrel life. When I was posed the question of barrel life before purchase most people said that it around 2500-3000, and now (after purchasing) I've heard it is as low as 1000. I was curious as to what you thought in terms of ballpark number of rounds I could put through it before accuracy decreased below 1 MOA. Again, this is assuming proper cleaning and waiting between shots.
zach plosh That information you have been given is absurd. The 270 Winchester is a barely necked down version of the 30-06, which was designed for very intensive battle usage. Barrel wear is the result of heat from combustion, erosion from powder, and friction from bullet passage. The first two are the most damaging, and are directly related to bore to chamber capacity. In other words, a larger case will more intensely heat any given bore size. 75 to 80 grains of powder in a magnum case creates more heat and has longer burning duration than 58 grains in a standard 30-06 case, that the 270 inherited. It goes without saying that more powder is also more errosive. Friction is fairly similar between all rifles and while there is a relationship to velocity, there isn't much difference in practical terms. In other words, a tire sliding sideways on a road at 25 miles per hour will leave the same rubber down per square inch as it does at 60 miles per hour. Velocity and inertia will cause it to slide farther, and leave more total material down, but the effect to the pavement and tire per square inch is the same. Anyone who claims that a magnum cartridge with large powder capacities will outlast a standard cartridge is living a fantasy. The 270 is two calibers larger than the 25-06 using the same size case, and is considered somewhat "overbore", but has never suffered a reputation for being tough on barrels. The 243 Winchester is five full calibers tighter than its parent 308 (280, 270, 264, 257, 243), and has a reputation for very long life among those who shoot it on lots of varmints, with very heavy shooting. Your demands are hardly beyond the capacity of the 270, which can last you for decades. Never use copper solvents, don't shoot it like a house afire, clean it as I described, and shoot it with confidence. My thee 270s lasted for many thousands of rounds with no wear or accuracy loss whatsoever. Long life is one of its assets.
You have mentioned bullet seating depth in other videos. For hand loaders, is seating depth rifle specific or are there some general rules that can be applied. Does it impact accuracy as much as some suggest? In other words, as a general statement can bullets be seated 0.020 inches off the lands for best accuracy. I'm just using a number here or is it best to go through the exercise of reloading bullets at different depths and see which depth gives the best results?
Please see my video regarding the specific issue of seating depth and how to measure your chamber for particular bullets. Yes, finding the jump that your rifle likes with a particular bullet is a way to draw the finest accuracy. It can be less important in some guns than with others.
This is all very fascinating information. Who knew? Tuning a load to your particular rifle is like tuning a carburetor to your particular vehicle. Each vehicle (and gun) is slightly different from the other even though it's the same make and model. Make one incremental change at a time. Document each result. Changes in climate and atmosphere can change performance results. Also, we would think it's important to clean the gun--at least the bore and chamber--before trying each incrementally different test load. Is this correct? God bless you.
Actually, no. A cold, clean bore can be expected to shoot to a different place, though not with all rifles. It's best to fire a couple of warm up sighters to condition the barrel, and run all the tests in sequence. All but the most extreme velocity small bores can fire all shots at one sitting, and even they can certainly go 20 rounds with no influence on accuracy. The last lot in a test series can be the most accurate, just as often as any of the others. I have had some rifles that will shoot the first shot into the group while others need one or two fouling shots. I have not been able to determine a particular reason why some guns don't require it, while others do. It seems to have no correlation to bore diameter, though my Remington 700 in .375 H&H Magnum was always accurate, first to last, as were all my 30-06 rifles. I tend to think smaller bores may be more sensitive to first cold shots, but it does not always hold true. However, a given accurate load will always throw to the same place on those first shots, which is a handy thing to take note of.
I have annealed cases occasionally, when required. I prefer to simply buy new ones, as there are often other issues by the time they have hardened, such as thinning of the critical web area. But, for instance, I once purchased a brand new bag of brass during the recent shortage that I discovered to be brittle, apparently missing the factory annealing step. I have occasionally had premature hardening after one or two firings, which certainly indicated corrective annealing. I may address this in a video some time.
Regarding barrel cleaning, there are broadly two schools of thought. They agree that cleaning your rifle of carbon and combustion residue after each session is good practice. They differ in whether or not remove accumulated copper reside deposited in the rifling, after each use. Shooters trained in the traditional military methods of care/maintenance of firearms used to be taught -it was drummed into them by their drill sergeants and NCOs - to clean the barrel down to the bare metal after each session. In other words, at the start of a shooting session, that rifleman is going to be using a cold-bore/clean-bore rifle. A newer school of thought, however, recognizes that once a steady-state of copper deposition has been established coating the grooves and lands, the rifle will shoot to its accuracy potential for as many as 200-300 shots before accumulated metallic fouling degrades accuracy. For my part, I believe that is it is most-important to wait an interval of time to allow barrel and chamber cooling, between strings or groups of fire. Assuming your chosen rifle is reasonably clean in the first place. If you are uncertain which approach works best, try them both and compare the results with your rifle, components and loads.
Regarding match bullets- I have never had a match bullet(eldm) blow up on a deer(sambar deer). This holds true for 20m out to whatever range you choose. They will blow straight through 38mm of marine ply with ease, which is well harder than any deer hide and bone combo you could think up. I rarely get pass -throughs, but the damage frangible bullets do internally is something to behold, and may not suit those wishing to harvest maximum meat. In my situations I need instant knockdown and match bullets provide this better than others due to the the shock they impart. I keep hearing they blow up but am yet to see it. Love the videos - a great resource.
until you have a 257 roberts... on a heavy action like a model 70 where published data is about 75% of its potential.. then you may easily exceed a "published " data because that node in a modern barrel etc could very well be in that 65K pressure range that no load data ever were " APPROVED" by saami
you stated something about ladder load testing that I have a question about. The examples were given using weights of 50gr,40grs and 20grs of powder and reducing by 10% for a start. Then increase the charge by 1/10 the max. That is .5grs for 50 grs, .4 for 40grs and .2grs for 20grs, etc. My question for example , say the max weight is 54.6grs of powder or 57.3grs. Would my increase from the start charge still be .5gr because the max is in the 50 gr to 59.9 gr range?. I hope I'm making my question clear for sometimes I confuse myself when trying to ask the questions.
Billy Madge Half grain increments is suitable for cartridge capacity of between 45 to 55 grains. Increments should be appropriate by percentage to the capacity, and scaled accordingly. For instance, a half grain increment for a .223 cartridge is far different than a half grain in a 30-06 case. A half grain increment in a 9mm Luger case spans the entire range of velocities from 1150 to 1350 with Bullseye powder, where the appropriate accuracy increment can be as little as .1 grain. It's not a fixed amount for all cases.
I've used my 168gr match bullets for deer. Have had zero issues taking them down without them taking another step. No unnecessary damage to meat ect. Through and through. I found out by accident.
I'm sure you have had good results under the conditions that you have encountered. However, even the manufacturers of match bullets advise against using them on game, because they are made with a very tiny non-expanding meplat that's designed to minimize air resistance, and they have thick jackets that are designed only for target shooting, neither of which are engineered for performance on game whatsoever. I myself have had very poor results with 224" match bullets on woodchucks, due to lack of expansion. Your limited results notwithstanding--and they indeed represent a very small, non scientific test--match bullets are not intended or recommended for game animals, and I cannot endorse any use that may result in the wounding of and the escape of an animal.
@@GunBlue490 I don't recommend either but found out I used a Hornady A-max bullet by accident and not the 165gr SST bullets I loaded as well.. Both look almost identical red tip but noticed it only on my caliper.
The ATF suddenly, and without prior notification, implemented a reclassification of wetted nitrocellulous from non explosive to high explosive, in June of this year. That primary component of smokeless powder had been stored and transported for decades, with no known or reported incidents. The reclassification caught the powder and ammunition industry by surprise, as this change would have seriously impacted the storing and transportation of this industrial component. At this time, the ATF has since recinded the reclassification. I am not concerned, due to the fact that such a change would equally impose severe problems to the manufacturer of military ammunition by the same affected industry. I am confident that this was a misfire on ATFs part that cannot be implemented, and certainly had no historic justification in the long years of smokeless powder. The Government won't be implementing restrictions on the procurement of products that it requires. A pinhead decision at best.
If you come to Alberta Canada you will need a very well constructed bullet to drop a deer, if not you will be walking for miles ,the deer here are like freight trains lol
tony kennedy I don't recommend it. The chamber to bore ratio was not designed for black powder, and would be a great overcharge. Black powder loads cannot have any empty space above the charge or it will detonate like an obstructed bore, very dangerously. Bullets must be seated tightly on black powder.
tony kennedy Any ammo may be loaded with cast bullets, but at greatly reduced velocities than standard 270 loads. Lyman publishes a cast bullet handbook with 270 and other loads, and with instructions and specifications for the bullets required.
So, let me get this straight...You sold off most of your "higher end" reloading equipment and kept all of your value-priced Lee presses and dies? The exact brand that the precision reloading community has been telling me that I wouldn't achieve under 1/2" group accuracy with? And you used an antiquated beam scale to work up loads for your guns such as 22-250, 257 Roberts, 243, and 223? And headed to the range with those Lee handloads, sat at the bench with a 257 Roberts sporter rifle, turn in
Good Video, but sorry to say You are not right about that the temp make varations in accurrancy. Test yourself: put 3 in the freezer, 3 in room temp and 3 in the sun: test on 200/300m: NO DIFFERENT
Patently untrue. Some powders exhibit extreme sensitivity to temperature change. ( Ball powders especially) other powders are considered temperature stable, (some extruded powders such as hodgdons extreme series.) There are multiple documents listing the temperature sensitivity of powders and it's affect on muzzle velocity.
