I posted a little white back about getting started in reloading. I'm making progress slowly and I have a few questions about what I should be focusing on for making accurate loads.
I was curious about overall length - something I have never paid any attention to before. So I got out various brands of .223/5.56 I have and went to work with a caliper. The first thing I noticed was that the overall length varies a lot from one type to another. For instance, Hornady Steel Match rounds are way shorter than Tula rounds.
But then I decided to take a look at how much variation there was in the overall length in each brand. What I found was a pretty good correlation between consistent length and how well the ammo works for me. The cheap brands varied by 2 or 3 times as much as the good ones. Hornady Steel Match had the least variation, and is the best ammo I've ever tried.
This got me curious, so I started looking at other calibers. I happen to have some Swiss 7.5mm GP11 surplus ammo as well as PPU factory ammo in the same caliber, and also some Swedish Prickskytte 6.5mm surplus ammo, and the PPU stuff in that caliber. The surplus ammo in both of those calibers is famously accurate, and I again found that the lengths were consistent, varying by around .005". The PPU lengths varied by up to 0.16". But I haven't shot enough of these to see if there's a difference in performance.
So all that to get to my questions:
1. Does overall length have a big affect on accuracy, and if so, is it the actual length or the consistency that matters? For instance, if I sort the Tula .223 so that they vary by no more than the Hornady, will they group the same?
2. Assuming consistent powder charge, and a given factory bullet, what else can I control when handloading that effects accuracy in a noticeable way (let's say noticeable at 100 yards or less). And, I mean "control with a basic single stage press setup".
Thanks!
I was curious about overall length - something I have never paid any attention to before. So I got out various brands of .223/5.56 I have and went to work with a caliper. The first thing I noticed was that the overall length varies a lot from one type to another. For instance, Hornady Steel Match rounds are way shorter than Tula rounds.
But then I decided to take a look at how much variation there was in the overall length in each brand. What I found was a pretty good correlation between consistent length and how well the ammo works for me. The cheap brands varied by 2 or 3 times as much as the good ones. Hornady Steel Match had the least variation, and is the best ammo I've ever tried.
This got me curious, so I started looking at other calibers. I happen to have some Swiss 7.5mm GP11 surplus ammo as well as PPU factory ammo in the same caliber, and also some Swedish Prickskytte 6.5mm surplus ammo, and the PPU stuff in that caliber. The surplus ammo in both of those calibers is famously accurate, and I again found that the lengths were consistent, varying by around .005". The PPU lengths varied by up to 0.16". But I haven't shot enough of these to see if there's a difference in performance.
So all that to get to my questions:
1. Does overall length have a big affect on accuracy, and if so, is it the actual length or the consistency that matters? For instance, if I sort the Tula .223 so that they vary by no more than the Hornady, will they group the same?
2. Assuming consistent powder charge, and a given factory bullet, what else can I control when handloading that effects accuracy in a noticeable way (let's say noticeable at 100 yards or less). And, I mean "control with a basic single stage press setup".
Thanks!