I’ve had several people ask me about my load development method. I wanted to do a write up I can reference, copy and paste, as well as share this information for the benefit of others. Don’t agree? Cool, keep doing your own thing. There are much better shooters and smarter loaders out there than I.... this just works for me.
I start with once fired brass, shot from the chamber I am loading for. I begin by depriming and then wet tumbling. I uniform primer pockets IF it’s the first time reloading the brass. I use good brass to begin with (Norma for me), so addressing flash hole burrs is not a concern. Other than the wet tumbling, I do not clean primer pockets by hand or machine. I then anneal in a AnnealEZ. When annealing, you want to use tempilaq 750 INSIDE the case neck to determine when it is done. This ensures consistency throughout the neck. Don’t point the flame at the shoulder, but rather the center of the neck. You anneal before resizing, to even brass tension before stressing it. This allows a more uniform release of the bullet with even neck tension. I anneal every firing for consistency. Some anneal every 4-5 firings for brass life.
Using the Hornady comparator, I measure the shoulder setback using a full length sizing die until I have “bumped back the shoulder” of the brass by 1.5-2 thousandths of an inch. This leaves room for the shoulder to expand, while minimally affecting the case capacity during firing and not stressing the case. I have found success making lanolin lube with 99% alcohol, or just Hornady one shot. I do not recommend neck only sizing dies. These were once the bee’s knees, until we realized if you had to full length resize every 4-5 firings anyways, you are not being consistent. I use Redding match dies, but I have had similar results with the basic Hornady dies.
After this, I trim with a “world’s finest trimmer” on a drill. I generally trim right in the middle of the allowable range per Sami spec. I trim every firing for consistency, though this makes only a slight impact on SD in my experience. But stacking of tolerances can throw us off in the end. I chamfer and deburr using a Lyman 5 stage. I then wet tumble again to remove any lube, and any burrs I didn’t get out of the case mouth because I speed trim. At this point, we have a piece of brass ready to go. Carbon being needed in the neck is a myth in my opinion.
I dust my 147gr ELDM bullets in a rotary tumbler using a peanut butter jar with David Tubb’s Hexagonal Boron Nitride powder. This increases the lubricity of the bullet, ultimately lowering the case pressure, allowing you to fill a bit more capacity of the case at lower velocities. Think... a 42.0gr charge of H4350 to achieve 2700fps is now around 42.3gr to achieve 2700fps, with less pressure. This helps the first cold bore shot at long range to be consistent with follow up shots. HBN is superior to moly in every way. Always wash your bullets with dawn dish soap, rinse and dry completely, before coating. Speaking of drying, I use a dehydrator. It is unlikely hot spots caused by heating elements in an oven while maintaining low temps are enough to screw with your brass, but it’s not worth the risk.
I have a series of mandrels from 21st century and have found that 1.5 thousandths under bullet diameter gives me the lowest SD in my rifle during testing. I usually under size the neck during the resizing die process using a bushing by about two thousandths, then the mandrel pushes out the last 0.5 thousandth of the neck inner diameter. Leaving 1.5 thousandths of neck tension. Do not crimp rifle rounds for a bolt gun. I don’t even crimp 223 or similar. I then apply imperial dry graphite lube to the mandrel and go to town. This pushes imperfections in the neck wall to the outside of the brass and once again evens the neck tension.
Using a Hornady bullet comparator, I measure the lands of my rifle and generally start 20 thousands off the lands and play around with testing. I’m not a fan of jamming bullets with my style of shooting and competition, but it works. The bullet tips, no matter how good, are not consistent. So overall length is not an appropriate way to measure a round. Instead, we measure the case base to the bullet O-give. Currently, I load to max magazine length of the AICS magazines for my Ruger Precision 6.5 Creedmoor, because I’d rather be able to magazine feed, and I’ve found little decrease in standard deviation when running the method described above. The 147gr ELDm do not mind the lands jump in my rifle. But it is proper, and works for most applications. When I seat the bullets, I use the dry graphite lube again. If everything was done correctly and you have decent dies, you should be seeing 3 thousandths or less of bullet run out, or concentricity. Sometimes I see primarily only 0-2 run out in batches of loads.
To develop the powder charge, I start near the top 10% of the load data, and generally load to about 3grs over max published data. I would not advise this high in a hunting rifle. General advise is to never load above max published charge. I make three rounds per charge at 0.3gr charge increments. This is usually about 10 different powder charges of 3 rounds each with 0.3gr between. I read pressure signs and if I run into any, I don’t shoot any charges higher during my velocity test, even if I’m entering a new node. Because I use a temperature insensitive powder, I don’t fear outside temperature causing me to load something that will be too hot when it is scorching outside, but I generally try to shoot my tests at 50 degrees or higher outside anyways.
I use a magnetospeed V3 and if I plan to shoot the load suppressed, throw on my suppressor. I use silencerco’s ASR mounting system and find rumors of quick detach systems being inferior to thread on options, to be incorrect. I generally shoot steel at 200 yards during testing for fun, and specifically don’t shoot for groups, because I only want to be concerned about a velocity chart at this point. I take my average velocities from each node and build a line chart in excel. Generally, you’ll fine two nodes in this chart. These are areas where an increased powder charge did not increase, or slightly decreased velocity. We call these “nodes”. To my understanding, this method was created and or made popular by Scott Satterlee. What’s happening is that the natural resonating frequency of the barrel (picture it like a tuning fork) is right back to the center of travel the moment the bullet exits the rifling, affecting the bullets flight path at an absolute minimum. I load up ten rounds at these 2 nodes, and test again, this time for standard deviation amongst each node. My methods generally get my SD in the low teens, or single digits on both nodes. If both nodes are similar SD, I chose the faster one. If not, I’d rather be consistent and slower, than faster and higher SD.
I then load everything and forgot about development for a while. I run 3 Tubb TMS bullets through every 150 rounds or so to maintain my throat. I don’t clean unless accuracy degrades or it’s been a year or so.
While these results below are not typical or consistent obviously, I have achieved 0.16 MOA at 100 yards with a 3 shot group, 5” at 1000 yards (3” vertical string”) in a 5 shot group, and one shot 1.9” from center at 1-mile using this method. I only get to shoot long range a couple times a year. With this 6.5 creedmoor load, I use 42.2gr H4350, 210m primers, Norma brass, and a 147gr ELD-m bullets. This load shoots consistency 1/2 MOA for me, sometimes less.
I do not bullet or case sort, or neck turn. I may start neck turning in the future.
I hope that helps you with something along your journey. Just because it works for me, doesn’t mean it’s correct or will work for you. However, I’ve had consistent success teaching others and helping them to develop loads.
I start with once fired brass, shot from the chamber I am loading for. I begin by depriming and then wet tumbling. I uniform primer pockets IF it’s the first time reloading the brass. I use good brass to begin with (Norma for me), so addressing flash hole burrs is not a concern. Other than the wet tumbling, I do not clean primer pockets by hand or machine. I then anneal in a AnnealEZ. When annealing, you want to use tempilaq 750 INSIDE the case neck to determine when it is done. This ensures consistency throughout the neck. Don’t point the flame at the shoulder, but rather the center of the neck. You anneal before resizing, to even brass tension before stressing it. This allows a more uniform release of the bullet with even neck tension. I anneal every firing for consistency. Some anneal every 4-5 firings for brass life.
Using the Hornady comparator, I measure the shoulder setback using a full length sizing die until I have “bumped back the shoulder” of the brass by 1.5-2 thousandths of an inch. This leaves room for the shoulder to expand, while minimally affecting the case capacity during firing and not stressing the case. I have found success making lanolin lube with 99% alcohol, or just Hornady one shot. I do not recommend neck only sizing dies. These were once the bee’s knees, until we realized if you had to full length resize every 4-5 firings anyways, you are not being consistent. I use Redding match dies, but I have had similar results with the basic Hornady dies.
After this, I trim with a “world’s finest trimmer” on a drill. I generally trim right in the middle of the allowable range per Sami spec. I trim every firing for consistency, though this makes only a slight impact on SD in my experience. But stacking of tolerances can throw us off in the end. I chamfer and deburr using a Lyman 5 stage. I then wet tumble again to remove any lube, and any burrs I didn’t get out of the case mouth because I speed trim. At this point, we have a piece of brass ready to go. Carbon being needed in the neck is a myth in my opinion.
I dust my 147gr ELDM bullets in a rotary tumbler using a peanut butter jar with David Tubb’s Hexagonal Boron Nitride powder. This increases the lubricity of the bullet, ultimately lowering the case pressure, allowing you to fill a bit more capacity of the case at lower velocities. Think... a 42.0gr charge of H4350 to achieve 2700fps is now around 42.3gr to achieve 2700fps, with less pressure. This helps the first cold bore shot at long range to be consistent with follow up shots. HBN is superior to moly in every way. Always wash your bullets with dawn dish soap, rinse and dry completely, before coating. Speaking of drying, I use a dehydrator. It is unlikely hot spots caused by heating elements in an oven while maintaining low temps are enough to screw with your brass, but it’s not worth the risk.
I have a series of mandrels from 21st century and have found that 1.5 thousandths under bullet diameter gives me the lowest SD in my rifle during testing. I usually under size the neck during the resizing die process using a bushing by about two thousandths, then the mandrel pushes out the last 0.5 thousandth of the neck inner diameter. Leaving 1.5 thousandths of neck tension. Do not crimp rifle rounds for a bolt gun. I don’t even crimp 223 or similar. I then apply imperial dry graphite lube to the mandrel and go to town. This pushes imperfections in the neck wall to the outside of the brass and once again evens the neck tension.
Using a Hornady bullet comparator, I measure the lands of my rifle and generally start 20 thousands off the lands and play around with testing. I’m not a fan of jamming bullets with my style of shooting and competition, but it works. The bullet tips, no matter how good, are not consistent. So overall length is not an appropriate way to measure a round. Instead, we measure the case base to the bullet O-give. Currently, I load to max magazine length of the AICS magazines for my Ruger Precision 6.5 Creedmoor, because I’d rather be able to magazine feed, and I’ve found little decrease in standard deviation when running the method described above. The 147gr ELDm do not mind the lands jump in my rifle. But it is proper, and works for most applications. When I seat the bullets, I use the dry graphite lube again. If everything was done correctly and you have decent dies, you should be seeing 3 thousandths or less of bullet run out, or concentricity. Sometimes I see primarily only 0-2 run out in batches of loads.
To develop the powder charge, I start near the top 10% of the load data, and generally load to about 3grs over max published data. I would not advise this high in a hunting rifle. General advise is to never load above max published charge. I make three rounds per charge at 0.3gr charge increments. This is usually about 10 different powder charges of 3 rounds each with 0.3gr between. I read pressure signs and if I run into any, I don’t shoot any charges higher during my velocity test, even if I’m entering a new node. Because I use a temperature insensitive powder, I don’t fear outside temperature causing me to load something that will be too hot when it is scorching outside, but I generally try to shoot my tests at 50 degrees or higher outside anyways.
I use a magnetospeed V3 and if I plan to shoot the load suppressed, throw on my suppressor. I use silencerco’s ASR mounting system and find rumors of quick detach systems being inferior to thread on options, to be incorrect. I generally shoot steel at 200 yards during testing for fun, and specifically don’t shoot for groups, because I only want to be concerned about a velocity chart at this point. I take my average velocities from each node and build a line chart in excel. Generally, you’ll fine two nodes in this chart. These are areas where an increased powder charge did not increase, or slightly decreased velocity. We call these “nodes”. To my understanding, this method was created and or made popular by Scott Satterlee. What’s happening is that the natural resonating frequency of the barrel (picture it like a tuning fork) is right back to the center of travel the moment the bullet exits the rifling, affecting the bullets flight path at an absolute minimum. I load up ten rounds at these 2 nodes, and test again, this time for standard deviation amongst each node. My methods generally get my SD in the low teens, or single digits on both nodes. If both nodes are similar SD, I chose the faster one. If not, I’d rather be consistent and slower, than faster and higher SD.
I then load everything and forgot about development for a while. I run 3 Tubb TMS bullets through every 150 rounds or so to maintain my throat. I don’t clean unless accuracy degrades or it’s been a year or so.
While these results below are not typical or consistent obviously, I have achieved 0.16 MOA at 100 yards with a 3 shot group, 5” at 1000 yards (3” vertical string”) in a 5 shot group, and one shot 1.9” from center at 1-mile using this method. I only get to shoot long range a couple times a year. With this 6.5 creedmoor load, I use 42.2gr H4350, 210m primers, Norma brass, and a 147gr ELD-m bullets. This load shoots consistency 1/2 MOA for me, sometimes less.
I do not bullet or case sort, or neck turn. I may start neck turning in the future.
I hope that helps you with something along your journey. Just because it works for me, doesn’t mean it’s correct or will work for you. However, I’ve had consistent success teaching others and helping them to develop loads.
