These are the most consistent results I've had with my handloads. Out of 5 batches of 5 rounds each, I only had one batch that had a SD in the double digits. All the rest were single digits!

Caliber:308
Bullets: 168 grain Nosler RDF's
Powder: IMR-4064
Primer: Remington 9-1/2
Die: Redding FL small base bushing dies
Rifle: Savage 110 in 308 with 22" Benchmark 5R barrel

My brass was wet tumbled, annealed, sized, and wet tumbled again to remove the case lube, then trimmed. I coated the bullets in Hornady one-shot dry lube before seating them.

I sorted through a couple hundred cases to make a batch of 50 in which all these cases weigh within 1 grain of eachother.

Using my Labradar, here were my results:
-42.4 grains: 2665 FPS, SD of 8.6
-42.6 grains: 2677 FPS, SD of 9.4
-42.8 grains: 2700 FPS, SD of 11.7
-43.0 grains: 2708 FPS, SD of 3.5
-43.2 grains: 2720 FPS, SD of 9.3

Thanks for whomever it was that suggested to me to lube the bullets before seating on wet cleaned brass. It's made a huge difference!

Tony.

I just wipe down the outside of the case with a towel... easy. In the past I have also dropped the cases in a container of isopropyl alcohol for a few min. They are ready to go after a few min of sitting.

And yes, dipping the base of the projectile in some neck lube will ensure consistent release on ignition. I routinely get sub 5 SD and have had a 10 round sample of 1.5 SD.

Good luck.

Andrew

quote:

Originally posted by sigarmsp226:
Tony - Impessive results - Now I have to see if I have any 4064 in my powder inventory…..

One Question - You commented that you wet tumbled your brass after resizing to remove the case lube. May I ask what your wet formula was for this batch and did you use SS Pins with this second batch. I ask because when I have tried this I end up with a sticky almost slimy mess. I always end up going back to corn cob media to remove the case lube and then have to pick the primer pockets clean….Thanks Mark

I did this particular batch a couple of weeks ago. My formula is 1 tablespoon of Dawn Ultra Platinum 4K and 1/2 teaspoon of Lemi-Shine for 1.5 hours followed by a water rinse and an oven dry for 15 minutes. I trim cases after the brass is clean and dry.

I used to wipe them clean with a rag, but that takes a lot of time when doing 100 to 200 cases in a batch, so I changed my method last week to sizing dirty brass, then wet tumbling once and done. It was suggested to me by member "offgrid".

I'm now annealing dirty brass with a water quench and drying them in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes. I then take the dirty brass and spray them with my lanolin/alcohol mix and size them. I don't lube the inside of the necks since it already has carbon and I use a floating carbide sizing button. I then tumble in my Thumler's Tumbler with the above listed formula, followed by an oven dry.

I use Sleeping Giant stainless chips which look like grains of rice. They don't get clogged in the cases or firing pin holes and every surface comes out clean.

I then move on to trimming with my Giraud Tri-way trimmer in my cordless drill. Depending on how much trimming the brass needs, I can trim 4 to 6 cases a minute.

After that, it's priming, charging and seating with dry-lubed bullets.

Forgot to mention, I'm using a Redding competition seater die.

Tony.

Glad it works for you.

But there is no way in Hell I'd size dirty brass .... ever. A sizing die is a precision instrument. So I won't risk even a single grain of sand getting between the case and the die; thereby leaving scratches.

And tumbling after sizing seems to defeat the purpose of ensuring the case mouths are concentric and consistent.

Personally, I deprime, stainless tumble, anneal, size (body then neck then mandrel), trim, prime, powder, seat (bullet dipped in neck lube) then shoot. I routinely get SD <5.

Just my thoughts.

Andrew

If it was coming from anyone other than offgrid, I'd scoff at the idea. Since I anneal dirty, I do rinse and dry the cases and I wouldn't size a case that had actual dirt or debris on it.

I'm game for anything different. Maybe it means I clean my sizing die more often, but cleaning it every so often is quicker than hand drying cases one at a time.

I'll give it a shot anyway.

Tony.

Thanks for creating this thread, Tony. I'm not only subscribing but printing it as well.

Very interested to see what this load will do for me and my 7.62 Garand.

Edit to add: and I just placed an order for the Sleeping Giant chips.

Glad it helped! I was using FC-18 cases. They are once fired Federal XM80 ball cases and they weigh around 175 grains.

The only cases I’ve seen that are heavier are IMI and gold medal match brass.

Tony.

Now I've got to print this page again.