Varget ?

[Bearcatrp]

Will have to look into that software. Thanks.

[crbutler]

Before you go and spend the money on quickload, remember it is just a tool. Mostly its practical application is coming up with a starting point for something you don't have any empirical data for. Lots of wildcatters use it for that purpose.

It has a lot of settings that are user defined and if you put the wrong one in, you get garbage out.

If you don't understand what you are asking the program to do, you are better off not buying it.

All it is is a statistical modeling software program. Reasonably good, but not the same as actual measured data.

It is in no way a substitute for a reloading manual or 20.

Reloading (IMO) is a practical art (not a science) in that you apply knowledge to individual problems and measure your outcomes as opposed to what you expect. You cannot define every item to get a known result before you test it. Most people have no way of measuring pressure- we usually measure it indirectly, by various methods, some reasonable (chronograph), some not (does it "feel hot")

Erud,

When you talk about measuring neck tension, I assume you are talking about measuring internal neck diameter, at least that is the only way I have found to put a number on it. Do you do something different?

[Bearcatrp]

I doubt I will buy the program at this time but maybe down the road. Its another tool. Until then, will stay with the manual and always start low with the powder and work up, watching for signs of to much pressure. Sucks that Hodgdon or any other publisher of reloading data doesn't state info like what was shown here. But then again, thats why they all state to start low and work up. Part of the reloading process. Was hoping labradar would have been out by now as I been wanting there chrono since announced. Looking for an alternative now. Another tool to help, as with that software. Crbutler, thanks for assessment on the software. Very good point. As with the comment on neck tension. Am not into competition but will look at the different tools available to insure neck tension is correct. Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate your help. As in any new hobby, more to learn.

[Erud]

CRButler is right about Quickload. It's a great tool, but the data that comes out is only going to be as good as what you put in. In this case, it is just confirming what we already knew - that the load in question is too hot for your rifle.

As for measuring neck tension, easiest way is to measure a loaded round and a sized case and subtract the difference. Here is one of my .308 Palma cases that is sized and ready to load:


And here is a loaded round:


Now, if I take the loaded round measurement of .3355" and subtract the sized case measurement of .3335", I get neck tension of .002". This is exactly what I want, and is what I spec'd this die for when I ordered it. Depending on the brass and die you are using, this number could vary widely. Most off-the-shelf dies would err on the side of too much neck tension, I haven't seen one that didn't give enough tension with factory un-modified brass. If you are using different brands/headstamps/years of brass, the neck tension will likely be different from one to the next, sometimes very different. If you are shooting mixed range brass(hopefully you are not, especially since you are using max loads), they could be anything. All of my Palma brass is prepped very specifically, and all of the cases are virtually identical. I can take any loaded round and any sized case and get the same numbers to within .0005". The load I shoot is specifically for this brass in my chamber. If I grabbed a random piece of .308 brass from LC, Winchester, etc, and loaded it with the same load, it would likely be seriously over-pressure and cause problems.

You may or may not be able to do anything about the amount of tension on your bullets, but it is a number worth knowing either way. Bushing dies can be used to adjust tension, and are a decent solution much of the time. The consistent .002" tension on my load means that the powder charge needs to develop the same amount of pressure inside each case to get the bullet to release. This is good for maintaining consistent velocities, consistent brass life, etc. Here's an example of what inconsistent brass could do. If you had 9 pieces of brass with .014" neck thickness, and 1 piece with .016" thickness, and sized them in the same die, the .016" is going to have much greater neck tension than the other 9. The pressure spike inside that case needed to get the bullet out of the neck will be much higher than in the other 9, and you could have serious pressure problems with that single case of the batch. A blown or pierced primer would not be at all unlikely in this scenario.

One other thing to mention. You didn't specify exactly what you meant by blown primers. If they are piercing(hole in the primer where the firing pin strikes), you should think about replacing your firing pin. Any time this happens, the hot gasses escaping through the primer hole will damage the tip of the pin to some degree and leave a less-than-smooth surface. This rough surface will greatly increase the likelihood of piercing more primers, even with less pressure. It's always good to have a spare on hand anyways, they are cheap.

Good luck,
Erik

[Bearcatrp]

For my plinking rounds, I have LC brass that's once fired from a reliable source. Those rounds are Hornady 150 gn FMJ. As for my 168 a-max, only commercial brass I have shot previously or purchased new. Never range brass. Thanks for the detailed description. Been watching videos and reading allot on neck tension since this was brought up. Seems the regular dies don't do enough to address this issue but then again thought adjust neck tension was for precision shooters. On my list of tools to get next. Thanks again.

[Bearcatrp]

Came across this article and wanted to get you folks opinion as it basically says not to neck size for AR's. Scroll down to that section.
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloa ... reload.cfm

[Erud]

Neck sizing is a whole different topic and really has nothing to do with neck tension. Personally, I've never seen the point of neck-sizing only, as a properly set-up FL die will not overwork your brass anyways. Lots of potential for trouble, with virtually no benefit over FL sizing. I certainly wouldn't try neck-only sizing for a semi auto, as you are likely to lock up your rifle very quickly, as in probably the first round you fire.

[Bearcatrp]

Thanks

[Dutch]

One other thing to mention. You didn't specify exactly what you meant by blown primers. If they are piercing(hole in the primer where the firing pin strikes), you should think about replacing your firing pin. Any time this happens, the hot gasses escaping through the primer hole will damage the tip of the pin to some degree and leave a less-than-smooth surface. This rough surface will greatly increase the likelihood of piercing more primers, even with less pressure. It's always good to have a spare on hand anyways, they are cheap.

Good luck,
Erik

The LR-308 is known for oversized firing pin holes in the bolt.