Bottle Brush Those Brass Necks....

[Larry243]

Hey guys...Need to share

I have been a reloader for a few years, and enjoy bench shooting my .243 as well as hunting. I am very particular about loading, and spend extra time making sure my brass is clean, sized, and re-loaded with quality products so I can be assured good groupings and ballistics at the range weekly. I have been researching something that has proven to be well worth the extra effort for better groupings at the range.

Many guys, tumble, size and trim there brass when re-loading and do pretty good...But How many bottle brush the inside of the bullet necks before reloading. When a bullet is fired, there is some baked on residual coatings that will not tumble off when you tumble. The problem is that once you have resized you cartridge necks the coating is still embedded on the brass. This allows a small amount of cushioning that is not pure brass. The press fit process for the bullet is not exactly the same for each round, so the ballistics suffer a bit.

I had been shooting a specific bullet from Hornady for several years with pretty nice groupings... It is the
95 gr SST .243 bullet. I use the same powder and load data to get my 5 round grouping that is 1" to 1.25 with a standard sporting barrel at 100 yds.

The following process now allows me to shoot .875 to 1.0 groupings consistently.
1 Wire brush the case neck with the same brush as your barrel 2-3 strokes is fine.
2 Re-size and extract the primer in the case
3 Tumble until clean and shinny
4 Install new primer
5 Load Powder and Bullet using light anti sizing wax or fluids on external case only
6 The press fit will now be the same on all bullets.... no residual coatings inside exist on the case.

It sure works good for me!....
Larry243

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[Oathkeeper1775]

I should check more often; when I switched to liquid and SS pins, it made me lazy...

 

[Certaindeaf]

Are you sure it's not just because your barrel has reached a sweet spot in its life with that particular load?

 

[DizzyJ]

Good to know. I wonder if wet tumbling with SS pins would eliminate the need for this?

 

[kmk1012]

SS pins seem to clean every part of the case, I'm always impressed how clean the primer pockets get. I would think the pocket would be harder to reach but, you have a good point about something essentially getting embedded into the brass. Thank you for sharing this tip.

 

[Larry243]

Are you sure it's not just because your barrel has reached a sweet spot in its life with that particular load?

Absolutely Positive !

 

[DizzyJ]

Absolutely Positive !

Out of curiosity did you perform a comparative test with 10 5-shot groups of each? Have someone else box up the Ammo so you didn't know which ones you were shooting?

Is it possible the necks were getting harder, and brushing them somehow helped?

I only ask because some guys purposely use dry neck lubricant when loading and seating bullets to enhance accuracy.

 

[Greenbug]

I have found that consistent neck tension has a greater affect on velocity consistency (standard deviation, given consistent powder charge weights) than it does on accuracy (consistency of group size). I do brush case necks to get them clean as a part of my brass preparation regimen. No lube on the case or the bullets however, this introduces a wildcard element to the reloading equation as you can not consistently apply lube to every surface. YMMV.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Absolutely Positive !

I'd say a more comprehensive test greater than n=1 would be in order and remain unconvinced without testing the rifle now that it's just that that rifle just shoots better overall in its present condition/wear pattern.. for just that particular rifle.
I can perhaps see this helping/contributing to hold zero over time with a batch of brass but not necessarily group size.

 

[Larry243]

Out of curiosity did you perform a comparative test with 10 5-shot groups of each? Have someone else box up the Ammo so you didn't know which ones you were shooting?

Is it possible the necks were getting harder, and brushing them somehow helped?

I only ask because some guys purposely use dry neck lubricant when loading and seating bullets to enhance accuracy.

Although I do shoot other loads, I really like Hornady 95 gr SST for several reasons. I always chart my ammo at the range, and shoot through a Chronograph to ensure that the ballistics are very close. I use a very precision powder scale and the rounds are pretty close +- about 50 ft/per/sec. I have tested this 3 weeks in a row now, and my groupings are better for sure. I do not want to use dry lube, because I do not want to influence the press fit of raw brass to the bullet surface. I still believe that contamination effects the press fit of the two surfaces. It is not a huge change, but I was trying to determine what effect it does have. When punching paper holes, it only shows what reloading can or can't do to improve accuracy and ballistics. If I was deer Hunting... There all dead!
Bench shooting is the only way you can determine what is happening with your equipment and individual talents with precision loads.
I will also do some testing with other rounds in the future?
Larry 243

 

[Larry243]

I have found that consistent neck tension has a greater affect on velocity consistency (standard deviation, given consistent powder charge weights) than it does on accuracy (consistency of group size). I do brush case necks to get them clean as a part of my brass preparation regimen. No lube on the case or the bullets however, this introduces a wildcard element to the reloading equation as you can not consistently apply lube to every surface. YMMV.

You are spot on my man!

 

[Larry243]

SS pins seem to clean every part of the case, I'm always impressed how clean the primer pockets get. I would think the pocket would be harder to reach but, you have a good point about something essentially getting embedded into the brass. Thank you for sharing this tip.

Well,
Contamination does increase or decrease precision press fit... Thanks

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Case length on range brass was my "demon" for a long time...now I have a consistent trimmer.

1.760" for .223 is easy to achieve if the cases are that or longer.... but if shorter, bullets won't be seated as low.. = less pressure?

My goal is an unsupported (off hand) lethal shot at 100 yds.

Case thickness matters a bit too.

 

[DizzyJ]

I assume you guys that are loading for precision and doing all this extra work to make the ammo as accurate as possible are using concentricity gauges as well to check for runout?

 

[Larry243]

Case length on range brass was my "demon" for a long time...now I have a consistent trimmer.

1.760" for .223 is easy to achieve if the cases are that or longer.... but if shorter, bullets won't be seated as low.. = less pressure?

My goal is an unsupported (off hand) lethal shot at 100 yds.

Case thickness matters a bit too.

Well Thanks,
Off hand shooting does not tell you the capability of the weapon. It is great when you can control you aim when shooting off hand, but it just does not tell you if it is you or the rifle... Once the bench shooting has proven your rifles capability, a miss or poor shot is then on your end...Right ?
Thank's

 

[Certaindeaf]

Harry M. Pope made quite a few records with his guns.
I think he used one piece of brass for 30,000 shots. This was way before any sort of tumbling was done to brass. He probably made sure it wasn't all boogered up though.

 

[Larry243]

I assume you guys that are loading for precision and doing all this extra work to make the ammo as accurate as possible are using concentricity gauges as well to check for runout?

Absolutely,
For my hunting ammo only. This is the one that counts. Range shooting to me needs to be 1-1.5 B/C at 100 yds. This will allow a 200 yd shot to still get all the hair needed for a good kill. I love paper shooting for.... Proving the rifles capability only, and to know If I missed.... It was me!
Thank's....Larry243

 

[jordanka16]

I only ask because some guys purposely use dry neck lubricant when loading and seating bullets to enhance accuracy.

I use graphite on the neck and imperial wax on the body, the graphite helps the expander ball work more smoothly and evenly, dry lube will also not dent shoulders. If any is left in the case it doesn't matter, powder is graphite coated anyway.

 

[Larry243]

I use graphite on the neck and imperial wax on the body, the graphite helps the expander ball work more smoothly and evenly, dry lube will also not dent shoulders. If any is left in the case it doesn't matter, powder is graphite coated anyway.

Hummmm!
I may just have to try it. I do like the fact that graphite is none bonding also. What brand do you use or like the best? How do you apply it to the inside of the neck?
Larry243

 

[jordanka16]

Hummmm!
I may just have to try it. I do like the fact that graphite is none bonding also. What brand do you use or like the best? How do you apply it to the inside of the neck?
Larry243

Imperial Dry Neck Lube Convenience Pak - MPN: 07200

It's got small ceramic media about the size of #9 shot in it, you just dip the neck in and done.