Newbie in need of reloading guidance

B

been there

Guest
Hi all. This is my first post, so be gentle. I have been doing a lot of reading, but I seem to be getting somewhat confused. I have been shooting and reloading for a while, but I am just getting into benchrest shooting. My rifle is a lightly used 6mm PPC gem with a .262 neck that I inherited. I am a little perplexed with the aspects of BR reloading (I am presently using and reloading ammunition that came with the gun). Eventually, I'll need to prepare cases for reloading and I find this whole neck turning thing challenging. I bought a neck trimmer from Forster Products, and the instructions say that the cases should be "resized and expanded before turning the outside of the necks". My first question is: resized to what? With the rifle came a neck sizing die with neck bushings from .255 to .260. How do I know which one to use? My second question is about expanding: I know that my rifle's previous owner didn't use this step...not that this makes it right. What is expanding, and what does it accomplish? I'm preparing my third equipment order to Forster, what should I be ordering to perform the expanding step? My third question is: I have a quantity of standard SAKO 6PPC brass and six boxes of SAKO 6PPC factory rounds. Will this be of any use to me on this project? Finally: to save myself some grief, is there anywhere that I can purchase cases that have already been prepared for BR loading. Thank you.
 
Abandon the forster order, call ron hoehn in st louis and get some prepped brass and a good FL die with a .257,.258 bushing and go from there. He can set you up with some used equip he has there to get you going on whatever you need.
 
do you know who made the rifle, who was around when it was being used ?
try some local info...
my guess is you have the dies..you just do not recognize them.

measure a loaded rounds neck...make notes.

some one can jump in with a starting neck sizing point and you can tune from there.
 
Welcome to Benchrest

Welcome. It's a great sport.

Winter is coming. Get "The Book of Rifle Accuracy" by Tony Boyer, and read it. He is one of the all-time great shooters and you will learn a lot from it, not just about benchrest, but about all types of reloading and shooting. That will help with your neck bushing questions.

I use a Forster neck trimmer and like it. The expansion thing is so that the neck of the case won't bind on the mandrel of the turner. I also use a teeny bit of Imperial Sizing wax. See KMShooting.com for expansion mandrels and other useful tools.

While you're at it, call Sinclair International and get a catalog. You'll learn a lot just studying it and contemplating what the various tools are for.

There are at least several sources for fully prepped brass. Ron Hoehn, who advertises on this site, is a popular source. Your Sako brass and factory rounds are probably best sold to someone with a Sako 6PPC, not a competition rifle with a tight chamber and a .262 neck.

Anyway, have fun.
 
Another vote here to save your money from the necking turning and expanding equipment and spend it on fully prepped cases from Ron Hoehn. They will most likely be a much better product than you will be able to produce for some time.

The expanding mandrel has to match the neck turning tool mandrel. So you size the brass then expand so it will fit perfectly on the turning mandrel. Then to go all the way down for a 262 NK is at least a two if not three cutting pass process. You can't cut that much in one pass.

Spend your time shooting
 
CMaier said:
do you know who made the rifle, who was around when it was being used ?
try some local info...
my guess is you have the dies..you just do not recognize them.

measure a loaded rounds neck...make notes.

some one can jump in with a starting neck sizing point and you can tune from there.
Click to expand...

The rifle was made by Norm Dixon. I inherited it from a friend, and I was usually present when it was being used, which wasn't that often. When I got the rifle it came with ammo, components and reloading equipment. I've been using the rifle and reloading his brass as I go along, and the accuracy is pretty good. I have been taking measurements, and making notes, actually that's why I'm looking into becoming more knowledgeable. My friend used three different kinds of brass (Sako, Norma and Lapua). His loaded rounds have necks measuring from .256 to .261. I think he may have turned some of them too much. This combined with brass from different manufacturers is what has me looking into starting a new batch of ammunition. As I said, the accuracy is very good, but I feel that more uniformity could turn good into better.
 
You are exactly right. That is what will happen for a while as you spend or waste money learning to turn out uniform brass.
You may even be more surprised than you think with a new set of uniform brass
 
Thank you for your input. Using prepped brass seems to be the best way to go. I will be reaching out to Ron Hoehn. Again, thank you all.
 
Hey been there,

put your location in your personal info that shows in your heading so everyone knows where you are at. You might be close to someone that could help you out.

You need a good mentor. This will help you a BUNCH.

Joe Hynes
 
liljoe said:
Hey been there,

put your location in your personal info that shows in your heading so everyone knows where you are at. You might be close to someone that could help you out.

You need a good mentor. This will help you a BUNCH.

Joe Hynes
Click to expand...

Done. Thanks.
 
Gentlemen, I want to thank you again for your assistance. I also want to acknowledge, and thank two of you, that sent me private messages. I sent replies, but I don't think the replies went out. The mail icon indicates that the messages were answered, but the "Sent Messages" in the "My Messages" is still at zero. I tried sending out new messages, but there is no indication that they went out either. I hope it's a simple matter of me not understanding the system. In any event, thank you for your efforts. Frank
 
Plan on going to a couple winter league matches at Dunhams Bay which is right up the road. Go to a couple to watch and learn, it is a very experienced crew with usually one top flight gunsmith there and you should pick things up pretty quickly.
Down the road @ Camillus, they go every Sunday from end of this month into April.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top