Still getting one flyer

[roooster_11]

I'm getting close, but I seem to always have one flyer.

[Bill K]

That could just be the nature of the beast, or just a little different flick of your trigger finger. Bill K

[roooster_11]

Yeah, probably all me since my other best group looks very similar.

[roooster_11]

Notice the two group sizes....what the chances of that?

I hope i'm measuring correctly. I set my caliper to .204 then zero it there and then measure from outside to outside.....is this correct?

[Rick in Oregon]

Could also be a neck tension issue. Are you checking case neck thickness and/or using a bushing die?

For measuring, you can also just measure the outside to outside, then just subtract bullet dia. Either way works just as well though.

[roooster_11]

No Rick I haven't been check neck thickness. How much difference in thickness should I look for before starting to turn the necks. I've never turned necks and don't have the tools for it, but if this is part of the problem, I guess I will learn how to do it and start turning.

[Rick in Oregon]

rooster, I'm not necessarily recommending neck turning, especially for a factory chamber/barrel......just check your brass for neck thickness variations of more than about .0015" to .002" per side. If the neck varies that much, then the case body itself most likely does too, so the brass itself may be the problem (or part of it).

Just a thought.

[roooster_11]

rooster, I'm not necessarily recommending neck turning, especially for a factory chamber/barrel......just check your brass for neck thickness variations of more than about .0015" to .002" per side. If the neck varies that much, then the case body itself most likely does too, so the brass itself may be the problem (or part of it).

Just a thought.

If I find more than .002, would you recommend just discarding that case and trying to use only cases with <.002

[Rick in Oregon]

Couple of choices.....save them for shooting larger critters at moderate ranges where accuracy is not critical, or if you have the means, they can be 'clean-up' neck turned (50-70%) to even up the neck thickness to give even neck tension. Sometimes though, that operation of thinning the necks requires using a bushing neck die for proper neck tension......more things to think about. The unworked cases would never be capable of the same degree of peak accuracy as good quality cases, but could still be used if your expectations are not too high accuracy-wise. JMO

I'm not a fan of Hornady 204 brass, but that's another animal altogether. JME

[roooster_11]

I really don't like the thought of skinning out the necessary scratch for Norma or Luapua brass,.... what's your thoughts on Winchester? Do you think it will give me better results without having to go into measuring necks and everything that goes along with that?
And you've probably hit the nail on the head when talking about my expectations, I think they are probably too high, I'm not shooting a custom built gun, and I'm only shooting off of Caldwell bags, so I guess I should really be happy with these results....but dog gone it, I want .25 MOA haha

[Rick in Oregon]

....but dog gone it, I want .25 MOA haha

Yep, who doesn't?

I've got quite a large amount of 204R ammo loaded with fully prepped WW brass. I shoot alot of ground squirrels so go through alot of ammo and can't afford all of it to be loaded with Norma or Lapua. Some of the best groups shot with those various rifles have been shot using WW brass, so to answer your question, I'd give it a "yes", it's decent brass. If you uniform the primer pocket, deburr/uniform the flash hole, neck size once fireformed for your chamber (others will disagree on that) and keep it all trimmed to length properly for uniform neck tension, it will probably be almost as 'accurate' (if you could really quantify it) as the good imported stuff, at least from any of our factory barrels. If weight sorted, it would be even better.

Some here have had good fortune using R-P brass, and the small lot of 100 pcs I have shoots just as well in my rifles as the WW does. In truth, your group at the top of this post is very respectable, even with that flyer. Not too many 12 twist 204's will shoot the 40gr V-Max like that. Once you get that flyer gone, you'll be shooting very well indeed, factory or custom. You're almost AT that magical .25 MOA.

[Joe O]

Rooster
For a no cost fix,just set aside the loaded rounds that seat harder.What you want is all the bullets to seat with the same feel.It's not precise,but better than mixing the tight ones with the others,that seat nice and smooth.Then folow up by checking the loaded necks with a caliper.Sorting brass before loading is another way.Faced with few thousands rounds to load.Fine attention falls by the wayside.Don't get into neck turning,untill you have a custom barrel chambered.

[roooster_11]

Thanks for the help guys.

[sharptailhunter]

Don't get into neck turning,untill you have a custom barrel chambered.

Why is that? Will neck turning not benefit the factory barrel shooter? I just installed a custom barrel. Does that mean I should now start turning the necks?

[Joe O]

Don't get into neck turning,untill you have a custom barrel chambered.

Why is that? Will neck turning not benefit the factory barrel shooter? I just installed a custom barrel. Does that mean I should now start turning the necks?

In a factory chamber the neck may be .015 more than the loaded round,whereas a custom chamber(neck can be specified)you can work with only .002,in which case you must insure your loaded rounds have necks that are consistantly smaller by .0015-.002.The only benefit loading with turned necks for a factory chamber is with brass that has inconsistant necks(thickness or thicker on one side).Not saying you can't get some inprovement,but doing it for a few thousands rounds,isn't worth it to me.