NF1E

500 Peterson srp .308 cases showed up at the PO this morning. Looks good so far. Will be prepping a 100 rnd range box and get it in line for testing as soon as possible. Whatta Hobby!

Above rifle is currently in .223 Rem.

My wife Linda bought this rifle as a birthday present for me about 30 years ago and it has been great. Originally came in a Choate chassis and had an 8.5 - 25 Leupold Mk4 on top of a heavy fluted 26" 1-9 barrel. Added Jard trigger somewhere along the way. Now sits in an MDT LSS-XL chassis and sports a Night Force 15-55x52 Competition scope. Having a ball getting ready for the upcoming shooting season. Barrel was cleaned down to bare metal and has had an HBN coating applied. This rifle has loved Berger 73 gn bullets over 24 gn of Varget in Lapua brass. Whatta Hobby!

100 cnt box of Alpha .308 srp brass arrived today. Will be adding it to my testing group for the halibut. Whatta Hobby!

One of my favorites. Whatta Hobby!

Finishing up loading the new fully prepped Startine 100 cases this morning. Dang I love this part of the operation. Whatta Hobby!

For those of you that do precision loading, what brass have you found to work the best? In the process here of running a test with 3 different mfg of brass. Prepping 100 cases each .308 Palma srp brass Alpha, Lapua and Starline. Trimming to 2.0, running mandrel to set neck tension to .002, uniforming primer pockets , de-burring flash holes and turning necks all to .0145. The intention is to keep careful records of how each of these perform during initial firing and again after fire forming, annealing and re-loading. All cases will be loaded with HBN treated 110 gn Sierra hp varminters with OAL set to 2.650 over 46 gn of Varget set off with 205M primers which should provide a speed of approximately 3050 fps. Love this sort of Winter project to keep what's left of the mind occupied. Whatta Hobby!

Have been switching back a forth between the XL and the standard Co-ax. I think I like the standard better. The XL is much heavier duty than I need for most of my loading. It is nice to have it's capacity sitting in the dugout just in case. Whatta Hobby!

Added a Forster Co-ax XL press to the bench. Mounted on an InlineFabrication quick change plate so I can shift between RCBS rock chucker, Forster Co-ax and the new Forster Co-ax XL in just a few seconds. Loving the new changes to the loading bench. The XL is super heavy duty and can accept 1 1/4" dies and 7/8" with adapters. Whatta Hobby!

Got out and shot a couple dozen rnds today. LC-01 brass , 110 Sierra Varminters over 46 gn of Varget set off with 210M primers. Whatta Hobby!

The Lyman turbo 6000 was one of my favorite machines.

Have used one for decades but there are much better and more thorough processes for sealed cans. The Huxwrks Suppressor sauce being, in my opinion, the best. Whatta Hobby!

Doing a little experiment with some LC 01 brass turned to .014 neck thickness, HBN coated 110 gn Sierra varminters over 46 gn of Varget. Dang I love playing. Whatta Hobby!

So true. Then there are those champions that swear by HBN usage with treatment of barrels and projectiles. Just coated a pile of .308 110 gn varminters this morning. There are so many choices it can make one's head spin, but it sure is fun getting in on the ride.

Some dedicated ELR and F-class guys even weigh primers and projectiles. Only takes a second but can make a difference in vertical dispersion. Whatta Hobby!

Nice. Just another phase of the hobby.

Well, some friends have convinced me to turn necks on a batch of new Lapua .308 Palma brass. Working on 100 this morning. Finished 50 taking the neck thickness down from .016-.017 to .015. Feels normal to get this gear back out and in service again. Will see if there is as big a difference as my friends tell me there will be. Used to be common practice, for me, with surplus brass but haven't turned necks since going to Lapua. Whatta Hobby!

I have been using Leupold QRW rings for years even on precision rifles. Whatta Hobby!

In my case Palma brass simply means it uses a small rifle primer, for precision, and really has nothing to do with matches. Whatta Hobby!

Getting some new Lapua .308 Palma brass ready for it's first loading. Camfer and debur the case mouth. Set neck tension with mandrel. Uniform primer pockets. Next step is priming with 205Ms. Whatta Hobby!

Have been enjoying this project for some time now. Got her down to 1/4 moa with a number of different load combinations from 110 sierras to 175 sierras. Today the inside of the .308 X-Caliber 26" SS in 1-10 got a coating of HBN as a test to see if there is any noticeable difference. Receiver is a 30+ year old Savage 110 flat top with EDW rail and JARD trigger. Scope is a Leupold MK5 HD 7-35x56mm. Action sits in an ORYX chassis with bag sliders fore and aft. Suppressor is an OSS HXQD 338 mag TI. Whatta Hobby!

Been using an AWS 5.56 suppressor quite a bit lately on a precision bolt rifle. Hadn't cleaned it is some time. Well, would not come apart using the usual adjustable pin spanner I had used in years past. Soaked in the cleaning tube for a couple days thinking that would soften carbon, no luck. Finally broke down a bought a Chinese heavy duty adjustable pin spanner. Took the end cap of right away. Removed all the baffles , which were really carboned up and they are soaking in a tub of break free. Was starting to think I might have to buy a new suppressor. Those darn Chinese really know how to make tools at a reasonable price. Whatta Hobby!

Have been using a Giraud trimmer for years and it works great. Trims, cuts outside and inside case mouth to the correct angle. Well, I have this old Lyman power universal trimmer in the shop that I use for straight walled cases and thought , Hummmm, how about bringing it into the 21 Century with a 3-1 cutter. Found the Forster 3in1 was an easy fit after turning down the OD of the Lyman cutter, it slipped over and locked down with the allen key. When I want to go back to the old setup, I just unscrew the altered cutter and pop on a new one. Can't get much easier than that. Whatta Hobby!

Opened a new 100 ct box of Lapua .223 match brass this morning. Started by trimming, de-burring flash hole, unitizing primer pocket then setting neck tension with a .2225 carbide tapered mandrel. Next will be weighing , priming and then ready to load. In the mean time I have a batch of 73 gn Berger .223s in the vibratory tumbler getting an application of boron nitride coating. Almost ready for weighing primers and projectiles for this batch. Whatta Hobby!

In the Holiday Spirit !