CLEAN DIES
The buzzword in handloading these days is concentricity. However, it's often difficult to size cases so their bodies and necks are square with one other and seat bullets so they are straight with cases. Dirty dies commonly cause this misalignment. How can a case be sized correctly when gunk from dirty cases and case lube has built up in the die? The same goes for a seating die that is full of shavings of bullet copper or bullet lube.

An easy way to clean dies is to remove the neck sizing and bullet seating stems from the dies and wipe the interior of the dies with a cotton patch, with a dab of bore solvent, wrapped around a brush on a cleaning rod. You'll be amazed at the grime that comes out.

SEAT SHORTER
The common advice for best rifle accuracy is to seat bullets close, if not right against the rifling lands.

Once in awhile, though, a rifle comes along that shoots best with deeply seated bullets. A friend's Remington 700 in .223 Remington is a perfect example. The rifle shot groups slightly over one inch at 100 yards with Nosler 50 grain Ballistic Tip bullets seated .03 of an inch from contacting the lands. It didn't much matter what powder was fired either. Then I remembered Bill Hober, of Swift Bullets, said Swift Scirocco bullets shoot most accurately when they make a fairly long jump to contact the rifling.

So as a last resort I deep seated the Ballistic Tips .10 of an inch from contacting the rifling. Presto! The rifle started grouping five bullets in .50 to .75 inches at 100 yards.

John Haviland
5809 Longview
Missoula, MT 59803
(406) 251-4400
John_Haviland@msn.com