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February 2nd, 2009
Wolf Russian-made primers have proven very popular with High Power and long-range shooters. Many top shooters have found that the Russian primers deliver extremely low Extreme Spread (ES) and Standard Deviation (SD), when used with the popular Hodgdon and Alliant powders, such as H4831sc for the .284 Win and Reloder 15 for the 6BR. Note that, for the 6BR and 6-6.5×47, you want to use the Wolf Small Rifle Magnum primers, rather than Wolf’s standard small rifle primers. The Small Rifle Magnum primers have harder cups and work better.
Since demand for all reloading components is very high right now, Wolf primers can be hard to find. Nearly everyone is sold out, but check with Wideners.com. Here is the status of Wolf Primer inventories at popular vendors:
Bruno Shooters Supply: Wolf Small Rifle Magnum primers (250 1K boxes in stock) as of 2/7/2009. Ask Amy or Lester — You won’t find these on the website yet.
Wideners.com: Wolf Small Rifle (313 1K boxes in stock), Wolf Small Rifle Magnum (88 1K boxes in stock), Wolf Large Rifle (Out of Stock), Wolf Large Rifle Magnum (544 1K boxes in stock.) UPDATE: Small Rifle Magnums out of stock as of 2/6/2009
Grafs.com: Small Rifle Magnum, in stock, but very limited supply, item WONCSRMB, $23.59 per 1K box. Large Rifle and Large Rifle Magnum out of stock.
PowderValleyInc.com: Most Wolf primers out of stock. Wolf Small Rifle (Standard) and Wolf Large Rifle (Standard) expected 2/28/2009.
MidwayUSA.com: Everything out of stock. No backorders. New supplies expected 3/25/2009 (small rifle) and 7/22/2009 (Large Rifle).
January 27th, 2009
K&M Services, maker of such popular products as the K&M Neck Turner, Arbor Press, case mouth reamers, flash hole uniformers, and primer tools, has been sold. Ken Markle, at the age of 71, has decided to retire. The new owner is Roger Miller Jr. of Michigan. Roger is in the process of launching a New K&M website. Hopefully, that will be up and running soon. As far as we know, Roger Miller will continue to offer all the products Ken Markle was producing prior to his retirement. For more information, contact:
K&M Precision Shooting Products
Roger Miller Jr.
6852 Lakeshore Road
West Olive, MI 49460
Telephone: 616-399-7894
E-Mail: info@KMShooting.com | sales@KMShooting.com
Most K&M products can still be purchased through Precision Reloading, a full-service vendor with print catalog and online store.
January 23rd, 2009
4/1/2009 UPDATE: READ THIS FIRST!! Bruno’s is currently sold out of most primers. Call for availability.
 Amy Bruno reports that Bruno’s Shooters Supply has “ample quantities” of some hard-to-find reloading components:
PRIMERS
– 207,000 Federal 210 Large Rifle STANDARD primers in stock at $30.05 per 1000.
– 107,000 Federal 150 Large Pistol Match primers in stock at $36.95 per 1000.
– 60,000 Federal 100 Small Pistol Match primers in stock at $35.79 per 1000.
POWDER
– Reloder 17 in 1-lb bottle, $21.08; Reloder 17 in 5-lb. jug, $95.00
– Hodgdon H322 in 8-lb. jug, $136.66
– Hodgdon BenchMark in 8-lb. jug, $136.66
– Vihtavuori N-133 in 8-lb. jug, $168.71
Note: For powder and primer orders, add $22.50 haz mat fee and shipping charges.
January 19th, 2009
RCBS makes a fine progressive press, the RCBS Pro 2000. This Editor owns one. I can tell you it is very solid, and the strip primer-feeding system has proven virtually fool-proof, something that can’t be said about some competitive progressive presses. I also believe the micrometer-equipped powder measure is superior to the Dillon alternative. Nonetheless, Dillon still dominates the progressive press market. One reason is that Dillon has long offered a reliable case-feeding system, and GSI International and Gaspari USA offer after-market bullet feeders for the Dillon 650 and 1050. Until now, with an RCBS Progressive, you needed to manually insert a bullet into each case. Well, at SHOT 2009, RCBS unveiled a new bullet-feeding system.
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RCBS says its new automatic bullet-feeder will work with Dillon (blue) and Hornady (red) progressives as well as the RCBS 2000. The unit mounts to a sturdy vertical support, with a flexible tube that connects to the bullet-seating station. It looks well-designed, and during a demo by RCBS manager Kent Sakamoto, the bullet-feeding system worked flawlessly. Kent showed us the pistol-bullet feeder, but a second version for rifle bullets will be offered by mid-2009. The rifle-bullet feeder should be just the ticket for varminters who need to load large quantities of .223 Rem, 22-250, or .204 Ruger rounds. Sakamoto explained that the automatic bullet feeder can significantly boost your reloading output whether you have a blue, red, or green progressive press.
January 18th, 2009
Alliant Powder is well-known among precision shooters. Reloder 15 has set many world records in the 6BR and 6BR Improved cartridges, and the new Reloder 17 powder offers dramatically increased velocities in cartridges such as the 6XC and .284 Winchester.
At SHOT Show 2009, Alliant unveiled its new Power Pro™ series of canister, spherical powders. There are five (5) new powders: Magnum Pistol, Varmint Rifle, Medium Rifle, Large Rifle, and Magnum Rifle. Each powder has a burn rate optimized for the particular application (Medium Rifle is a bit slower than RL15, Large Rifle rate is similar to H4350, Magnum is similar to H4831). Alliant claims that “Power Pro powders deliver improved velocity and density for more efficient reloading and help reloaders duplicate certain factory loaded ammunition.” Alliant engineer Dick Quensenberry said reloaders can expect to get +50 fps more from the Power Pro series than with most other, comparable ball powders.
 New Powder for 50-Caliber Applications
Alliant also recently introduced Reloder 50, a new powder designed for long-range, 50 caliber rifle shooters. Burn rate is “a little slower than Winchester 860.” The powder is showing excellent lot-to-lot consistency and the load density is optimized for the 50 BMG and similar cases. Like Reloder 17, Reloder 50 employs a process which staturates/penetrates the kernels with the burn rate controlling chemical. This should allow a longer, flatter pressure curve, allowing more velocity than conventional powders can deliver. Alliant says that Reloder 50 offers “superior velocity and the ability to burn cleaner (with less residue).” Reloder 50 will be available in both 1-lb (#150527) and 8-lb (#150528) containers.
On the Horizon — More Alliant Powders like Reloder 17
Reloder 17, made in Switzerland by Nitro Chemie, is a unique propellant that offer a smoother, longer energy release because the burn rate controlling chemicals are saturated into the kernels rather than just applied to the outside. This can provide extra energy over the course of the burn, with the result that Reloder 17 can deliver more velocity than any other powder with a similar burn rate and density. The demonstrated high performance of Reloder 17 has created demand for similar formulations, but with faster or slower burn rates. The good news is that Alliant’s Reloder 50 (see above) has the new burn rate control chemsitry, and Alliant is working right now on at least two new powders that will use the Nitro Chemie’s new powder technology. One powder (Reloder 16?) will be faster than RL 17, and one will be slower — possibly in the H1000 range. Stay tuned to AccurateShooter.com for future updates.
January 13th, 2009
Forum regular Al Nyhus has tried his hand at bullet making, producing custom 30-caliber projectiles for his 30 BR match rifles. With help and guidance from his “guru”, bullet-smith Randy Robinett, Al has produced some very impressive bullets. This demonstrates that with patience, determination, and the right tools and components, amazing results are possible, even for a novice bullet-maker.
Al writes: “My 30 Caliber bullet making adventure [has] been a lot of fun and a real learning experience. I’d like to thank Randy Robinett for all his patient teaching and guidance. The bullets have been working well in competition, being used in the Varmint for Score portion of the IBS Wisconsin State Two Gun Championship win a few weeks back.
NOTE: Al’s 30 BR rifle was smithed by Stan Ware of SGR Custom Rifles.
Here are two photos from recent testing. In the 100-yard, 15-round target, the wind velocity was purposely ignored and the group was fired only with the same flag angle, trying to determine how they worked in the wind. Winds were 12-18 mph from 4 o’clock.
This 200-yard group was fired in near perfect test conditions — overcast, early in the morning, with no mirage. We usually have a small window of what I call ‘Happy Hour’ before the winds crank up.”
Measuring Group Size
Note how Al measures his groups. Look at the top photo. You’ll see Al starts with the extreme outside edge of the hole, including the gray edge or ring. Then Al subtracts .290″, the TRUE size of one bullet-hole in the paper, as opposed to .308″, the nominal bullet diameter. If you simply subtract a full bullet diameter you will get a smaller number for your group size. That is good for the shooter’s ego, but Al’s method is more accurate because a bullet normally will cut a hole that is smaller than the actual bullet diameter.
January 5th, 2009
 During load development, it’s important to check cases for signs of over-pressure. While you need to pay attention of a variety of factors, such as primer flattening and stiffer bolt lift, one sure sign of over-pressure is excessive case swelling at the web. A quick and easy way to monitor this is to bring a shell-holder (for your rim size) with you to the range. If a fired case won’t slide into the shell-holder easily, the diameter of the extractor groove has grown excessively and you know your load is much too hot… you’re way over-pressure.
Take note — if you get to the point that your case is hard to slide into a case-holder, your load is way hotter than it should be. So consider this an “extreme” measuring method. You should watch for other signs of pressure as well. As a rough rule of thumb, if we had a case that would not fit easily into the shell-holder, we would reduce the charge by at least 3/4 grain in a small case and 1.5 grains in a magnum case (and you may need to back-off the load further).
December 23rd, 2008
 We just received news that Bruno Shooters Supply has approximately 400 pounds of Alliant Reloder 17 in one- and five-pound jugs. Brunos also received a large shipment of the hard to find Federal 210M primers. Call Amy at Brunos, 1-800-455-0350 or (623) 587-7641, and mention AccurateShooter.com.
Forum member G. Wood also reports that Grafs.com received a large quantity of Reloder 17 on December 22, 2008.
If you’ve been looking for Reloder 17 you may want to act quickly. The last shipment sold out in a short period of time.
December 17th, 2008
The 2009 Edition of the Hodgdon Annual Manual will be available in the second week of January, 2009, at newsstands and gun dealers. The 2009 Manual, priced at $8.99, is the most complete reloading resource yet produced for Hodgdon, IMR® and Winchester® powders. The Manual includes usage recommendations, product descriptions, and burn rate charts for over 50 powders, including Winchester’s new AutoComp™ pistol powder. Along with comprehensive load data for most popular cartridges, the 2009 Manual has 271 recipes for four new cartridges: 300 Ruger Compact Magnum, 30 TC, 338 Ruger Compact Magnum, and 327 Federal Magnum. The 2009 Annual Manual also features nine informative articles from well-known gun writers. For more info, visit www.Hodgdon.com, or call Hodgdon at 913-362-9455.
December 16th, 2008
 If you’ve been looking for the specialized reloading tools from K&M (Ken Markel), contact Precision Reloading, 1-800-223-0900, a catalog and online vendor located in Mitchell, South Dakota. Precision Reloading stocks the excellent K&M Arbor Press, which can measure bullet seating pressure with an optional Seating Force Gauge. K&M’s neck-turning tool (item KMMACN) is a favorite of serious reloaders, and the Primer Seating Tool with depth gauge (item KMPST975, below) is perhaps the most sophisticated device of its kind. This gives a positive read-out confirming that your primers are all seated to the same depth.
Bruno Shooters’ Supply also carries K&M products at very attractive prices. Shown below is the Neck-turning Tool with optional Pilot Jack, Carbide “doughnut-cutter” mandrel and indicator for neck-wall thickness.
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