cardiackid

Gotta be buffer/spring related. It's *almost* impossible to put a new gas tube in wrong if the gas block is non-adjustable, was never moved or rotated, and everything looks with the tube contact to the carrier key. I only say *almost* because there's always someone who will figure out how. I take it when you replaced the A2 stock with the carbine stock, you replaced the existing spring and buffer to carbine length as well? Does the buffer have anything stamped on the face of it? H, H2, H3 etc?

pmclaine: How/where did your order your bench top and how much was it if you don't mind me asking? I'm about to order a 550B as well from BE.com and would love to have a good top to mount it to rather than a plywood/MDF monstrosity.

I've used my camelbak assault pack as an airline carry-on for a while now because it's just under the max size and I can cram anything I need in there for the usual weekend trip. This is the same pack that deployed to AFG with me and carried its fair share of whatever we needed to divvy up. Needless to say, the first plane trip I've taken since I have been back caused a little commotion at Nashville International when my bag swipe/swab tested positive for all kinds of stuff - it had carried everything from ammunition and grenades to blocks of C4 and det cord, shock tube, etc. at some point during the deployment. Fortunately the bag is in army camouflage pattern and I usually use my government ID so when the agent pulled my bag and began to swab it I was like "Ohhhhh yeah - carried a bunch of stuff in that during deployment so it's probably hot for explosives residue right?" She chuckled and then just did a quick peek through the compartments and handed it back to me. I can say that the TSA agents I dealt with that day were great with the common sense factor and I was quickly back on my way to the gate. Then again, with airports like Nashville, Charlotte, SeaTAC, etc. that are in close proximity to bases they are more than likely used to this.

Like many others, I've been annoyed by the rock chucker's inability to catch all spent primers, leaving a bunch in my lap, on the floor, etc. While the black plastic catcher that comes with the press does a so-so job of catching them, it fills up quickly and is a PITA to remove with a bunch of spent primers. In preparation for acquiring a Dillon 550, I decided to turn my rockchucker into a dedicated decapping press to keep the Dillon clean of all the nasty primer residue. I saw how some people had used vynil tubing to catch primers off of their dillons and other presses where the primers drop through the ram and figured a quick trip to Home Depot would produce something usable. My solution to this: After looking around on the plumbing aisle for a bit, here's what I came up with: a PVC 3/4" 45 degree elbow fitting, a PVC 1/2" plug (this is the kind that slides inside the elbow fitting with a flat base - not a cap), and a Watts 1/2" x 3/8" Plastic Slip x MPT Connector. I used a dremel tool to bevel the portion of the plug that goes inside the elbow to prevent any primers from getting hung up on the ledge. I then cut a rough hole in the plug wide enough to fit the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting in. I then trimmed the smooth side of the fitting down to 1/8" inch or so with a cut-off wheel so it was just long enough to fit the same depth of the hole and be glued in place. I beveled this piece as well to prevent any primers from getting hung up. I then glued the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting into the plug, and glued the plug into the elbow. For the primer slot from the ram to the unit, I took the dremel tool and cut a groove down the side of the elbow that faces you when you use the press to catch the primers. I eyeballed the section of the ram that is cut out and cut the PVC portion just a hair wider and deeper to ensure the primers would fall into it and then finished it off with some light sanding. Because the outer diameter of the 3/4" PVC is just a hair too thick to mount between the ram and the back of the press without rubbing, I took some sandpaper to the assembled unit and sanded off about an 1/8" or so to allow the ram to move up and down without brushing the PVC. You can opt to use a smaller PVC elbow size, however this works perfectly from what I've seen because there's not enough room for the primer to go anywhere other than the hole. Finally I then threaded the vynil tubing onto the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting and drilled some holes on the backside toward the top so I could use some zipties to mount it around my press. ALL primers now fall down into the tube to whatever receptacle works for you. Unlike the old catcher's Sex Panther success rate (60% of the time, every time) this one actually works 100% of the time. Links to parts - again, double check for fit of each item in store as I don't remember 100% the exact sizes I bought: http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings-Valves-Vinyl-Pipe-Tubing/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbuyw/R-202257575/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings-Valves-PVC-Pipe-Fittings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbuf5/R-100166908/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings-Valves-PVC-Pipe-Fittings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbuf5/R-100175956/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-Fittings-Valves-Polyethylene-Pipe-Fittings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbuu4/R-100189826/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Like others mentioned, it's definitely do-able with an SFP mildot scope but it's an acquired skill and will get better the more you do it. Depending on where you live, set up some small objects in the yard or practice ranging items at known distances out of a window (IE, the stop sign down the street, car tires, etc. - anything you can measure in inches with a tape measure that is fairly constant). Once you have a known item at a known distance (even if you just pace it off) it will allow you to fine tune your ranging techniques and get a good feel for exactly where you mil a target from the comfort of inside your house. Oval versus circular mildots tend to make this a little easier as well. That was one of my major concerns when I purchased my new scope though and opted to spend some extra cash for Leupold's FFP TMR reticle (hash marks)- it's like ranging without a handicap now.

Yeah, definitely sounds like a slam fire on a light primer. With the free floating firing pin in an AR, it will put a very slight dimple on the primer when chambering a round. I highly doubt the firing pin is out of spec (if anything it would be worn after thousands of rounds and not long to begin with). If it's a reload, chances are it's a light primer, a primer that was not fully seated or had slightly backed out, or a combination.

Just to follow up with sfinney - after shooting the bolt gun for a couple of years now, the only thing left on my original 700P is the barrel/action and the barrel will be getting swapped in the mid-future. When that happens I'll have the action trued up and it will be the only thing left. Don't quote me 100% on this, but I do not believe there is any difference in the 700 actions (aside from finish) from the less expensive SPS models to the 700P. Like he said, if you plan on upgrading I'd save the cash in the first place and opt for the SPS or used 700P and put it toward whatever you want to upgrade on it later.

I was only jamming those bullets for the purpose of fire forming. My thought was that even with it being a lighter load, the additional pressure of a jammed or nearly jammed round (.001/.002 off) would help with the fire forming. It didn't. The sole purpose of this ammo is for distant steel target shooting (500m to 1000m) Accuracy was great (for my standards/ability) anyway - certainly couldn't blame the bullets/ammo. When I confirmed my 100m zero yesterday my cold bore was about .75" away from the next 2 shots although I can't say whether or not that's typical yet as I've only started recording my shots recently. The next two shots were touching. After adjusting 1 minute up and 1 minute right I was just right of the X about 1" and that shot grouping was .397" from center to center at the farthest point so I was happy. I honestly think I'm just getting a little better at shooting and the handloads are more of a placebo - I've been reloading for longer than I've shot precision rifle so I think I'm starting to get in the groove of shooting the bolt action versus the hoser 3-gun stuff (usually 50m and in) that I was always shooting before. It's looking like with the factory Remington chamber it would take me a while to actually stretch the brass enough for a truly precise fit. I think I may be better off just standardizing my handloads to verify that the shoulders are consistent, neck length and tension is consistent, and most important my powder charge and seating depth according to ogive. The 168gr SMKs I purchased a while back so I don't mind "wasting" them developing my brass as I've read the 175gr are more tailored for the distances I want. I do have 200 rds of 175gr SMKs waiting for when I get my chrono to actually build a consistent and well working round for my weapon. I'm finding out now why people pay good money for custom chambered barrels, etc. as it does take a lot of the guess work out and makes load development easier. It's kind of like my platoon sergeant told me when I first got into reloading and bolt action rifle shooting - "Don't buy Norma or Lapua brass until you can appreciate it." I see what he's getting at.

Well I fired the original cases again today with the same load (42gr Varget, 168gr SMK) and saw little to no change in the shoulder length (with still a decent spread across the measurements). What I did notice is that my longer shots were dropping more quickly than the handful of data sheets I have so I'm assuming that load isn't close to 2600fps. Unfortunately I don't have a chrono to confirm. I did shoot better today though - finally remembered to bring my sand sock and forgot how much of a difference that makes. Also noticed that in addition to the chamber length being extremely long (2.055 on mine when I gauged it), apparently the lands are pretty far out there as well - or at least a lot farther than I thought they would be. I figured I could barely seat and then jam a handful of bullets and then use the micrometer seating die to knock them off the lands slightly. However I found that despite the COAL being 2.813 on one of them it still wasn't even kissing the lands as loading the round did not cause any change in the bullet seating depth. I guess the large dimensions in a factory barrel have to be a standard, as the majority of users are going to fire nothing but commercial/SAAMI spec factory ammo. Just didn't think there would be this much of a tolerance gap - who knows. It's off to find a chronograph now. I'm at the point where I realize that although there are many good things with regard to handloaded ammo, all I'm doing when it comes to shooting is firing consistent rounds that are nowhere near the intended velocities, etc. Anyone have one chronograph versus another to recommend? I'm assuming the Pro Chrono Pals/Digitals and the others that are recommended for the USPSA guys would work just as well for high power rifle? Thanks.

OP says this is all good stuff - digs into areas I hadn't that about. I took my first fired cases (new Winchester brass, 168gr SMK with 42gr of Varget) and measured them with the shoulder gauge I got from Sinclair (I did get a couple of smaller tools - chamber length gauge, shoulder gauge, etc.) There was a decent amount of variance between the shoulders on the fired cases. Out of the 8 I measured, I got everything from 2.1645 to 2.170 (the measurement includes the shoulder gauge) and that was just a small sampling from the 30 rounds I fired that day. I wasn't extremely meticulous with the powder throwing - got it in the ballpark of +/- .2 grains or so, but those weren't built as precision rounds. Bullet seating was done by COAL as well, as I don't have a comparator at the moment (Sinclar is backordered). I couldn't find anything other than 150gr soft point rounds at the store so I went with a reliable recipe and threw some together by SAAMI spec. I'm taking it that I should neck tension these, reload (again at 42gr of Varget or so) and jam the bullet as Shooter Steve mentioned to help build good pressure in the chamber and get the full stretch out of the shoulder? Logic is telling me that I don't have enough consistency with the measurements to confirm that I am at my ideal shoulder length. Also - bought a chamber length gauge as well and found that my Remington 700PSS (still with factory action/barrel) has a chamber length of 2.055" which is .050" above the trim-to length of 2.005". Is it common for factory guns to have this much tolerance with regard to neck length? I'm guessing it has to do something with being able to safely accept all the various factory produced ammunition out there? Thanks for the help

You were describing exactly what I meant - what we didn't want was a shoulder that is 100% flush against the chamber dimensions leaving absolutely no room for any minor imperfections with the round/chamber (hence the reason for bumping the shoulder down .002/.003 rather than just checking the neck tension on a fired case and reloading it.)

Thanks for the info. Re-reading these posts and the how-to thread on sniper's hide has really cleared up a lot of stuff. The one question I do have is with regard to the "bumping" of the shoulder. I ordered the Sinclair case shoulder/gauge thing that is designed to measure/work with the caliper block (same one that is used for the comparator measurements). Now, to make the most out of this tool, I'll need to take a 2-3 times fired case and then use the shoulder gauge to get a good measurement of where exactly my shoulder meets the chamber of my rifle. From here, it's just a matter of gradually seating my FL resizing die down in a "check and measure, check and measure, etc." method so that the resizing die tensions the neck and bumps the shoulder back to that .002/.003 increment - correct? IE, rather than inserting the resizing die all the way down until it kisses the shell holder and then backing off a quarter turn (or whatever the instructions recommend) only insert the resizing die down until it's bumping that case shoulder down to the desired measurement of .002/.003 back from flush with the chamber wall? Thanks again.

Thanks for clearing that up guys. I ended up stumbling upon the Sniper's Hide reloading forum late last night too and found a 5-thread walk through of how to get pretty good ammo. Starts with this thread here: http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1696162&page=1 and includes photos, links to purchase any of the tools needed, etc. Some of his stuff seems like it may be a bit overkill, but I guess if you're doing some of those steps you're probably at a point where you appreciate the added benefit of doing it.

I have been reloading .223 for semi auto and 9mm for almost 2 years now and I'm finally getting into loading precision rounds for my bolt action .308 versus short range 3-gun/plinking rounds. I'll be reloading factory brass fired from my Remington 700 PSS in .308 for that same rifle. I've been to 6mmbr.com many times, but find myself overwhelmed at the amount of in depth information and often can't find the answers to simple questions. The question I have is with regard to "fire formed" cases and more in depth aspects of resizing cases (I've always full length resized for .223, etc as the majority of my brass is free range brass plus whatever I shot.) I'm just trying to gain some more knowledge about the process of tuning rounds for a specific rifle rather than mass production stuff like I have been doing. My understanding of fire forming a case is that once you shoot any round through your bolt action rifle, the pressure has caused the casing to mold to your chamber since a bolt action headspaces off of the shoulder. This means that the shoulder of that fired round now fits my chamber near perfectly - correct? Now, with regard to neck sizing versus full length. I understand that full length resizing will actually bump the shoulder back down to the factory spec (in any non-custom made die) - correct? Therefore if I am using brass fired through this rifle alone and reloading it for this rifle alone, I should only need to neck size it? What exactly does neck sizing do? My thought process would lead me to believe that all I would have to do is trim the neck back down to 2.005" if the rest of the case is already fire formed. Also - I understand the importance of the crimp for semi-auto weapons, but is it worth putting a light factory crimp on ammo for bolt actions? My understanding of this is that it would be a little extra step to make sure that there is a consistent seal with equal pressure all around the bullet. I'm sure I will have more questions in the future, but these seem to be the ones I'm stuck on and can't find concise answers for. I have purchased the Hornady/Stony Point seating depth gauge and found it useful (although I think I could have managed fine just using a once-fired case with the slots cut in it to find where my ogive touches the lands). From this I have learned the importance of a comparator for a consistent measurement regarding ogive depth versus COAL depth. I think the last big thing I need to get is a chrono to insure my loads meet my desired muzzle velocity of ~2600fps for the 168s and ~2700 for the 175s (most data books I have seen use those measurements to calculate my drops, etc.) Any other advice? Have I left any information out that you need? My goal is to make comparable to better than "factory match" ammo tuned for my weapon. I am not a benchrest/competition shooter and I'm not looking to invest hundreds more in gee whiz equipment that will get me 1/64th MOA more accuracy out of each round. Thanks.

Seriously? That's like skipping your first car and hopping in a ferrari for your first drive, lol. Can't really describe it (not in a scientific way with all the graphs, etc. anyway) Comparing a $200+ trigger group to an OEM trigger is really apples to oranges if you've never shot one. Geissele to JP would be more like macintosh to red delicious. I guess it feels good? It's just unbelievably smoother - the take up is very gradual and smooth, overall travel is much shorter and reset is snappier. I suppose I'm happy with it because for the first time I've actually been able to fire controlled pairs at any distance beyond 10m. The trigger has been icing on the cake after switching to an 18" rlgs with a comp on the new build versus a heavily over gassed 14.5 clgs with a hider and the OEM trigger. Regarding the JP compared to a bolt gun trigger - never shot one, but I can't imagine putting anything that would feel like a bolt gun trigger in my AR. I have a jewell in my .308 and it's a totally different monster than the geissele.

I purchased a Geissele S3G (standard rounded face) for my latest build and absolutely love it. I haven't had the chance to shoot any other precision style trigger groups, but compared to an OEM/parts kit trigger it's an absolute dream. I'm hard pressed to believe that I'd shoot another weapon with a different trigger and say "whoops - made a mistake. I need that one instead of the S3G." I am curious to shoot a JP group as a comparison however, based on their great reviews and the fact that their little $7 yellow springs had a great feel compared to the original DPMS parts kit springs I had originally.

Peel washers - there was an endeavor, lol. I had only used crush prior and was baffled for about 20 minutes. 2 decent slices on my thumb, a leatherman and a lighter later I finally figured out they do indeed peel Looks good though.

When I first started reloading I had the usual "how difficult/safe is it questions" and the gentleman behind the counter said "Well once you get it set up correctly you could probably sit back and have your son do it for you." Just goes to show...

That's exactly why I started building them myself, lol. Are there any good smiths in your area? I don't know where Wittmann is in comparison to everything else, but I have found that AZ seems to have a TON of reputable gun shops/smiths. You always have the option of buying everything in pieces/parts and having a smith assemble it. If it's a cool smith, he may let you hang out and learn as well. I would always shop around everywhere before I pulled the trigger (including used) on purchasing a part. For instance, I wanted the Young MFG NM Light BCG and found a new one for $209 when most of the other big online stores wanted $250 or so using Froogle.com (Google's shopping search engine). On the flip side, I've been guilty of going through stocks like crazy before I finally settled on the PRS. I had a Magpul CTR, Magpul UBR, LMT SOPMOD and finally the PRS. I sold them all on online forums like this in a used, but definitely not abused state for usually a significant chunk less than the new cost.

What "tactical" use are you looking to get out of your rifle? Is it going to be a duty gun or do you plan on taking classes with it? The big thing here is that you're going to pay extra money for various components and probably not use the weapon enough to really see the benefits of those parts. Like the others mentioned, I'd say go with a solid build from a company like JP that is going to be a good shooter in addition to being a little more tailored to competitions. With the discount/special offer prices some have mentioned too it seems like a great deal. Also, regarding the post someone made about STI Edges and JP Rifles currently in service with the US Military.... what? I'm not saying that those products aren't fantastic or that they wouldn't hold up to use in the military, but I've been around the block a bit and have yet to see any of the "other guys" (who would be the only types even remotely authorized to have non-standard weapons) canoeing talib foreheads with a JP or an STI Edge. Were you referring to AMU or specialized shooting teams within the military?

Have you also checked out the new Bravo Company/EAG builds? Don't know exactly what specs you want your rifle built to (barrel length, gas system, etc.) but a handful of people I know have purchased their 16" midlength gas guns and love them. They'll keep you on the shorter side of the house for the defense/tactical stuff but will still give you a bit of an edge over a carbine length gas system for the 3-gun events.

Half of the fun of shooting is building the guns myself (for ARs anyway) and I learned a ton about the platform by doing it this way. Granted, there is a warm and fuzzy you get from buying a complete, whether whole rifle or upper/lower, from a reputable company. For 1911s and bolt action I usually pick out parts with my smith and he does most of the work. I did have a harrowing experience using a dremel tool on a 1953 Colt Commander in a couple of spots, flared ejection port, counter sunk and flushed slide stop and fitting an Ed Brown beavertail, but even my gunsmith said I did a great job with it. The AR-15 is truly a drop-in platform as long as you're buying quality parts and understand little nuances like commercial vs milspec receiver extensions if you're using a carbine length tube/stock, colt take-down pins vs virtually everyone else, etc. I don't think I've ever had to custom fit anything. The only down side about building them yourself is buying some of the smith specific tools (action block, good barrel wrench, etc.) A good tip I picked up was borrowing a torque wrench from AutoZone when you need to torque anything on the AR - saves you the cost of $100 for a couple minute task.

No experience with the Benelli Nova here, but your train of thought sounds correct with buying the cheapest ones. The actual QD portion that attaches to the sling is identical for every set as far as I know.

VTAC 2-point padded sling. It's 1" webbing where it's not padded so it works well with both the Uncle Mikes QD style sling mounts (if you use JP rails or similar) or the beefier tactical style QD mounts that use picatinny rails. Don't skimp for a cheaper version - get the VTAC or VCAS (Blue Force Gear/Vickers Tactical) style. Some of the cheaper knockoffs use a slightly less durable webbing for the sling and it quickly becomes worn out which causes the friction adapter/slider to creep loose easily.

Eh - disregard this one. Just found it on another site (Size 18 for eye and 02A for objective). Mods you can delete this or leave it to show up when someone else's google-fu is stronger.