Advanced Handloading: Beyond The Basics

If you are ready to shrink groups and improve the accuracy of a pet rifle, welcome to Advanced Handloading - Beyond the Basics, a DVD packed with illustrated training and a worthy addition to any library. John Barsness is not a hobbyist but a professional with more than 40 years of handloading experience. Advanced Handloading is intended primarily for modern bottleneck rifle cartridges, but much of the information applies to straight-walled cartridges as well. John walks the viewer through checking case necks (where accuracy begins) for concentricity, which also impacts crucial bullet runout. Correct neck and case sizing steps are illustrated, and the often-misunderstood cartridge headspace is tackled along with the importance of case trimming (truing up case mouths) and chamfering. The simple step of deburring (and uniforming) the flash hole is also demonstrated. After cases are properly prepared, correct priming is demonstrated, which is another crucial step in making ammunition as uniform as possible. Tips on choosing a top-performing powder are discussed, and John shows the correct way to "custom" seat bullets to fit the chamber, throat and leade of a specific rifle to obtain top-notch accuracy. Advanced Handloading begins at the shooting range wherein handloaded ammunition that was assembled with little attention to detail is checked for accuracy through a Remington Model 40X .308 Winchester. Groups appear to hover around one inch, which would be fine in a lightweight sporting rifle but disappointing in a Remington 40X that has the reputation for much greater accuracy potential. After assembling sample handloads that were given proper attention to detail, the same rifle is again fired, which then drops three shots into a ragged hole. Now that is more like it! And it is a perfect illustration of the rewards of correct and careful handloading practices, procedures and choosing the right components and equipment.