Suppressor Flash Test with Sandman K With various propellants, some have flash reducers like potassium sulfate and nitrate added to help mitigate the amount of flash produced. However, it can come as a double edge sword as those flash reducers can cause a lot of smoke. Projectile weight/dwell time will change the outcome of what you can obtain within a test. How the Test was Conducted The test subject includes a Deadair Sandman K with a 556 flash hider endcap version on a 13.9 CORE Criterion barrel. We used a pitch-dark indoor gun range room to eliminate as much external light influence as pos ..read more

I failed to prove seating depth matters Today I wanted to walk through a test I recently did in regard to seating depth. To preface things, a lot of times you will see individuals choosing a seating depth based on lower sample size testing and the thought process behind it is—that there is a vibrational node or timing that comes with seating a projectile at a certain depth. From there, a seating depth test is conducted where if you start jumping in .006” increments, or in other words seating the bullet deeper by .006” you will see your groups start to tighten in at some point. Moreover, while ..read more

Carbon ring Carbon ring is one of the more controversial topics when it comes to shooting. What really is it? Is it bad? How does it form? Does the carbon ring cause velocities to become erratic? Let's dive in and talk about what is going on and how to mitigate it. Let’s say in a scenario you have seriously neglected to clean your barrel after many rounds. You go to the range, start shooting, and notice that your speeds are all over the place and your rifles are not shooting accurately. You begin to wonder "what the heck is going on?" You know the barrel is somewhat newer, it’s not near the en ..read more

Before I start, I want to talk about reloading kits. Kits are great, but do not provide everything most people would need. Most of all, reliability, performance, and consistency are almost always lacking. I can speak from experience buying one when I first started out hand-loading. What components am I still using from it? pretty much none except the press. They all were sold off for upgrades, broke, or were just not consistent enough for my applications. However, their are some great kits out there that would be perfect for beginners or some individuals who are doing very little ammo making ..read more

One of the most commonly asked questions and theories around hand-loaded ammunition is if leaving lubricant or getting water on cases increases pressure. The reason this speculation or theory has taken off is that commonly many individuals will shoot in geographical locations where it rains very often causing brass to get wet. Further, while shooting, they will look at case heads and notice "pressure signs" by observing flattened primers, "bolt swipe" and more. However, this also happens with lubricant. If resizing and not cleaning the lubricant off afterward, or using excessive lubricant ins ..read more

In order to make 22 Grendel brass conceptually all you need to do is to neck down 6.5 Grendel brass to accept the .224 diameter bullets. It sounds simple, but there are many ways to do this procedure, all with various pros and cons. I will explain them step by step and note some of the problems you may run into with different aspects like bushing dies, neck dies, full length dies, bushing sizes, mandrels, neck turning, brass alloys, and even brass forming issues. Types of dies to form 6.5 Grendel into 22 Grendel 1. Full-length bushing dies Traditionally, many individuals like to use full-leng ..read more

124 Peregrine Ballistics Gel Test The goal of this study will be to find and record: Consistency of diameter, length, weight, and Ogive of the projectile. Complete load, workup. At what point, the intended projectile will expand at its lowest velocity. Report wounding channel effects of the projectile at various speeds i.e. Neck, Temp Cavity Length, Location of Max Temporary Cavity Diameter, Maximum Penetration Depth, and weight retained. Report results of what the projectile will do at various distances through Clear Ballistics Gel block with Rib Bone. Abstract The 124 Peregrine VLR4 will ..read more

Sinclair International Hand Primer Review One of the more interesting topics handloaders have resurfaced is primer pocket seating in relation to accuracy. Does it improve accuracy? How much do primer pocket depths vary? Do primer cup heights vary? How accurate can a hand primer be in regards to consistent seating depth? In this article, I break it down for you. Scope of the test In the first part of the test, I checked for primer pocket depth consistency. This is three times fired Lapua brass. Moreover, the reasoning for this is because if primer pocket depths vary, and I seat a primer, I will ..read more

For the longest time, seating depth on primers and especially primer pocket uniforming, has been discredit by almost all of the shooting community. Unfortunately, this tedious method has been pushed off by many individuals. Well, I decided to give it a shot despite what everyone has been saying in forums for many years. For the nature of the test, I used a 6.5 Creedmoor with a Criterion Remage, 1/8 twist, 26" barrel, using Berger Hybrid 140's, Lapua brass, CCI 450 primers, and Shooters World Long Rifle. Full length L.E. Wilson Bushing die, CPS Primer seater from Primal Rights, 21st century pr ..read more

The Evolution Bipod has been a very versatile tool for my shooting applications. I wanted to find something light enough and durable that could lock out at 45, 90, and 125 degrees, have adjustable length legs, and be user-friendly so that I was able to shoot in many different positions. Luckily, that's when I found that they had the perfect option available for me. However, not only did it have a few of the things I wanted, it packed a lot more features that we will break down here in this article. Features: • Attaches via adjustable quick-detach Picatinny clamp from American Defense Manufa ..read more