Ammo & Handloading

This article contains detailed reloading data for the 6x47 Lapua and 6.5x47 Lapua based on a survey of over 150 of the top-ranked precision rifle competitors. See what the best long range shooters in the country are reloading in their match ammo!

This article contains detailed reloading data for the 6BRA, 6BRX, and 6BR based on a survey of over 150 of the top-ranked precision rifle competitors. See what the best long range shooters in the country are reloading in their match ammo!

This article contains detailed reloading data for the 6mm Creedmoor and 6.5 Creedmoor based on a survey of over 150 of the top-ranked precision rifle competitors. See what the best long range shooters in the country are reloading in their match ammo!

This article contains the load data for the 6 Dasher based on a survey of over 100 of the top-ranked long range shooters in the country.

When you extend shots into extreme ranges (like 2000+ yards), you’ll face some new obstacles. A few factors that could be safely ignored inside of 1000 yards become critical to getting rounds on target. You’ll face new equipment challenges that may not be obvious. As your bullet’s time of flight extends up 3 seconds, and possibly even up to 6+ seconds, priorities shift. In this series of posts I’m trying to highlight a few things that make extreme long range (ELR) challenging, and pointing out a few products worth checking out that might help. In the first post in this ...

The goal of this field test was to quantify the temperature stability of the popular Hodgdon H4350 and Varget powders and compare those to IMR’s new Enduron line of powders. To do this we carefully measured muzzle velocities of meticulously loaded ammo over a huge range of temperatures. This test was conducted by Patrick Middlebrook. Patrick is passionate about the art of precision rifles. He’s a great shooter who has competed in numerous local matches, and several national PRS matches. He is also a 5-star handloader. I’ve learned a ton from him! Patrick has become a good friend of mine (Cal, ...

A few months ago, I introduced Flat Line Bullets (view post) designed by Josh Kunz and made by the Warner Tool Company (WTC). These new monolithic, lathe-turned bullets claimed some crazy-high Ballistic Coefficients (BC). BC defines how efficiently a bullet is able to cut through air and retain its velocity down-range. If you’ve been shooting long-range for any length of time, you know BC is one of the most important performance metrics for a bullet … and you’re also well-aware of how common it is for manufacturers to bloat the BC numbers they advertise. So everyone was anxious to know, are ...

I’ve surveyed the top 100 shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) for the past 4 years, and published what gear they’re running in my annual “What The Pros Use” series of posts. This year, I also asked a few questions about their ammo loading practices and how much they practice. When handloading there are a thousand operations and details you can spend time trying to perfect. It’s easy to get caught up trying to do them all, or spending a ton of time focusing intently on a couple of aspects and completely miss other important steps. But I was ...

Great ammo is a cornerstone of competitive shooting. Once you master the fundamentals of marksmanship, the quality of your ammo can become a differentiator. Want to know what bullets, brass, primers, and powder the best precision rifle shooters in the country are running? That’s what this post is all about. I recently surveyed the top 100 shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS), and this post reviews the reloading components those élite shooters were using in 2015. The PRS tracks how top competitors place in major rifle matches across the country. These are the major leagues of sniper-style competitions, with ...

Over the past couple months, I’ve been working with a lot of scary smart engineers on my muzzle brake field test. One who has given me a lot of great input is Josh Kunz, whose professional background is in Aerospace Engineering. Josh recently told me about a new line of bullets he’s been working on, which have the potential to be one of the biggest leap in ballistics in recent history. The product is being unveiled this week at rifle competitions at Camp Perry. In fact, some of the bullets are being shot in competitions for the first time today! ...