Looks more like rust pitting to me, particularly noticeable in A-3 & A-5. Pitting will do the same as fire-cracking in respect of copper fouling. The muzzle end has quite a different look. Water base solvents may be good for the environment, but I suspect they may leave amorphous residues in you...

72.60gr water trimmed to 2.020". Do not trust data for ADI AR2213 in QL. Unless you have the data for ADI AR2213sc use another powder...!

Walker Flatline will be OK if you are not shooting under ICFRA rules ICFRA rule F2.20. Ammunition may be commercial or handloaded but loaded in a manner consistent with the ammunition industry’s accepted standards; must be safe to fire in the rifle for which it is intended and must meet in all respe...

I am glad that one got the cut...wonder how many more were in the box...?
https://www.ganderoutdoors.com/product/ ... &from=grid

Don't be confused by the air in the tip of the projectile shown.....they are all hollow. This one shown however has uneven lead, more one side than the other creating an out-of-balance issue, and potentially a flyer. The weight was not outside the range of any other in the box.....weighing will not ...

Ya reckon a barrel tuner would fix this......a good quality expensive unit.....we will never know if it was a flyer.....

There are many out there that also have muzzle breaks on their rifles...that would solve the dust and debris problem.....!

Yes Albert and Williada...the SMK 183gr are the smallest of any. I had some that would not shoot well in some barrels and suspect the diameter was the cause being 0.2839". Sierra when queried responded that size is at the bottom end of their manufacturing tolerance range so it is surprising sma...

Check other websites for Trentham conditions, but there is also some good data here....http://www.wmac.org.nz/trenthamweather/

Been there done that with the 183gr in both 284W and SAUM....the energy limit for 183gr is 2857fps,vs 180gr of 2882fps, a much wider window in the latter for any ES error. You might want to seriously consider those lighter bullets to widen that window. Your tolerance over the limit is 1 shot in 20 a...

Lapping is the answer to a ridge free bearing surface against your bullet down from the tip, but as Barry says the stem will contact all bullets at the same OD, and that length will vary within a batch....! Try using the seating stem once lapped to measure the overall dimension of the bullet ie base...

Yes Peter unfortunately we do have these theories that are difficult to implement. You did explain enough for me to understand exactly where you are coming from. It is precisely that alignment theory that was behind the design for my reamers and re-sizers. I have four and three work exceedingly well...

Yes so true Peter....BR powder loads invariably are "thrown" and so is the brass if a shot deviates from the group. Not so with the purists....we need BR accuracy with LOW ES, and I do wonder why greater clearances both in the neck and freebore affect the ES so dramatically. And are we mak...

Further experimentation today revealed some interesting data. The freebore was enlarged to 0.2844" (half a thou larger than the bore for testing the SMK projectiles [ID 0.2839"]) meaning by default the Lapua Scenar-L now has zero clearance. Interestingly the results for both projectiles wi...

Yes Norm I have heard they can get a bit erratic at lower temperatures, and it appears there can be as much as 20fps with 284W over the range of summer and winter temperatures we get. I only keep them warm to mitigate the ES not to help the stability....hopefully keeping them warm and up to speed wi...