Christmas toy. . Concentricity tool

[milkman]

I asked for the Hornady concentricity tool for xmas hoping it would be the magic boolit to cure fliers. If hope didn't spring eternal I would really be in the dumps because my Lee dies are showing to have really minimal runout so I can look elsewhere for flier causes. Most loads come out in the 1-2 thousandths run out on the bullet. My son had loaded some 30-06 a couple of years ago on a different set of Lee dies and I looked at them also. The results are below. The numbers are runout in .oo1"

Bullet Neck Shoulder
b4 aft B4 Aft b4 Aft
5 1 10 1 13 7
3 1 5 2 5 5
5 1 7 1 3 1
3 1 8 4 8 5
3 1 4 2 2 1


That really looks bad and I don't know how to fix it. ????


The tool does appear to work, of course the real test will be at the range. I think I will segregate some of the loads with the most run out and fire them as loaded as a control group and see what that shows. The whole process may be a waste of time and money, but it is keeping me interested for awhile.

[dondiego]

Sounds interesting to me too. Waiting for your results.

Don

[cbrick]

Waste of time & money? An education is never a waste & you will learn from this. Run-out is more than just the seater die, it also has much to do with neck wall thickness/uniformity, how straight you start the boolit when seating etc.

Rick

[Larry Gibson]

Not a waste of time and money at all for the reasons cbrick mentions. However, with all but really accurate varmint, target or benchrest rifles flyers caused by even really poor runout of .008 - .0012" will not generally be detected except at longer ranges of 200 yards+ with cast bullets. If you are getting flyers at 100 yards or less then the reason is caused by something else. Always good to have that tool, especially if you are a serious group shooter.

Larry Gibson

[MtGun44]

I have been able to only test Barsness's method on one caliber, but it did work. His method is to size a case
with a rifle die and check for neck runout. If there is too much runnout, he pulls out the decapper/expander
button and tries another case - just sizing it. He reports that most of the time this gives him a straight case
neck. He processes his cases in two steps - sizing and then, adjusting the sizing die really high, so no sizing
of the neck, and puts the expander-decapper back in and PUSHES it into the case and reports that this avoids
getting the necks crooked.

Worth a try.

No question, in my experience, anything that gets the ammo straight will increase accuracy.

Lee collet neck sizers do a great job in my experience.

Bill

[milkman]

Probably not a waste of time and money, and the satisfaction of knowing your loads have improved somewhat is gratifying.

Mtgun
I had never heard of Barsness's method. I usually lube the inside neck well with Mink Oil and have gotten really smooth button retrieval, but i think I will try your method and see if it helps. And yes, I like the collet neck sizers also, They work really well for cast as you can adjust for the amount of sizing you need.

[Love Life]

They are great tools and will make you pull your hair out at the same time. When group shooting, after I have done all the wizbang accuracy things, if I get a flier I cull the piece of brass the flier came from and use it for sighter purposes or pounding ground squirrels.

You'd be amazed at how faast a 100 piece box of brass dwindles down after all the sorting.

[fouronesix]

I have been able to only test Barsness's method on one caliber, but it did work. His method is to size a case
with a rifle die and check for neck runout. If there is too much runnout, he pulls out the decapper/expander
button and tries another case - just sizing it. He reports that most of the time this gives him a straight case
neck. He processes his cases in two steps - sizing and then, adjusting the sizing die really high, so no sizing
of the neck, and puts the expander-decapper back in and PUSHES it into the case and reports that this avoids
getting the necks crooked.

Worth a try.

No question, in my experience, anything that gets the ammo straight will increase accuracy.

Lee collet neck sizers do a great job in my experience.

Bill

Couldn't have said it better myself. For loading a lot of my cast bullet cartridges, I remove the decapper/neck expander and decap on a universal decapper. Then use a Lyman M die for neck expansion.

The Lee neck collet die is an excellent tool for certain applications.

A concentricity tool won't cure off-axis sizing or seating but it can detect it and can narrow down the specific operation or condition that causes it. Very worthwhile info.

If nothing else it can eliminate off-axis as a culprit if your loaded rounds are on-axis yet still show subpar accuracy. Therefore, allowing you to spend effort on other things instead of wasting time and guessing about concentricity.