bullet seating for accuracy

[Darklyte27]

so im loading for .308 win

Ive heard you want the bullet just to touch the groves of the barrel.
Is it possible to seat the bullet without using a gauge?

im using 175 SMKs with 42.5 and 43 gr of varget so far.
for those who have loaded and found their sweet spot, is that what you did for the seating?

[Timberwolf]

Every rifle/barrel is a little different. As a general rule though SMKs like to jump so start at the recommended OAL of 2.800 and work from there.

As to myself, I use SMKs and have kept them at 2.810 OAL for years. With AMAXes I chase the throat.

[Jicko]

+1.... both 168 and 175 SMKs I tested doesn't seems to benefit from lands chasing...

ALSO, your seating depth is most likely be limited to your magazine length... unless you are planning to do single loading...

[Darklyte27]

ahh good to know, Jicko , this is my savage bolt action

thanks

[buffybuster]

There's a couple of quick and dirty ways you can achieve this without the gages.

Neck size or slightly resize your case until it will just hold a bullet with some but not too much friction.

You start the bullet into the case, by hand, then put the cartridge (NO PRIMER, NO POWDER) into the chamber and carefully close the bolt. You should feel some resistance as the bullet is pushed into the case. Then carefully extract the cartridge. The bullet should have slight land marks. That is the maximum length with that specific bullet.

IF you have a FLAT base bullet:
put the bullet upside down (point down) into the case (NO PRIMER or POWDER). Then put the case in the chamber and gently close the bolt (works best if you don't have a plunger ejector or remove the plunger). You should feel some resistance as the bullet is being pushed into the case. Then carefully extract the cartridge. This will give you the maximum length at bullet diameter. You can take that measurement and compare it to the ogive of any bullet and calculate your maximum OAL.

If this is a factory barrel, usually the chambers are so long that your magazine length is the determining factor in the OAL you can run.

[Bug Splat]

There's a couple of quick and dirty ways you can achieve this without the gages.

Neck size or slightly resize your case until it will just hold a bullet with some but not too much friction.

You start the bullet into the case, by hand, then put the cartridge (NO PRIMER, NO POWDER) into the chamber and carefully close the bolt. You should feel some resistance as the bullet is pushed into the case. Then carefully extract the cartridge. The bullet should have slight land marks. That is the maximum length with that specific bullet.

IF you have a FLAT base bullet:
put the bullet upside down (point down) into the case (NO PRIMER or POWDER). Then put the case in the chamber and gently close the bolt (works best if you don't have a plunger ejector or remove the plunger). You should feel some resistance as the bullet is being pushed into the case. Then carefully extract the cartridge. This will give you the maximum length at bullet diameter. You can take that measurement and compare it to the ogive of any bullet and calculate your maximum OAL.

If this is a factory barrel, usually the chambers are so long that your magazine length is the determining factor in the OAL you can run.

+1. This what I have done for years and it works great. If you plan to use your mag, your really are limited to the OAL

[RikSors]

There's a couple of quick and dirty ways you can achieve this without the gages.

Neck size or slightly resize your case until it will just hold a bullet with some but not too much friction.

You start the bullet into the case, by hand, then put the cartridge (NO PRIMER, NO POWDER) into the chamber and carefully close the bolt. You should feel some resistance as the bullet is pushed into the case. Then carefully extract the cartridge. The bullet should have slight land marks. That is the maximum length with that specific bullet.

IF you have a FLAT base bullet:
put the bullet upside down (point down) into the case (NO PRIMER or POWDER). Then put the case in the chamber and gently close the bolt (works best if you don't have a plunger ejector or remove the plunger). You should feel some resistance as the bullet is being pushed into the case. Then carefully extract the cartridge. This will give you the maximum length at bullet diameter. You can take that measurement and compare it to the ogive of any bullet and calculate your maximum OAL.

If this is a factory barrel, usually the chambers are so long that your magazine length is the determining factor in the OAL you can run.

+2. This is measuring from the ogive of the bullet. It is not uncommon for variations of up to .015" to exist from one round to the next when measured across the bullet tips. Get the Bullet Comparator and Insert Set from Hornady. This solves the problem by measuring your rounds from a reliable surface on the bullet (the ogive). Proper length rounds and consistency are fundamental to accuracy.

Pulled out from Hornady.com

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=485

[ar15barrels]

Concentricity of the bullet in the case is probably more important than the overall length or the jump to the lands.
I recommend using a benchrest type seater such as a Redding, Forester or a Wilson hand die.
These types of dies fully align the case with the bullet the whole time the bullet is being seated.

[mif_slim]

there is another way too. you can seat the bullet shallow with no powder n primer. clear your chamber and push the round in with your fingers and nudge it a little. point your barrel up. if it doesnt come out use a cleaning rod to push it out. seat the bullet a little and do it again until the cartridge falls free. if so, you found your max overall lenght and should be okay.

[Jonathan Doe]

This is what my Remington 5R rifle did with my reload, 42 grains of IMR 4064, once fired Federal match brass, Wolf primer, Sierra 168 MK seated out to .010" from the rifling. It was shot at 100 yards total of 10 shots. You will have to experiment with your rifle though. If you let it touch the rifling, you may run into pressure problem.

[CSACANNONEER]

Although everyone seems to think that bullet jump is important, I have shot many <moa 5 shot groups @ 1000 yards with my AR50. As some here know, Armalite reams their throats LONG. My bullet jump is OVER 1/2" and the rifle still shoots great for a turn key, entry level 50. I do prefer about a 0.010" jump for my small caliber guns and a 0.015"-0.020" jump for 50s though. One thing to remember is that you do not want the bullet to be touching the lands before it's fired. This can cause exessive pressures.