How deep this WC?

[rd2play]

This is what I have. How deep should it go? As you can see it has serrations at both ends, but no groove.

[Bladeshark]

What caliber is it? Maybe a Russian 7.62 Nagant?

[rd2play]

What caliber is it? Maybe a Russian 7.62 Nagant?

Sorry, forgot to mention. It's a 38 Special, 148 gn.

[rd2play]

Thinking about it... I have a bullet gage for the 38 Special. Could I use that to figure out the depth of the bullet? I guess the round shouldn't be shorter or longer than the gage.

[Whiterabbit]

two schools of thought:

#1, crimp holds the bullet. If you have a round that tends to jump crimp, then the answer is you seat deep enough to crimp into the cannelure, and load powder accordingly to the appropriate load data.

#2, case neck tension holds the bullet. If you/your round/your load/your equipment/your process results in a round that never jumps crimp, you are free to load anywhere. I'll assume this is being loaded into a revolver. That means if the bullet is smaller than the throat, you are free to have it stick out into the throat. If not, then that necessarily limits you from the get-go. But sticking out, you are free to manipulate the free-space in the case. You can choose to eliminate load compression if the load data otherwise calls for it, or add air space and see how that changes your grouping or velocity spread (if you use a chrono)

[Whiterabbit]

and IF it's a revolver, your OAL is limited to the cylinder length if the bullet diameter is smaller than the cylinder throat. Otherwise, your OAL is limited to the ogive (more like a roundover) touching the throat.

I think you'll find the bullet smaller than your throats.

as for what you SHOULD seat, I'd base that on powder. Typical internet wisdom (internet wisdom is ALWAYS right, right?) says the bullet should be just over the powder, minimizing free space. I'll suggest some reading and experimentation may be best. A full case of Trailboss never performed best for me. On the other hand, I'd be nervous about leaving lots of free-space in an H110 round.

[Southpaw45]

Crimp at the second cannular. There made to seat almost flush to the case..

[rsrocket1]

There are no grooves because those bands are called cannelures. They are common on plated and jacketed bullets and are made so that you can put a crimp on the bullet without cutting through the plating.

If one of the ends is flat and the other is concaved, you typically seat the concave side into the case. You definitely need to seat it to the top cannelure because there would be almost no surface to hold the bullet if you seated only to the bottom one.

Put a roll crimp on it depending on its use. If using light plinking loads, neck tension ought to be enough and your brass will last longer with no crimp. If loading 357 magnum or hot 38 special loads, put a medium roll crimp on it so that the bullet won't creep out from recoil.

[rd2play]

Thanks for the info! It is to be used in a .357 Magnum revolver, just for plinking.

[Bill Steele]

You can also seat a WC so it is flush with the top of the case and do a light crimp at the radius to tidy things up. Most people are loading this kind of bullet for light target work, so I agree with others that say a light taper crimp (just getting the belling out) will work fine if your sizer die sizes the brass you are using enough to get decent neck tension (the bullet won't push in with finger pressure). Your .38 die will do the "light taper crimp" function if set just to kiss the case mouth when the ram is all the way up. This is tricky to setup and might not be ideal if you brass varies much in length (as the crimp will be inconsistent).

Good luck, have fun.

[CSACANNONEER]

Don't let the cannelures confuse you. You can seat and crimp whereever your load data says to. If you are not using an exact recipe, try a little experimenting. I'd say that seating anywhere between the two will work. For each powder charge, you might find a different sweet spot for seatiing depths.

[stand125]

I load mine flush with the case mouth with a slight crimp. Looking at a profile you don't see the bullet and the case mouth is ever so slightly turned in.