69gr SMK inconsistent seating

[EL_NinO619]

I agree that the Redding seater is the way to go with SMK's. their tip is inconsistent as that is where the jacket wraps and is trimmed off. This is no problem in usage and performance, you just have to understand that measuring from base to tip is misleading with these.

I agree. I use the Redding Comp on my 1050 and it throws out very consistent reading even measuring from tip.

[LynnJr]

The seating sleeve on the Redding die is now made deeper so it will take any bullet.In the past it might bottom out if long skinny vld type bullets were used and Redding would replace it free of charge.
They also used to replace cracked sleeves no questions asked but on the 223 case they will no longer do this as shooters are using the sleeve to crush powder in an attempt at more velocity with the heaviest bullets.

Alot of shooters will use Clover valve grinding compound smeared on a bullet and spun in a drill to get a better fit on the seating stem and to better transition smooth out the inside edge which would leave a ring on the bullet if heavy seating pressure was used.Heavy seating pressure from high neck tension or compressed loads isn't usually a problem but the seating stem is thin in the first place and the extra thinning caused by polishing will often times bellmouth the seating stem itself.If the seater becomes bellmouthed you might lose the ability to seat your bullets shorter as the sleeve will stick in the die due to its now funnel shape.

In your case the bullets being used are mass produced from several dies and put in the same box as part of the manufacturing process.If you measure/sort your bullets by bearing surface length and base to ogive length you will usually see 3-4 distinct groupings out of a 500 count box and a few bullets that don't fit into any pile.As long as you shoot like bullets together your groups won't suffer and the outliers can be used for fireforming and fouling shots by marking them with a sharpie as culls.

You absolutely must use some type of comparator tool to properly seat your bullets.A typical seating stem makes contact to high on the bullets ogive to be of any real value.You want the seating depth checked as close to the land contact area as is possible as this is where your bullets will make contact when traveling down your barrel and not at the bullets tip.The comparator will allow this and if hooked to a digital caliper is very easy and very fast to use.You want to keep your seating depth as consistent as is possible and a variation of 0.002 is easily obtained when using a comparator.
You simply seat your bullets 0.015 longer than you need them and turn your die down in small increments and pass them all through until they are of a uniform length.

It sounds much worse than it actually is and the results are amazing.

[NiMiK]

Just bought my comparator today along with my OAL gauge. Now just waiting for my die to come in so I can make my own modified case since the 223 modified case from Hornady is sold out everywhere. I found a pretty cool video on the setup and I think this might help beginners such as myself with the understanding of how to find ogive and seating of the bullets for YOUR rifle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phQdxDwe804

[J-cat]

The OP's rounds all seem to be within +/- 0.005" of 2.255".

That's why he shouldn't be female dogging.

[AMProducts]

If you want absolutely "uniform" OALs yes, you need a competition or other very consistent seater, the other thing you may need is a meplate uniformer, this is a bigger deal for HPBT bullets as when they are making them the HP where they close the bullet ends up being the "irregular" part, whereas with FMJ-BT rounds the irregular part is usually the base of the bullet.

When I read your OP the thing I was thinking is inadequate neck tension, seating that big long 69gr bullet over varget can be a challenge as varget doesn't like to move, and if you're not careful it ends up stacking and crushing, sometimes pushing the bullet back out of the case.

[sargenv]

My question is, even if it's off by a few .001", have you shot them and can YOU tell the difference in accuracy?

[ocabj]

BTW: If you're only reason for seating to 2.260" is because you want magazine length for AR, then just set your seater die so it's close to 2.260" for most and be done with it. You're going to get some variance simply because the meplat isn't perfect, but I can assure you that the base to ogive length is going to be nearly the same.

While you have most measuring 2.259" and three measuring 2.250", if you measure those 2.259" vs the 2.250" for base to ogive difference, they should be nearly the same (and won't vary by .009").

When I seat my 77gr ammo for the 200/300 yard line stages, I use a Redding competition micrometer seating die, and I set it up for 2.260" on average, but I'm sure I'll get a +/- .005 on the extreme because of crappy meplat forming. But even then, 2.265" will still fit the magazine and not drag.

Note that Lapua Scenar 77gr have some of the most consistent meplats I've ever seen and they literally won't vary by more than .001" (measuring base of bullet to bullet tip).

[A and O]

The proof was in your shooting in showing that in the end it don't really matter.
That said, it's like everything else. What are you really after here? Hunting accurate? You got it in spades, you will be hitting everything you shoot at, and where you aimed. Remember, in shooting at moving targets you will not notice if you are off by an inch at 100yds. Assuming your target is larger than your grouping.

[LynnJr]

BTW: If you're only reason for seating to 2.260" is because you want magazine length for AR, then just set your seater die so it's close to 2.260" for most and be done with it. You're going to get some variance simply because the meplat isn't perfect, but I can assure you that the base to ogive length is going to be nearly the same.

Wow that is a really big assurance.

While you have most measuring 2.259" and three measuring 2.250", if you measure those 2.259" vs the 2.250" for base to ogive difference, they should be nearly the same (and won't vary by .009").

Wow again what is typical variation for base to ogive?

.

My question is, even if it's off by a few .001", have you shot them and can YOU tell the difference in accuracy?

You can easily see the difference in a decent 700 Remington hunting rifle.You don't need benchrest accuracy to hunt elephants at the zoo but if your reloading already it only takes a few more minutes to do it right and get the best out of your reloads.

[NiMiK]

The proof was in your shooting in showing that in the end it don't really matter.
That said, it's like everything else. What are you really after here? Hunting accurate? You got it in spades, you will be hitting everything you shoot at, and where you aimed. Remember, in shooting at moving targets you will not notice if you are off by an inch at 100yds. Assuming your target is larger than your grouping.

Accuracy is the ultimate goal. I don't hunt but will for the first time later this year. I got the comparator and OAL gauge. Since everybody was out of stock on the modified case, I decided just to make my own. Worked like a charm and found the measurements for my rifle. I made a small batch last night and tried them around 350-400 yards. The grouping was good based on splatter and dents on the steel. I'm going to try this on paper next time.