bullet seating Q

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AKD

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I know with out a bullet uniformer the projectiles are a little different in length. The way a seating die works I know it does not actually press on the tip but more like a circle around just below the tip.

My Q is when ur seating your rounds should u pay more attention or measured over all length or just have ur press set and use the same stroke length on the press for all rounds?
 
You should measure from the base of the case to the ogive of your bullet for proper over all length. To do this you will need a bullet comparator, Hornady makes a bullet comparator and insert set that works well.
 
I see what ur saying and ya that works but not quite the answer im looking for.

How accurate is your press for seating rounds? do u find once its set all the OAL's are the same or are some off.0xx in variations ?

If u use a projectile uniformer your BC goes down but on the + side all your projectiles are the exact same. With out having uniform bullets do you think using a caliper to match OAL is a good idea or should u just trust you press and make sure there all close in size. Its inner seat depth that im thinking about. making sure inside the bullet all the projectiles are down the neck the same length.

I use SMK bullets and use my caliper to check OAL. I will be investing however in both a bullet comparator and uniformer. just wondering in the mean time.
 
I'm using a RCBS rock chucker press right now. I seated 50 bullets today and they were in the o.oo3 range. Now I don't know if that is variance in my press or the ogive of my bullets. I have a meplat trimmer which trims the tips of your bullets so they are all uniform. Today I used Berger bullets and I find that you only have to do this with some lots. I have also used the SMK and they all needed it. I trim the meplats so they are all uniform not for measuring purposes. The tips on SMK's look like mountain tops so I found that it was pretty inconsistent measuring from the base to the tip of the bullet. Since you don't have a comparator yet, I would set your die as close as you can and trust your press. If your die is tight you should be close.
 
Found a batch of .243 55 gr Ballistic S'Tips we'd loaded ranged up to 10 thou difference when measured to the tip for OAL. From the ogive with our home made comparator? .0005" - just fine.
 
The key is quality bullets. If you are talking match bullets, they should come out of the box uniform and ready to play. I don't do any trimming, measuring, weighing or mucking about with my match bullets. That is what I am paying for.

Bullets of the same shape will seat to the same OAL.

Jerry
 
Establish cartridge OAL using a "reference" bullet out of the box. Measure the length of the bullet before you start your cartridge OAL, and write it down. When you start future reloading sessions, start with a bullet that has the same length. This allows you to account for the tip deformations, etc.
Be aware that boxes of the same bullet can display different ogive profiles, lengths, etc!
 
AKD said:
I see what ur saying and ya that works but not quite the answer im looking for.

How accurate is your press for seating rounds? do u find once its set all the OAL's are the same or are some off.0xx in variations ?

If u use a projectile uniformer your BC goes down but on the + side all your projectiles are the exact same. With out having uniform bullets do you think using a caliper to match OAL is a good idea or should u just trust you press and make sure there all close in size. Its inner seat depth that im thinking about. making sure inside the bullet all the projectiles are down the neck the same length.

I use SMK bullets and use my caliper to check OAL. I will be investing however in both a bullet comparator and uniformer. just wondering in the mean time.
Click to expand...

The short answer is no. Your bullet seater contacts the tip of the bullet, so ogive is not taken into account by the seater. Thus two bullets of different shapes will be seated to the same length without adjusting the seater when this might not be appropriate.
 
The short answer is no. Your bullet seater contacts the tip of the bullet, so ogive is not taken into account by the seater. Thus two bullets of different shapes will be seated to the same length without adjusting the seater when this might not be appropriate

Ummmm Boomer...
none of my seaters touch the tip of the bullet. The seater portion of the seating rod has a hollowed tip...not unlike a hollow point bullet in reverse. Therefore, the tip is never touched by the seater. The seater contacts the bullet a short distance down from the tip when seating.
I don't have any idea if others are like mine or.......??
 
mysticplayer said:
The key is quality bullets. If you are talking match bullets, they should come out of the box uniform and ready to play. I don't do any trimming, measuring, weighing or mucking about with my match bullets. That is what I am paying for.

Bullets of the same shape will seat to the same OAL.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Should is the key word. I use SMK and they verry
 
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