Time for new die???

[Kelly Timoffee]

Did a few rounds tonight.

Loaded some match kings , had terrible inconsistencies in getting them seated to right depth, up to .010" variances. Wound up just backing the die off, and adjusting little by little for each round to get where I wanted.

It is a Hornady , doubt it has 1000 rounds through it.

Had the same problem with SST's , Swift Scirocco's had no problems at all.

Are these dies less consistent as bullet profile changes or should that be expected from a lower end die??

I like being very accurate and measure lots but this is a bit too tedious.

 

['Boo]

Measure your Hornady and Sierra bullets carefully and you will see about the same amount of variation as you are seeing in your loaded rounds. The seating die does not push directly on the tip but rather further down the ogive. The Swift bullets - and Nosler Ballistic Tips - are usually a lot more uniform in overall length than the Hornady bullets.

One reason why you should be measuring your cartridge length using the ogive as reference rather than the tip.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

I actually won't be using the Hornadys , they didn't group well for me, that was the reason for the Sciroccos , as for the Match Kings, yes, a pain in the arse doin it this way.

Measure your Hornady and Sierra bullets carefully and you will see about the same amount of variation as you are seeing in your loaded rounds. The seating die does not push directly on the tip but rather further down the ogive. The Swift bullets - and Nosler Ballistic Tips - are usually a lot more uniform in overall length than the Hornady bullets.

One reason why you should be measuring your cartridge length using the ogive as reference rather than the tip.

 

[Cummins4x4]

The combination that I have used with great results is;
Redding neck sizer, redding body die, RCBS competition seater for all my rifle calibers. I neck size until they are difficult to chamber then run them through the body die. The RCBS seater has the sliding collar and the window for inserting the bullet.

 

[stubblejumper]

I actually won't be using the Hornadys , they didn't group well for me,

Having them seated with different distances from the lands to the ogive certainly doesn't help.Set your seating die,then leave it alone,the distance to the tips doesn't matter.If you are constantly adjusting the seating die to give the same COL to the tips of the bullets,the distance from the lands to the ogive won't be consistent.

 

[bearhunter]

The tip inserts may not allow the seating mandrel to rest on the ogive. You may need to get a different mandrel. This isn't as uncommon as you think. The new VLD projectiles have very long tapered ogives and the polymer tips extend their lengths even further.

 

[cosmic]

Well - If the mandrel tip inserts were not seating on ogive (ie on the tip), then the measured OAL would be constant. More likely, the bullets themselves are inconsistent in geometry. However, the die might be doing its job properly and indexing to the the ogive...

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

Okey Dokey, so what is the gauge used to measure length to the ogive?? That should be an addition to my tools I think.

 

[acrashb]

Okey Dokey, so what is the gauge used to measure length to the ogive?? That should be an addition to my tools I think.

Best bang for the buck: http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=34262/Product/Sinclair_Hex_Style_Bullet_Comparators

 

[Ron AKA]

Okey Dokey, so what is the gauge used to measure length to the ogive?? That should be an addition to my tools I think.

Here is how I do it without a special gauge. First I take a fired, and neck sized only case, and sacrifice it. I use a Dremel disk to make one single fine cut through the neck and shoulder in the longitudinal direction. Take one of the bullets from the batch you plan to load. Make sure you get one with a tip in good condition. I mark it with a felt marker so I don't mix it up. Slide the market bullet into the split neck case, just a short amount. Adjust the tension so it has tension but still slides fairly easily. You then carefully chamber this dummy load, and even more carefully withdraw it, while holding your finger on the side of the case so the bullet is not dislodged. Then measure OAL to the tip with a vernier, and record it. I repeat at least three times, and more until I get a consistent reading time after time. I find once you get close to a good one, just pull the bullet out a very small amount and then chamber it again to make sure it goes back to the same spot.

So now you know the OAL for that specific bullet (not all bullets in the box, as they are likely all different) when the bullet is just touching the lands. Record it. Next you have to determine where you want your bullet seated relative to the touching position. If you want a 0.010" jam into the lands then add 0.010" to that number. Reverse if you want a jump to the lands.

Now you load a cartridge for real and seat this specific marked bullet quite long. Then by trial and error seat it deeper and deeper until you come up with the calculated OAL which you adjusted for jam or jump. If you calculate thread pitch you can speed that up some. But, it sounds like you are practiced at that already. Lock your die in this position, and load the rest of the bullets. OAL will vary, but distance to the ogive should not vary much.

If you want to buy another die to do this I would suggest a Forster Ultra Seater with Micrometer. That way you can record the die position, and the next time you load a bullet from that batch you can use the same setting. Otherwise you have to go through the routine again. And of course every time you switch brands or bullet weight you have to go through the routine. Also if the barrel is new, you may want to repeat as the barrel lands will burn fairly quickly for the first 100 rounds or so.