Yet another stupid newbie question.

[7.62mm]

So. I finally got around to do some reloading last night. First case stuck in the die from lack of lube. Ooops. Got that sorted out with a hammer and punch, what fun. I am reloading for 6.5x55 swede. I bought some 140 grain Hornadys and 85 grain Sierras.

with the 85 grainers I was wondering if there was a minimum amount the bullet had to be seated in the case. I have read here and elsewhere that you want the bullet to be about 5 thou of the rifling, but there is no way this is going to happen with these. I seated the bullets .087 deep. Is this enough, or am I going to create problems. Also in the load data it says the overall length is supposed to be 2.80, where as I have 2.93. The cartridge pic in the Lee book is showing 3.150 COL, but I am assuming this is with 130 grainers. Will there be any kind of pressure problem, or lack there of that I should be aware of?

Thanks
7.62mm

 

[gaetoune]

The Overall lenght in your manual is the minimum you should have for each different bullets. So you said you were loading 85Gr If you check the Lee book the Third row from the right is your Min OAL. So for each powder to make sure you do not create over pressure this is the minimun OAL you should have, longer is not a problem, shorter create overpressure.

85 GR for almost every powder type is 2.800 and some exception.

Hope it help.

Enjoy.

Gaetoune

 

[kodiak1]

7.62 AH Yes the old stuck case.
This is a learning curve.
Lenght as Gaetoune stated you can very a little. With only .087 Seated much of a bump and you may have a problem.
Ken.

 

[sunray]

"...about 5 thou of the rifling..." Find a load that shoots accurately in your rifle first. Then you can fine tune the OAL. Deal with one thing at a time. It'll give you fewer headaches.

 

[hoochie]

with your 85gr HP's, my Sierra software says the COL is 2.80
*and the pic the software shows has a COL of 3.062, but doesnt say what the bullet is.
go by what the bullet is, not by what the pic shows you.

 

[agent_mango]

In terms of the least amount of seating you can get away with, I was recently told a rule of thumb by an experienced reloader. In order to have enough bullet in the case for proper run out, you generally need once cal worth of bullet in the case. This doesn't count the boattail if there is one.

For example, let's say you are loading a 6.5 mm bullet without a boattail. You would need to seat the bullet at least 6.5 mm, or 0.256". Or let's say the bullet has a boattail that runs 0.1 inches up from the base of the bullet. Then you would need to seat the bullet 0.346".

 

[daniellybbert]

if you are loading for moa accuracy you will have to figure it out by trial and error but I like to start with 2/3 of the bullet diameter should be in the caseing neck

 

[cosmic]

85 grains is a very small bullet for the 6.5 X 55. Bear in mind that they can take a bullet almost twice the weight - 160 gr. You're not likely to get anywhere near the lands, particularly if the rifle is a Swede mauser. Regardless of circumstance, as a new reloader, I would avoid trying to get too close to the lands - 5 thou is too risky/difficult to maintain. You're better off optimizing bullet weight and powder combinations, and strive for consistency from round to round, batch to batch.
Follow the rules above, you'll do fine. I have a Swede mauser that shoots 100 gr bullets into 1 moa - its throat is so shot out that I cant get near to the lands with 140 gr bullets!

 

[7.62mm]

Thanks to all that replied, gives me some food for thought. I went to the range this weekend, and tried my 1st reloads. I wasn't to overly confident with, being these were my first, so I had an old tire kicking around, put the butt in the tire and tied a string to the trigger, and gave a tug. Well nothing bad happened, cases looked good after careful inspection, and the rifle didn't suffer any undue harm that I could see, so it was a good day.

Next time I shall try the reloads for accuracy, and see where I am.

Thanks
7.62mm

 

[joe-nwt]

Thanks to all that replied, gives me some food for thought. I went to the range this weekend, and tried my 1st reloads. I wasn't to overly confident with, being these were my first, so I had an old tire kicking around, put the butt in the tire and tied a string to the trigger, and gave a tug. Well nothing bad happened, cases looked good after careful inspection, and the rifle didn't suffer any undue harm that I could see, so it was a good day.

Next time I shall try the reloads for accuracy, and see where I am.

Thanks
7.62mm

A tire and string? As long as you are reading the manuals and asking questions here, I don't think you need to go to that extreme!

I use the same rule of thumb as mango, 1 cal seated for a starting point. That being said, I have loaded some bullets much shallower, but mostly for range type ammo. For field/hunting I prefer more than less while trying to maintain decent accuracy.

BTW, stupid newbie's don't ask, smart one's do. No one person knows everything.

 

[The Baron]

I'll third the "one caliber" rule of thumb for seating, as I read that somewhere also. Good of mango to point out the boattail part doesn't count. I typically go more than that, to make sure bullets can't get bumped around by recoil. Especially in a big game rifle, I am less concerned about squeeking an extra 0.1" of accuracy than I am about having loads that will stay the way I made 'em.

It is true that most rifles will shoot best with the bullet seated at or just off the rifling. As hs been stated, you'll likely never get there with the 85gr. 6.5 bullets, but don't be too concerned. I've had more than one rifle that shot best with bullets making a fair "jump" to the rifling. The COL measurements provided in manual are not a must, just a suggestion. As long as you are starting a few grains or more below the published max. for a given powder, you can try any COL you think might work and slowly work the charge up.

Never hesitate to ask a question - that's what this forum is for! And there are no stupid questions... just the occasional stupid answer. LOL!