Seating bullet depth

[baydog]

I've got a question about bullet depth if someone could help me with. If i try to extend the bullet out of the neck far enough that i'm as close to the lands as I can get with out touching and far enough back off the lans that as soon as the bullets starts to move it has a little start time before it is forced into the lans where is the best place for the bullet as far as the bullet depth in the neck? What i'm trying to get at is that if i spend the time to get as close as i can to the rifle lans with the bullet but the bullet is just pressed enough into the neck to seat the bullet won't this cut down on consistent pressure build and release of the bullet?..So what would be better,.. if i had the bullet pressed into the neck just enough to keep the bullet in the neck but are very close to the lans without touching or is it better to have the bullet pressed into the neck of the case so the bottom of the bullet is even with the bottom of the neck to get a more consistent and better pressure build for bullet release?..I've been going for the as closest length as i could get to the rifle lans to prevent less bullet jump but now I'm stumped on which is more important or would add up to more accuracy? What got this stirring around in my peanut thick head is smaller bullets don't have the length as a heavier grain bullet therefore to achieve greatest bullet length I don't feel that i'm pressing the bullet down enough with smaller grain bullets to get the proper pressure build to get a good consistent bullet release... UUUHHHHH now what do I do??????????..Thanks for your time and help

baydog

 

[jimbires]

rule of thumb is , you need the bullet seated in the case the same amount as the bullet diameter .

 

[boomtube]

"...where is the best place for the bullet as far as the bullet depth in the neck?"

NOTHING about reloading for accuracy is predictable and anyone saying otherwise has too little experience to listen to. Optimum seating depth is as variable as powder charges and both can only be learned by experimentation; there are no 'secret' short-cuts to accuracy.

Rules of thumb are best used to measure thumbs, some very good cartridges don't have necks a caliber long.

 

[jimbires]

so your saying a bullet seated in the case .010 is good ?WOW ha ha ha

 

[benchracer]

so your saying a bullet seated in the case .010 is good ?WOW ha ha ha

Try seating a bullet a caliber deep in a .300 Win Mag neck and get back to us. Then maybe you will see what boomtube was getting at. If you do a little research, you will find that the .300 Win Mag effectively blew your rule of thumb out of the water more than 50 years ago.

 

[benchracer]

I've got a question about bullet depth if someone could help me with. If i try to extend the bullet out of the neck far enough that i'm as close to the lands as I can get with out touching and far enough back off the lans that as soon as the bullets starts to move it has a little start time before it is forced into the lans where is the best place for the bullet as far as the bullet depth in the neck? What i'm trying to get at is that if i spend the time to get as close as i can to the rifle lans with the bullet but the bullet is just pressed enough into the neck to seat the bullet won't this cut down on consistent pressure build and release of the bullet?..So what would be better,.. if i had the bullet pressed into the neck just enough to keep the bullet in the neck but are very close to the lans without touching or is it better to have the bullet pressed into the neck of the case so the bottom of the bullet is even with the bottom of the neck to get a more consistent and better pressure build for bullet release?..I've been going for the as closest length as i could get to the rifle lans to prevent less bullet jump but now I'm stumped on which is more important or would add up to more accuracy? What got this stirring around in my peanut thick head is smaller bullets don't have the length as a heavier grain bullet therefore to achieve greatest bullet length I don't feel that i'm pressing the bullet down enough with smaller grain bullets to get the proper pressure build to get a good consistent bullet release... UUUHHHHH now what do I do??????????..Thanks for your time and help

baydog

My advice is not to get obsessed with seating your bullet to be in or near the rifling. Not one of my rifles has achieved its best accuracy in that fashion. Test for seating depth and let your rifle decide what is best. Here is a good place to start. This method works with just about any bullet:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/for...accuracy-berger-vld-bullets-your-rifle-40204/

 

[jimbires]

What got this stirring around in my peanut thick head is smaller bullets don't have the length as a heavier grain bullet therefore to achieve greatest bullet length I don't feel that i'm pressing the bullet down enough with smaller grain bullets to get the proper pressure build to get a good consistent bullet release... UUUHHHHH now what do I do??????????..Thanks for your time and help

baydog

baydog , what I'm picturing is you're working with a heavy per caliber grain bullet and have it close the the lands , with plenty of bullet pressed in the case . this long bullet could even be seated past the case neck shoulder junction . now you decide to switch to a considerably shorter light per caliber grain bullet . you can't have the same bullet jump and have the bullet seated in the brass case the same amount because , as you said , the bullet is shorter . so now you have to start somewhere . that's where I was coming from with the seating one caliber diameter of bullet into the brass case . or seat the bullet to the case neck shoulder junction . you have to get enough bullet seated into the case to help align the bullet and also to keep the bullet from falling out . Jim

 

[jimbires]

Try seating a bullet a caliber deep in a .300 Win Mag neck and get back to us. Then maybe you will see what boomtube was getting at. If you do a little research, you will find that the .300 Win Mag effectively blew your rule of thumb out of the water more than 50 years ago.

I can seat a bullet a caliber deep in a 300 win mag . the bullet does not stop at the neck shoulder junction .

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I've got a question about bullet depth if someone could help me with. If i try to extend the bullet out of the neck far enough that i'm as close to the lands as I can get with out touching and far enough back off the lans that as soon as the bullets starts to move it has a little start time before it is forced into the lans where is the best place for the bullet as far as the bullet depth in the neck? What i'm trying to get at is that if i spend the time to get as close as i can to the rifle lans with the bullet but the bullet is just pressed enough into the neck to seat the bullet won't this cut down on consistent pressure build and release of the bullet?..So what would be better,.. if i had the bullet pressed into the neck just enough to keep the bullet in the neck but are very close to the lans without touching or is it better to have the bullet pressed into the neck of the case so the bottom of the bullet is even with the bottom of the neck to get a more consistent and better pressure build for bullet release?..I've been going for the as closest length as i could get to the rifle lans to prevent less bullet jump but now I'm stumped on which is more important or would add up to more accuracy? What got this stirring around in my peanut thick head is smaller bullets don't have the length as a heavier grain bullet therefore to achieve greatest bullet length I don't feel that i'm pressing the bullet down enough with smaller grain bullets to get the proper pressure build to get a good consistent bullet release... UUUHHHHH now what do I do??????????..Thanks for your time and help

baydog

Some rifles will be less picky than others, but bottom line, not all rifles will like a particular load close to the lands. You will probably find a sweet spot if you do some experimenting. Might be jammed into the lands, might be over .100 off the lands or anywhere between.

That said, you might read this thread on bullet to bullet variance. You might think your bullets are .005 off the lands when they might be .005 plus or minus .005 or more. This is what I have learned.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f28/what-do-about-coal-inconsistency-130550/

 

[baydog]

baydog , what I'm picturing is you're working with a heavy per caliber grain bullet and have it close the the lands , with plenty of bullet pressed in the case . this long bullet could even be seated past the case neck shoulder junction . now you decide to switch to a considerably shorter light per caliber grain bullet . you can't have the same bullet jump and have the bullet seated in the brass case the same amount because , as you said , the bullet is shorter . so now you have to start somewhere . that's where I was coming from with the seating one caliber diameter of bullet into the brass case . or seat the bullet to the case neck shoulder junction . you have to get enough bullet seated into the case to help align the bullet and also to keep the bullet from falling out . Jim

Thanks Jim. Thats is exactly what is going on as far as the lighter grain shorter bullets won't reach the lands without falling out of the case neck so i was trying to find out how far a bullet has to be seated in to be safe and to make enough pressure build to make a good consistent release where like you said the heavier grain bullets had plenty of length to reach the lands and plenty of depth in the case. Yup! This is something that I will have to trial and error on my own to find these thing out..Thanks very much for your help.

baydog

 

[baydog]

My advice is not to get obsessed with seating your bullet to be in or near the rifling. Not one of my rifles has achieved its best accuracy in that fashion. Test for seating depth and let your rifle decide what is best. Here is a good place to start. This method works with just about any bullet:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/for...accuracy-berger-vld-bullets-your-rifle-40204/

Very good info benchracer! I'm defiantly going to load the 24 round and try the experiment.. Thanks again for the good info!

baydog

 

[jimbires]

Baydog , here is a thread on the same question as you have . you'll see they are talking about seating one caliber diameter . thought you might be interested . Jim



http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f28/243-55-grain-free-bore-131464/

 

[baydog]

Baydog , here is a thread on the same question as you have . you'll see they are talking about seating one caliber diameter . thought you might be interested . Jim



http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f28/243-55-grain-free-bore-131464/

Thanks Jimbires. I have been experimenting on the whole depth thing only to find out that i can extend them from to the lands ,002 off and keep pressing the bullet deeper only to find out that all that i went thru all that to find out that i have to sink them in deeper than i would like because they won't fit in the magazine. I'm finding out that some bullets like it closer to the lands and some like it seated deeper then i ever would of thought. The gun I'm playing with right now is my new sendro 300rum. That hog has a appetite for powder i can tell ya that. Weather seems to be good today going to try to get some shooting in today.I'm kinda stuck with the amount I can extend the bullet out because of the magazine but i can sink them a little deeper than i like and see what happens..Let you know how I make out...Thanks for all your help Jim.

baydog

 

[sp6x6]

When Barnes bullets where first out in earlier days,since it was new as a mono metal type bullet. They used to have a note printed in box on slip of paper as not much on seating bullet, They use to recommend to go 2/3 the bullet caliper for seating as a min.