Bullet seating depth?

[MtPockets]

So, I finally got around to working up some coyote/wolf loads for my .270. I'm going to try the 110 Vmax and a 90 gr Sierra hollow point.
I started with the Vmax, but when I seated the bullet to the length specified in the Hornady book (3.165") it's not even CLOSE to the cannelure. I was always under the impression that you seated the bullet to (or even over) the cannelure. What gives?
I then switched to load the 90 Sierra's. Although there's no cannelure to go by, when seated to what the Sierra book calls for (3.200"), it's only into the case by .172". Is that correct?

 

[boomtube]

"Is that correct? "

All the different book OALs and cannalure/no cannalure varitations is enough to make a man think it's really not all that much a predetermined a thing to work towards, ain't it!

 

[Sully2]

I always try at least to seat a bullet OUT as far as I can and NOT touch rifling so I dont worry about sticking a slug in the barrel. I always keep " 1 caliber" of bullet in the next....EXAMPLE: 30 cal....I have a minimum of .3 in the neck being gripped. 22 cal..same deal..at least .22 of bullet in the casing neck.

 

[MtPockets]

Sorry guys, but I'm still confused. Does that mean that the book numbers are meaningless, then? Are they supposed to be just a starting point, or what? I would really have to wonder how straight those Sierra's are, only being in the case by .172"...

 

[Whitetailaddict]

I am not 100% sure and maybe some one with more experiece here can chime in and correct me if I am wrong, but I always thought that the o.a.l listed in the manuals was what factory ammo was loaded at to make sure they would fit in all of the magazines, for all different makes of firearms, so if you have a rifle with a longer action you can lengthen the seating depth in your shell so that it is not touching the lands in your barrel correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Joe King]

The numbers you see in the manuals IMHO are reference, a starting point only. As fare as how deep in the neck should you go? Far enough to hold the bullet securely. The bullet your using is pretty short for cal, so any forces that may push the bullet of of alignment with the center of the case will have less leverage, than a heavier/longer bullet. While seating 1 cal deap is a good idea not all chamberings have a neck that is 1cal long, 2 of the standard long range chamberings have necks less than 1 cal in length.

So experiment with several cases with bullets seated a different depths, by trying to move the bullet side to side, when you find a depth that no longer allows you to move the bullet you can be pretty certain that, that bullet is held securely.

 

[MtPockets]

Thanks for the help, guys!
The bullets seem to be held pretty firmly- no movement at all- but I wondered how straight the loaded round would be when it's barely in there....
I can't see any wobble when I roll them across the bench so I guess I'll give them a try.
I did get out and shot the Vmax's. I had one load that shot about 3/4" @ 100 yards. Not great, but for a first try and in a 30 year old Ruger with a 50 year old scope- I guess it's going in the right direction!

 

[Whitetailaddict]

I shoot a tika t3 lite stainless in a 22-250, I seat my 50 grain sierra blitz kings to an o.a.l of 2.460 just off of the rifeling, the manual suggests that it should be at 2.350, should I be concerned that it is way off from what the manual states?

 

[Joe King]

I shoot a tika t3 lite stainless in a 22-250, I seat my 50 grain sierra blitz kings to an o.a.l of 2.460 just off of the rifeling, the manual suggests that it should be at 2.350, should I be concerned that it is way off from what the manual states?

Does your rifle function normally with this load? Does the accuracy of this load meet your requirements? Is your velocity at a normal level for this load?

If you answered yes then your most likely fine. I couldn't tell you what the COAL is for any of my loads.

I load off of the lands, and as long as the bullet is seated into the neck to be held securely I don't much care what ever COAL might be.

 

[Gene]

The manuals suggested OAL's are to keep it short enuf to feed thru most magazines.

To determline where the bullet ogive touches the lands, get a Hornady bullet comparator and read the instructions. The lighter bullets may need to be seated down so that they are not able to reach the lands. Try to keep minimum of about .01" of bullet in the neck.

 

[MtPockets]

Try to keep minimum of about .01" of bullet in the neck.

.01"? Is that a misprint? The .172 that I have with the 90 grain Sierra's doesn't seem like enough...

 

[Gene]

That would be about the minimum. Most important, the bullet has to be concentric with bore. Move lit down until it is.

 

[Whitetailaddict]

Does your rifle function normally with this load? Does the accuracy of this load meet your requirements? Is your velocity at a normal level for this load?

If you answered yes then your most likely fine. I couldn't tell you what the COAL is for any of my loads.

I load off of the lands, and as long as the bullet is seated into the neck to be held securely I don't much care what ever COAL might be.

the rifle functions fine, and I can shoot five shots inside a hole the size of a Quarter, but I do not know what my velocity is other then what it says in the reloading manual. I use a remington case and in the reloading manual it states a federal case is what they used in there test, so there could be a difference in case pressure, is this something to be concerned with when reloading a case? I guess I have to invest in a chronagraph to find out what my velocity is going to be.

 

[Joe King]

the rifle functions fine, and I can shoot five shots inside a hole the size of a Quarter, but I do not know what my velocity is other then what it says in the reloading manual. I use a remington case and in the reloading manual it states a federal case is what they used in there test, so there could be a difference in case pressure, is this something to be concerned with when reloading a case? I guess I have to invest in a chronagraph to find out what my velocity is going to be.

The farther out of the neck your bullet is seated the lower your pressure will be, until it touches the lands then you'll see a sharp increase, maybe not a large increase though. If you know your bullets true BC all you need to do is shoot it down range at different ranges, say 100yrds zero 300yrs, 500, 600, yrds. And measure the drop to the center of each group write it down, get on a balistics program such as JBM, try different velocities until you find a velocity that match your recorded drops. Then take the money you would have spent on a chrony buy more reloading supplies and shoot more Those down range groups say 300 and beyond, the farther the better will tell you more than a chrony cangun)