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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
Why can't I get a consistant C.O.L.?
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<blockquote data-quote="Rymart" data-source="post: 198896" data-attributes="member: 3688"><p>Unless I'm missing something this is a very easy question to answer... </p><p></p><p>Here's the long winded version:</p><p></p><p>Take a close look at the shape of the tips of the SKM's verses the V-max's. The V-max's should be/will be much more consistent. To put it into perspective, I just plucked a hair off of my beard and measured it in my caliper at 0.005", so a measured COL difference of +/- 0.005" is roughly +/- one facial hairs diameter difference. I'm surprised the difference that you are measuring is not more than the 0.005". I'm looking at some 190 gr SMK's right now and can see plenty of variance in the tips (what I am seeing is that some of the hollow points are somewhat flat across the tips and some are slightly angled). Now that I have beat that horse to death...</p><p></p><p>Bullet seaters in general, and the Redding Competition Seater specifically, do not push the bullet into the case from the point of the tip, but from somewhere further down on the bullet with a plunger. If necessary, you can take your die apart to see this.</p><p></p><p>Now, to your practice of seating long and then 'custom' seating every SMK bullet to the same C.O.L., here's my suggestion, Don't Do It! I'm surprised that no one else has chimed in and said this yet. Here is why:</p><p></p><p>1) The variances in the SMK tips (and thus the variances in C.O.L. based on these differences in the SMK tips), will make little difference on the overall accuracy of a bullet, especially when compared to the potential accuracy penalties that you will get from varying the distance that the bullet jumps before it contacts the lands. Since the seating plunger is contacting the front of the bullet somewhere close to the ogive (or at least in an area of the bullet that is far more consistent with the ogive than the tip of the bullet), you are likely changing the amount of 'jump' the bullet makes to the lands every time you adjust your micrometer die in an effort to 'even up' the C.O.L., as measured from base-to-tip with calipers.</p><p>2) It is possible that if your SMK's were already rather close to contacting the lands, that your seating die micrometer adjustments (done to make the base-to-tip measurements of the bullets equal) could be putting some bullets just into the lands, and some bullets just out of the lands, explaining why some rounds feel harder to chamber.</p><p>3) If the differences in C.O.L. continue to bother you, you can either measure your C.O.L. from the base of the case to the ogive of the bullet, using a bullet comparter such as the Stoney Point (now Hornady) tool, or you can trim the metplates of your SMK's, using a metplate trimmer. </p><p>4) I would recommend that once you get your seating depth where you want it, just ignore the measured C.O.L. (from base-to-tip) and enjoy shooting the SMK's. That is what I do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rymart, post: 198896, member: 3688"] Unless I'm missing something this is a very easy question to answer... Here's the long winded version: Take a close look at the shape of the tips of the SKM's verses the V-max's. The V-max's should be/will be much more consistent. To put it into perspective, I just plucked a hair off of my beard and measured it in my caliper at 0.005", so a measured COL difference of +/- 0.005" is roughly +/- one facial hairs diameter difference. I'm surprised the difference that you are measuring is not more than the 0.005". I'm looking at some 190 gr SMK's right now and can see plenty of variance in the tips (what I am seeing is that some of the hollow points are somewhat flat across the tips and some are slightly angled). Now that I have beat that horse to death... Bullet seaters in general, and the Redding Competition Seater specifically, do not push the bullet into the case from the point of the tip, but from somewhere further down on the bullet with a plunger. If necessary, you can take your die apart to see this. Now, to your practice of seating long and then 'custom' seating every SMK bullet to the same C.O.L., here's my suggestion, Don't Do It! I'm surprised that no one else has chimed in and said this yet. Here is why: 1) The variances in the SMK tips (and thus the variances in C.O.L. based on these differences in the SMK tips), will make little difference on the overall accuracy of a bullet, especially when compared to the potential accuracy penalties that you will get from varying the distance that the bullet jumps before it contacts the lands. Since the seating plunger is contacting the front of the bullet somewhere close to the ogive (or at least in an area of the bullet that is far more consistent with the ogive than the tip of the bullet), you are likely changing the amount of 'jump' the bullet makes to the lands every time you adjust your micrometer die in an effort to 'even up' the C.O.L., as measured from base-to-tip with calipers. 2) It is possible that if your SMK's were already rather close to contacting the lands, that your seating die micrometer adjustments (done to make the base-to-tip measurements of the bullets equal) could be putting some bullets just into the lands, and some bullets just out of the lands, explaining why some rounds feel harder to chamber. 3) If the differences in C.O.L. continue to bother you, you can either measure your C.O.L. from the base of the case to the ogive of the bullet, using a bullet comparter such as the Stoney Point (now Hornady) tool, or you can trim the metplates of your SMK's, using a metplate trimmer. 4) I would recommend that once you get your seating depth where you want it, just ignore the measured C.O.L. (from base-to-tip) and enjoy shooting the SMK's. That is what I do. [/QUOTE]
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Why can't I get a consistant C.O.L.?
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