reloading

[ST52v]

How far of the lands would be a good starting point? I will be reloading 243,25-06,and 270 wsm.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Totally depends on the bullet. Some like to be 'jumped' others 'jammed'... A good starting point in having the bullet just touching the lands, load 5 rounds .005" jammed, 5 rounds .005" jumped, 5 rounded .010" jumped...etc until you find a recipe' your gun likes! Best of luck and be safe!

Mike

 

[Travis Bertrand]

Totally depends on the bullet. Some like to be 'jumped' others 'jammed'... A good starting point in having the bullet just touching the lands, load 5 rounds .005" jammed, 5 rounds .005" jumped, 5 rounded .010" jumped...etc until you find a recipe' your gun likes! Best of luck and be safe!

Mike

Sound advice.

Every gun is different and it will vary. I found an article on the Berger vlds. They suggested trying this process out past .050" I did and best results were close to .035"! So I will say it also varies by bullets as well.

 

[ST52v]

Don't want to sound stupid but what is the difference between .005 jumped or jammed? It's been awhile since I reloaded (20 years) and I never got to technical or just did things the way I was taught.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Don't want to sound stupid but what is the difference between .005 jumped or jammed? It's been awhile since I reloaded (20 years) and I never got to technical or just did things the way I was taught.

"Jammed" refers to seating the bullets INTO the lands. Thus Jamming them into the lands... Overall length is longer.

"Jumped" refers to seating bullets shallow of the lands, thus giving them a "Jump" before entering the lands...

FWIW in my gun, the 162 grain Hornady Amax likes to be seated just into the lands with an OAL of 2.770".
The same gun likes the 168 Berger VLD's jumped slightly at 2.760" (both measured from the Ogive).

Mike

 

[pyroducksx3]

I've always been taught that on hunting rifles you want to just touch the lands at most. As you're not sure you will be firing the rounds vs target shooting you know you will be.

 

[GrantMan]

Magazine length can also be the limiting factor to bullet seating depth and could be used as a starting point. Some of the thinner VLD bullets may never feed through a magazine when loaded at the lands. Most of the common hunting bullets will contact the lands and will be shorter than magazine length.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Magazine length can also be the limiting factor to bullet seating depth and could be used as a starting point. Some of the thinner VLD bullets may never feed through a magazine when loaded at the lands. Most of the common hunting bullets will contact the lands and will be shorter than magazine length.

True but totally depends on caliber. You really only run into these problems shooting the big ultra mags or some of the WSMs out of a short mag... one reason we prefer to run the 7 WSM out of a long action. Of the calibers the OP listed I don't think he'll be limited with seating depth... possibly the 270 short mag but not sure as I've never loaded for it.

Mike

 

[thru-hunter]

My 280AI Kimber won't touch the lands at mag length. Even more interesting is my 160 Accubonds won't eject at mag length. The tip of the bullet hits the front of the ejection port and is pulled free of the claw extractor falling back into the chamber. My load workup this summer will start at the max length I can consistently eject and go from there.

The hornady OAL gauge is super handy for measuring your particular rifle to get started. Most common rounds have modified cases available and with a little research and some shop tools it isn't hard to make your own out of once fired brass. Only annoyance is the weird thread pitch on the tool requires you to order a special tap if you go that way.

Once you get away from the COAL in the manuals and switch to a head to ogive measurement then working up loads with different bullets becomes easier.

 

[ST52v]

Thanks for all the info guys!! I have always started a bullet in a resized,unprimed case and then put it in the gun and closed the bolt. Then set the die to that length and add a half turn to full turn to the stem. I never had a problem with feeding or extracting and always check to make sure. I just ordered a set of calipers and want to know exactly what I'm doing. I'm assuming I should load some test rounds 2 grains below max at jammed, .005 .010, .015 ect of the lands. Then play with charges once I find the preferred length. I will be using the 243 and 25-06 for deer. Probably try partitions, acubonds, and hornady bullets. My 270 wsm is a savage 116. It shoots factory Federal 140's with acubonds really well. I want to load the new long rang acubonds for it when they come out. I will use this for deer and elk. Thanks again!!

 

[thru-hunter]

Thanks for all the info guys!! I have always started a bullet in a resized,unprimed case and then put it in the gun and closed the bolt. Then set the die to that length and add a half turn to full turn to the stem. I never had a problem with feeding or extracting and always check to make sure. I just ordered a set of calipers and want to know exactly what I'm doing. I'm assuming I should load some test rounds 2 grains below max at jammed, .005 .010, .015 ect of the lands. Then play with charges once I find the preferred length. I will be using the 243 and 25-06 for deer. Probably try partitions, acubonds, and hornady bullets. My 270 wsm is a savage 116. It shoots factory Federal 140's with acubonds really well. I want to load the new long rang acubonds for it when they come out. I will use this for deer and elk. Thanks again!!

Almost everything I have read has lead me to go with a standard distance off the lands for load work up (.035 for instance) until I get the best balance of groups and velocity. Then adjusting COAL from there to fine tune the load. I am just a novice reloader though so others likely do it completely different. When you do start measuring your cartridges then I would suggest you get some guages that allow you to measure from the ogive. The inconsistencies with bullet tips can be pretty frustrating when trying to build consistent ammo.

 

[30-338mag]

I normally start around .025" of the lands. Depending on type bullets/seating die bullet tip to ogive can vary and be good idea to get a good bullet comparator to get more accurate measurement. I forgot to put this article in from Sinclair


http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/03/26/determining-bullet-seating-depth/

 

[wapitibob]

for adjusting your seating depth:
Most seater stems are 10-32 which is .031 per rev.
1/4-28 will be .036
The main body is .071/rev.

If you full length size you need to smoke the case so you can set the die to nudge the shoulder. Just setting it down on the shell holder will bump it back close to .010 if not more.

 

[HellsCanyon]

My 280AI Kimber won't touch the lands at mag length. Even more interesting is my 160 Accubonds won't eject at mag length. The tip of the bullet hits the front of the ejection port and is pulled free of the claw extractor falling back into the chamber. My load workup this summer will start at the max length I can consistently eject and go from there.

That is interesting! But also not horribly surprising considering it is a factory chamber. Lot of times factory chambers will be cut with a deeper throat making it tougher to reach the lands. I have a solid .030" extra of mag length before running out and I'm on the lands. What is your OAL from Ogive? Also curious on your mag length?

Mike

 

[thru-hunter]

I wish I had that info handy but all my notes are sitting on my reloading bench about 6,000 miles away as the crow flies. I won't get back to start working up loads till June. I do plan on working up some Abond LR loads though so will see about posting up some results with info included.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I wish I had that info handy but all my notes are sitting on my reloading bench about 6,000 miles away as the crow flies. I won't get back to start working up loads till June. I do plan on working up some Abond LR loads though so will see about posting up some results with info included.

No worries man! If you happen to remember when you do get back I'd be curious to see what the numbers are!

Mike

 

[hunting1]

I am the odd ball I guess, I always start with factory OAL and work up. I have a few rifles that actually shoot better with some bullet jump.

 

[fire arrow]

I got lucky with my Bergers for my 300 mag. Made my first batch of test loads .010 off the lands, and had great results with. Didn't need to play around with the seating depth at all.

 

[HellsCanyon]

One thing I would like to mention, and this is just how we reload and it works for all our rifles, is that we find out how much powder we can safely run with a bullet and then play with seating depth to get them to shoot.
I see a lot of guys will just play with different powder charges to see where their gun is most accurate and call it good. Many times we will run a ladder test or through a chrony until we find a max consistent speed and start seeing signs of pressure. Back off 1/2 grain and play with seating depth until we get a good depth that the gun likes. By loading this way you typically end up with a hotter shooting load that still shoots. Sometimes if we still don't find a depth that'll shoot, back off another 1/2 grain and it almost always starts printing good groups.
Just remember that different powders react differently to temp variances, and what may be safe in 20* may be too hot at 100*. One reason we prefer the Hodgen extreme powders as they are pretty reliable across a broad temp range.

Mike

 

[fire arrow]

One thing I would like to mention, and this is just how we reload and it works for all our rifles, is that we find out how much powder we can safely run with a bullet and then play with seating depth to get them to shoot.
I see a lot of guys will just play with different powder charges to see where their gun is most accurate and call it good. Many times we will run a ladder test or through a chrony until we find a max consistent speed and start seeing signs of pressure. Back off 1/2 grain and play with seating depth until we get a good depth that the gun likes. By loading this way you typically end up with a hotter shooting load that still shoots. Sometimes if we still don't find a depth that'll shoot, back off another 1/2 grain and it almost always starts printing good groups.
Just remember that different powders react differently to temp variances, and what may be safe in 20* may be too hot at 100*. One reason we prefer the Hodgen extreme powders as they are pretty reliable across a broad temp range.

Mike

What he said. On both points.