Bullet seating depth??

Question

i have a new rifle in the same caliber, do i need to change my seating depth to suit this rifle? if so how do i do this? i had someone do it for me last time.

Answer 1

Unlike factory ammo that seats the bullets all to one length with ammo you load yourself you can adjust it to whatever length you want. This adjustment is done by unlocking the small collar that is around the long s***w in the center of the die and adjusting it up or down depending on what height you want the bullet to be seated at. They say there is an advantage to having the bullet just long enough to touch the rifling at the beginning of the barrel and I'm not really sure that it's true? If you do make one length for a certain rifle and bullet is long that what is used in another you might have a hard time closing the bolt or if you do get it closed it will push the bullet back into the case. I once loaded some ammo for a friend that wanted his .223 bullets placed out further and I did it the way he wanted. I forgot to reset my dies and loaded ammo for my own AR-15 and the bullets jammed up the action and I really had a hard time clearing the jam. After that I would purchase 20 rounds of ammo of a certain bullet weight and save on cartridge for the use of setting my dies up. I would take the center s***w and crank it all the way up. Insert the cartridge in the holder and insert it all the way up into the die then adjust the center s***w down until it touch firmly "but not to firm" on the top of the bullet. Then spin the locking collar down on the threads until it touched the top part of the die and with the help of a pair of pliers made sure that the collar was snug and everything was locked into place.  

Answer 2

There are two parameters you have to worry about.

* Function in your magazine.

* Seating to meet the lands of the rifling.

Your reloading manual will have a Max. O.A.L. figure,

(Maximum overall length), which you measure with your caliper,

(tip of bullet to base of case), that should take care of the first parameter.

For true 'benchrest" accuracy, where feeding is not a problem, you might

want to seat your bullets a little longer to get the shoulder of the bullet to

just touch the rifling.

This is a 'cut & try operation.

Size a case, and seat a bullet a bit 'long'. Gently press it into the chamber until you just feel a bit of resistance. Seat a bit deeper,

until the bullet just touches the rifling as you close the action.

Note the O.A.L., subtract about .002" and use it in future when you load that bullet.

Answer 3

I second Fromtheghetto's answer in it's entirety!  Thanks for saving me lots of typing.

I will add two things though.  

If you have more than one rifle in the same caliber, you should either load all cartridges the same, or you should do something that will instantly tell you for which rifle the cartridge is loaded.  For example, I used to have a Pedersoli made Rolling Block .45-70 and a Marlin M-1895G in .45-70.  I loaded only 510 grain Semi-Spitzer Flat-points over blackpowder for the Rolling Blocks and only 405 grain Flat-points for the Marlin.  I could tell at a glance which rifle a cartridge was intended.  

I will also suggest that if you are shooting with a friend, you never let him load your rifles.  A friend had a Peacemaker copy blow-up in his hands once because he had some .454 Casull loads put up in .45 LC brass and his son-in-law stuffed those .454 Casull loads into an older .45 LC revolver.  The top half of the cylinder blew to pieces and the top strap peeled back over the hammer and cut Paco's hand slightly.  No one was badly injured, but Paco and his son-in-law were both badly shaken.

Doc

Answer 4

Barely, set a bullet into an empty case, with no powder or primer. "Smoke" the entire case with a candle. Chamber the round then extract, you will  notice any markings in the "Smoke". When you chamber the round take the bolt out and line the first letter of the name of the brass in the 12 o'clock position. Then push the round into the chamber with a pencil. Then reinstall the bolt, and close. This way when you take the casing out you will know where in the chamber you are rubbing. Keep good notes, and keep repeating the process until the bullet barely touches the rifling. Measure the length with a caliper and note it . . . it is wise to repeat this three times with different cases with the bullet only slightly set into the case, and progressively adjusting it like above . . . no powder- no primer . . . be careful when you remove it so you don't mess up the seating . . . take the average of the three and record for later use. The measurements should be really close before averaging them. If they vary greatly, you may want to repeat the process.