Bullet seating?

J

Jason_Schmidt

New member
I have worked with different powder charges for my 22-250 and found the most accurate.Now I am going to test different seating depths.Here's what I loaded to test....

.020" out
.015" out
.010" out
.005" out

Is .005" from the lands safe? I chambered the round and checked to make sure it was not touching and it seems fine.I have just always heard to stay about .015-.020" out. I have always loaded my deer calibers at .020" and had plenty good accuracy ( 3 shots under an inch) for hunting. I just would like to get my 22-250 to shoot as good as I can get it.
 
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.005 is the closest I go. My 260 Rem. shoots best seated to .005 back with Lapua Scenars, but unfortunately they are to long to fit in the mag.
 
Such a test would be interesting to see the results of--I sure hope you'll post the results.

Do you also test for Runout?

Good Luck
 
hello, i don't want to hi-jack jasons thread but i would like to add another angle. i would think that the closer a bullet is seated to the lands it would possably cause more pressure ?? i see guys post here all the time at near max or slightly over max loads & i wonder where they are in regards to the lands ?? maybe not a big deal it makes sense to me that a round close to the lands would be a little harder to start ?? & a max load to me would provide additional pressure...just wondering....
 
Thanks for the help fella's.I shot these bullets today,unfortunately I was having a bad day (my 5 shot groups were averaging about 1 3/8") so I am not going to draw any conclusions yet.I will load the same rounds soon and get to the range when my schedual allows.

Bigdog2, I will definately post a range report with the results

Dave, None of the bullets showed any signs of excessive pressure.
 
hello, jason thats good that there are no pressure signs.i come back to guys always post about there loads & never mention distance from the lands maybe they just use the c.o.l. from the manuals & thats probably ok...i am a new reloader & not trying to play pro here, i appreciate you starting this thread & would like to see this alive for a while...i feel many may want to jump to the conclusion that max might be better ?? & not factor releationship to the lands ?? what do you guys think........
 
I have two rifles that prefer the bullet actually touching the lands. Neither are jammed into the lands, but when chambering rounds, you can see where the rifling hits the bullet ogive.
Yeah, pressures could increase if someone tested maximum loads with the bullet seated deeply, but I don't do that.
 
With powders in the 4895 range and slower, peak pressures are not realized until the bullet is about 4" or a little further down the barrel. I am certain that one *could* concoct a load in which the seating of the bullet into the lands *could* make a difference, but probably not with these powders, assuming a safe charge weight per the manuals.

HTH.

Stubb
 
Someone did some testing on this recently, unfortunately I can't remember where the results were published.
The results were "inconclusive." In some loads with some rifles, jammed into the lands raised pressure but with other combinations jammed into the lands lowered pressure.

You just have to work up at the different distances and see.

Jack
 
Not sure, i've had good luck touching the lands. i don't want anyone to push their gun, but that's something you need to see first-hand. i have loads, that when chambered touch the lands, in my experience, (i'm no expert) as a rule are more accurate, than others. more info needed.
 
On the other hand I've always heard that the chambers in Weatherby rifles were, maybe even still are, known for long throats that make it almost impossible to seat the bullet near the lands, let alone at the lands. And yet they've been known for very good accuracy.

Reading I've done lately seems to indicate that there's more accuracy to be gained by reducing Runout, which is making your round more concentric or straight. While most reloading equipment makers have case gauges to measure Runout, I know of almost no one that tests for it, except I believe a lot of newer "competition" dies are designed to make a loaded round more concentric.

I just haven't decided yet whether to fork over the money for another tool that may or may not make a significant difference, since I've not been able to really tell if a lot of other "improvements" I've tried, make a difference. That's why I'm interested in Jason's test.

Welcome Back Jack
 
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