Berger seating depth test question
- Thread starter MT257
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Works for any.
243Lapua
Silver $$ Contributor
I make a dummy round, jammed into the lands. Then I adjust my competition die to 12 thousands of the lands. Then load 5 and start @ 12 thousands of the lands, 5 @ 10 thousand of lands, keep on adjusting die with every load. Hopefully you get the idea. At a certain point while getting closer to the lands your groups should close.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
As Straightshooter stated, it should work for any bullet. The main idea of that test is that it is a coarse, or large increment, seating depth test, so that you can cover a wide window to find a specific region where a given bullet shoots better than at any of the other seating depth regions covered in the test. Then you can go back and cover just that particular region using a finer seating depth increment. Because of the total distance the bullet is moved in/out of the case, there may be pressure considerations, and as I already mentioned, it is only meant to be a very coarse test. So I wouldn't necessarily attempt it with a bullet that I am fairly certain should tune in, let's say, somewhere between "touching" and .020" off the lands. But when you have no idea where a bullet might want to be seated, or if you have already tested a fairly narrow seating depth range without success, this would be a good way to go.
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I believe Scenars are a VLD design.
I have talked with lapua and they say that scenar is a mix of secant and tangent bullet. That should be more like a hybrid bullet.
Berger have one method for vld bullets and another for hybrid bullets.
If it shot like berger hybrid I would buy a box. But unforrunately it does not.
dgeesaman
Gold $$ Contributor
The Berger method was basically published to make loaders aware that the best load may not be within a hairs width from the lands and to test significant jump if you don’t get a great load near the lands. If you find it helpful, great. It tends to work best with Hybrids.
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Walt Schmidlin
Gold $$ Contributor
The Berger recommendation worked extremely well for me when used for 6mm 105gr VLD Hunting bullets, -.100” off. Tested @ 0”, -.040”, -.080” & -.120”. -.080”&-.120” were very similar, went with -.100” and never looked back. 12 test shots @ 100yds. Never tried VLDs because I heard they were hard to turn.
Every bullet/load is different, I was fortunate.
Every bullet/load is different, I was fortunate.
Eric isn’t doing this with vld bullets though.
The 123 is the older design vs the newer Scenar L. They are not vld or hybrid design, I believe that they are a tangent. They will shoot great anywhere from .010 to .025 off.
For everything but my BR rifles, and this includes all customer rifles, l start at .020 off the lands with almost all bullets and run the powder. Most of the time .020" works. If I need just a little better accuracy I'll check .015, .020, .025 off the lands. If I need a bigger improvement I'll check .030, .060, .090, .120. I have found good loads at all of those seating depths.
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Can you print both? Or directions where to find both processes?
Dave
Just google berger bullets seating depht test. You will find how to test both vld and hybrid bullets.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
Getting the Best Precision and Accuracy from VLD bullets in Your Rifle
VLD bullets are designed with a secant ogive. This ogive shape allows bullets to be more efficient in flight (retain more velocity = less drop and wind deflection). While this result is desirable for many rifle shooters the secant ogive on the VLD bullets produces another result in many rifle.
bergerbullets.com
How to Load a Hybrid Bullet
Berger Hybrid Bullets were designed to be easy to load and tune to your rifle. Follow these simple steps to get started.
bergerbullets.com
The VLD LOAD DEVELOPMENT INFO is for our VLD bullets . But it MAY work for other types of bullets also. Our HYBRID LOAD DEVELOPMENT INFO is :
A general rule of thumb with the Berger Elite Hunter and Hybrid Target bullets is to start your bullet seating depth testing at .015" off the lands. Then you work back into the cartridge case in .015" increments (.015",.030", .045", .060"). When you find a bullet seating depth that shows promise, you can test .005" to either side of that CBTO if you wish to see if accuracy can be improved. All bullet seating depth testing is done using the starting powder charge!
And with our CLASSIC HUNTER HYBRID BULLETS:
In most cases with the Classic Hunter bullets, your load development will just consist of seating the bullet to the published magazine length (COAL) of the cartridge you are loading. Then, work the powder charge up slowly checking for pressure signs and accuracy until you find a velocity accuracy node you wish to use or your highest velocity accuracy node is found. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact us at any time.
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