Bullet seating depth tool?

[Erik Cortina]

Mike

I have had same issues with both the Hornady tool and the Sinclair tool.
I resolved the problem by using a Lee collet die.
Simply turn down the die in the press until it provides just enough neck tension to hold a bullet in the case. Seat the bullet long, then chamber the round and carefully extract it. The bolt pressure should press the bullet back into the case to rest against the lands (the reason you seat it long at the start).
Do this a few times carefully and you should see consistent results.

Martin

This method works, but you must use the SAME neck tension on your test round as you use on your loaded rounds because like bozo699 said, this is a jam, the bullet gets pushed in the case when it contacts the lands. The more neck tension you have, the further it will go into the lands before it gets pushed back into the case.

 

[BBTC48]

I'm rather surprised that nobody has mentioned using the split-neck case. With a bit of practice to get a technique down, this has workrd perfectly fine for me for a looong time. Every brand will have a couple-3 thou difference in each box as said before. A teensie dab of gun oil on the ogive will prevent the bullet from being snatched out of the neck and upon careful extraction (thumb goes into action to prevent extrator from knocking the bullet crooked) you'll have the info you're looking for. Where it touches lands...give or take the small differences encountered in EVERY box, EVERY brand, EVERY caliber. Maybe folks just like to buy new gizmos, not sure but I'm telling you this is as accurate as those tools. I have a box full of them for every calber I load (plus some!). All you give up is a piece of brass. Scotch blood I guess...........
Bill

 

[bozo699]

Bill,
Your right no one has mentioned it and it does work fine most of the time, I still have my split cases if I ever need them, I still like the Hornady tool and I build my own modified cases, but as stated earlier to each his own, if I hadn't converted I would still be doing it your way, and there is nothing wrong with your way, it is quite odd no one else besides you has mentioned it ???
Wayne.

 

[338WinMag]

I was afraid to.

 

[bozo699]

oh come on now .338 winmag glad to see you back out here I think if you try real hard you could squeeze one more post today, it will give you a even 10 post,.. a milestone you might say, and I promise whatever you say, no matter what, I will give you a positive response
Wayne.

 

[338WinMag]

okay you made me laugh out loud... Too funny

 

[bozo699]

and diddo
Wayne.

 

[lynn]

338WinMag
I'm with you on this one.I don't know were the lands are in any of my guns and I don't care.

I start with my bullets jammed and work my way back until they all go through the same hole.I then measure my loaded rounds with a comparator tool and that is my seating depth.
Lynn

 

[338WinMag]

"I then measure my loaded rounds with a comparator tool and that is my seating depth"

Exactly! Exactly! Someone else sees the light! There is a Creator! lololol
It only makes a dif if someone gives you an exact load recipe for the exact rifle and it requires a specific .0XX off the lands.

Actually if I would have just said it like you said it, maybe it would have been easier to understand. I have a bad habit of being too verbose and killing the topic.

You just made my day.
Thanks Lynn

 

[BoydAllen]

The appeal of working up a load starting from jam is that you only have one direction to go, and finding jam only requires that you verify that the bullet was pushed into the case by some small amount as the round was chambered. As I used to say in the classroom " That's all there is to it. Would you like for me to make it sound more complicated?" (You know what the answer always was.) In sales, it is called talking past the sale, a common mistake that happens when someone gets on a roll, and starts enjoying the sound of his own voice ;-) ( not that I would have any experience with that)

 

[338WinMag]

"In sales, it is called talking past the sale, a common mistake that happens when someone gets on a roll, and starts enjoying the sound of his own voice ;-) "

or

in Network Engineering it is called over explanation in order to answer to the masses and has nothing to do with enjoying the sound of one's voice.

 

[300WMAficionado]

Wow guys! I was just determining where the lands are in my precision tactical rifle and I will say one thing...

DON'T BUY the Sinclair, Hornady/Stoney Point or ANY bullet seating depth tool. All you need is a good caliper, comparator, fired unsized case, bullet to be used and a black felt tip marker.

Let me explain. I own a Sinclair Seating Depth Tool and let me tell you I just wasted my $30 + S&H. I took 18 readings and had as much as +/- 0.0080" variations in all of the readings. I called Sinclair International and talked to a tech and he said try again this time with 5 different bullets of the same type, have consistent thumb pressure and you should have no more than +/- 0.0040" variation. I tried again and my readings had variations of +/- 0.0040" which is exactly where I should be according to the techy.

That was yesterday, today I got my Nosler Reloading Manual 6 (personally signed by John and Bob Nosler BTW haha) out and remembered about their advice on determining the bullet seating depth.

You take a fired unsized case. Naturally a bullet will just fall down through the mouth of a fired unsized case so you need to bend the case mouth slightly to hold a bullet. There needs to be sufficient tension on the bullet but it also needs to be able to move in and out with your fingers. Paint the bullet to be used completely with a black felt tip marker. Now gently start the bullet into the modified case. You just want to barely get it started enough that it is straight and inline with the case. Now chamber this round in your rifle and gently extract it. Pull the bullet out until you can see the rifling marks in the paint on the bullet. Now push the bullet back into the case until these grooves align with the case mouth. Now you carefully measure this. I did it this way and got +/- 0.0030" variations. Compare that to the +/- 0.0040" variations with the $30 Sinclair Tool. This method was a snap and it can quickly be done and the results are repeatable. Remember to use a comparator!

 

[bozo699]

338WinMag,
I see the light my friend ( still like my fancy new shiny tools )
Wayne.

 

[338WinMag]

I have alot of those fancy new tools too and i can't stop buying more. You are not the only one that is addicted.
thanks bozo699

 

[bozo699]

It is a very addictive habit, the big brown truck is at my house so much, some of my neighbors have ask if I went to work for UPS : I guess the bottom line is were doing what we love to do and were supporting our second amendment rights, supporting firearm sports, and that just can't be a bad thing and as long as were meeting our own goals in the sport, it doesn't really matter the method used, a new tool or a tried and trued old way of doing it just as long as your shooting
Get ur done!
Wayne.

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

I've been away from this thread for a while guys but, I do have some news. I finally figured out the method of seating a bullet long and continued seating and chambering until I found where the bullet just touches the lands. I also tried another forum members method of using the Hornady OAL guage and tapping the rod a couple times to just nudge the bullet in the lands. Amazingly the measurements from these two methods were pretty close. That being said, I will use the Hornady tool to get close and then use the seating long method to get the exact measurement from here on out. That or until I discover a better method ! Thanks for all the help guys! I feel "confident" about my seating depths now!

Mike