Loaded .204 32 V-Max OAL not consistent

[Sigfla]

Ok so just fyi I am a total newb but I am particular and try to be precise. In this instance bc I was rushing a bit I loaded up my first 25 rounds ever of Hornady vmax 32’s on top of 28.5, 29, 29.5, 30, and 30.5 grains of BLC2 (max shows at 30.7). When I setup my seating die I only measured OAL base to tip. I should have measured from the Ogive. Once done I measured and found my first 3 rounds were a bit long at 2.260-2.266. I was shooting for 2.250 which was .015 off the lands of my baseline bullet measurement which was 2.265. I adjusted the micrometer and reseated all the rounds a bit deeper. Then I went to measuring them all and I have OAL lengths from 2.255-2.240.

I know I should have taken a measurement with my comparator and used that. My .204 gun I was loading for has a .15 freebore and a tighter neck .230 which is why I was trying to be extra precise.

Do v-max’s vary that much in terms of tip length?
Did I mess these 25 rounds up? I don’t want to mess up my custom .204 and I have 2 other factory guns with SAAMI spec chambers that I can shoot them through.
Is there another round (Berger, Nosler, etc.) that might be more consistent? I have a nice comparator on order from accuracy one but for now I just have my Hornady gauge. If I can use a better round after taking proper Ogive measurements to be more consistent I will.

 

[RegionRat]

What is the neck diameter of your loaded ammo?

 

[Sigfla]

What is the neck diameter of your loaded ammo?

.228 which is where the rifle maker suggested it should be

 

[Sigfla]

I just went back to the bench and measured using my comparator. I am .026 off the lands with these rounds. Ogive measure off the loaded rounds were 1.8845. I should have been 1.8955 so I prob seated a bit deeper than I wanted when I reseated the rounds not thinking I was using the wrong measure. I would have been pretty much right on if I had not gone and seated them deeper.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Sounds like your seating die is making contact with the bullet tip. I haven't tried BLC2 in my 204R so I'm not sure about case fill percentage, does it seem to be a compressed load? Compressed loads are more difficult to seat consistently to the same depth. I seat with a RCBS comp, generally I see a couple thousandth range in ogive measurements with tipped bullets and the standard stem. I haven't bothered modifing the stem, just seat 5 thou short, take an ogive measurement and dial the difference. I do rotate the case a 1/4 turn for the final seating.

 

[Sigfla]

Sounds like your seating die is making contact with the bullet tip. I haven't tried BLC2 in my 204R so I'm not sure about case fill percentage, does it seem to be a compressed load? Compressed loads are more difficult to seat consistently to the same depth. I seat with a RCBS comp, generally I see a couple thousandth range in ogive measurements with tipped bullets and the standard stem. I haven't bothered modifing the stem, just seat 5 thou short, take an ogive measurement and dial the difference. I do rotate the case a 1/4 turn for the final seating.

Given that my Ogive measurements were consistent I am pretty sure it’s not pushing the tip. I have researched a bit and found some agreement that polymer tips can vary a lot.

 

[Sigfla]

If I am interpreting it right and going off Nosler data and xxlreloading their 32gr load shows a case fill of 30.6 gr. I might be slightly compressed with BLc2 at 30 or 35 gr due to my seating a bit deeper than I wanted.

 

[L.Sherm]

I might be slightly compressed with BLc2 at 30 or 35 gr due to my seating a bit deeper than I wanted.

5 grains difference is alot did you mean 30.5?
Your not mixing different lots of bullets together are you because that can make a difference.

 

[Sigfla]

5 grains difference is alot did you mean 30.5?
Your not mixing different lots of bullets together are you because that can make a difference.

Yes sorry 30.5. It was late night when I responded

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Only time I check coal is for mag length restrictions. My load development seating is cbto. So yes there is variations in the polymer tips.

 

[L.Sherm]

Sort some of your bullets by OAL then seat and see what you come up with

 

[RegionRat]

Poly tip bullets are generally not a problem in terms of OAL because they must have the open tip dressed to accept the polymer insert.

When you compare them to a traditional open tip style bullet which has not been dressed, they are usually tighter in terms of length variation.

You mentioned you were not very experienced in your opening line... are you familiar with running a chamber that only has 0.002" neck diameter clearance?

The 204R is traditionally considered a caliber for varmint and colony rodent use. It isn't known for competition use. You will want to focus on those necks like a hawk.

Have you shot this rig yet the first time?
If so, did you inspect the fired necks and exhaust stain patterns?

Not that seating depth doesn't matter, but the first loads through here shouldn't be something other than a known reliable load with no compression and with at least a jump of 0.010 just to play it safe. And if at all possible, run them over a chrono to make sure they make sense.

What type of goals did you have for this rig when you commissioned it?

 

[Sigfla]

I bought it used 3rd hand. The story I got was the guy who had GreTan build it bought 2 identical rifles. By the time they were delivered his wife said sell one or call the divorce lawyer. I bought it from the 2nd owner along with the complete loading setup. All dies, brass, etc. came with it. I don’t know if owner #1 ever fired it. Round count was prob under 50 total. I have the load from the guy I bought it from along with fired cases. I bought it bc I shoot lefty and I was shooting groundhogs in Ohio with my father in law and bro in law at the time. Plus if I see a lefty I am interested in I buy it bc my chance may not come again. A steal of a gun from one of the best rifle makers out there I wasn’t turning it down.

I am not too worried about managing the tight neck. I have many conversations (and forum research) with knowledgable people including the rifle maker about it. Gregg even offered to ream it out for whatever factory round I was using but after talking to him I felt comfortable leaving it as is. Besides my fil and bil both have reloaded for years and I am far more particular than they are. If I needed help I could ask them. In the end i figured if they could do it I certainly could and with likely more precision. Also I have good equipment to gauge it all. My biggest worry was the freebore and seating depth. My freebore is .062 and I tried for a .015 jump. I did it all right when I loaded these then decided to measure again using oal and not Ogive length. That’s where I messed up and went too deep.

 

[Sigfla]

I am gonna pull these and reseat correctly. I am concerned the 29-30.5 grain loads may be compressed slightly. Lesson learned. I have the time and ability to pull. I may even buy a Forster collet puller while I am at it.

 

[RegionRat]

If you spoke with Greg about his reamer, then you know what to do. I am still running the guns he built for me and will cry like a baby the day those are done because he isn't building guns anymore.

Good Luck and in for the range reports.

 

[Sigfla]

If you spoke with Greg about his reamer, then you know what to do. I am still running the guns he built for me and will cry like a baby the day those are done because he isn't building guns anymore.

Good Luck and in for the range reports.

Nice guy. Always busy the times I called him I feel bad bothering him but he took the time to talk me through everything. Had little idea who he was before I got the gun but after learning who built it I jumped and refused to alter it for my convenience. I just have to learn to reload…. Eventually I will rebarrel my Savage .204 to the same spec but in a 10 or 11 twist.

I just pulled all the bullets with my kinetic puller. A gloved hand works wonders there btw. 1 good whack and maybe 1-2 lighter ones and the bullets moved out enough to reseat. I only yanked 1 entirely out of 25 when I finally put on the glove and hit it too hard. Much easier with gloves! Rounds are now all 1.8950-1.8955 which is .015-.02 off the lands based on the Ogive measurement as precise as I can use the Hornady comparator.
I won’t make this mistake again. Based on available data I should not have any round compression and my jump to the lands is reasonable. Neck diameter is .228 using my ball ended micrometer which is very precise. The rounds either pass through or they don’t.

 

[JSH]

If your going to pull 20 caliber bullets, your in for a treat, as in royal pita. I had to pull about 80-90 after I had an OF moment. I have Forster and a couple of hammers, the hammers were what I ended up using only did a few every night, took about 6-8 whacks per round.

 

[Sigfla]

If your going to pull 20 caliber bullets, your in for a treat, as in royal pita. I had to pull about 80-90 after I had an OF moment. I have Forster and a couple of hammers, the hammers were what I ended up using only did a few every night, took about 6-8 whacks per round.

I have a Franklin puller. I beat the crap outta my hand first round and hit the garage floor 10-20 times before I perceived real movement in the round. I put on a glove a voila! I banged out my first round after 3-4 hits. After that I had to be more careful as it didn’t take much to move the rounds.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

I you're using a kinetic puller, best to hammer it on a solid piece of wood laying on the benchtop, garage floor, etc. I shattered my old RCBS puller by the 'garage floor treatment'. Concrete, plastic and kenetic energy don't play well with one another.

 

[20 TAC]

I just bought an RCBS collet bullet puller and used it on some 40 grain V-Max 20 cal bullets. Much faster than a kinetic and great results.