My Method to Find the ‘Lands’

[Rat Rifle]

Seat the bullet long and chamber the round. This is maximum jam. Now the only choice available is to go back. WHY DO I CARE ABOUT “TOUCH”? No need to complicate a process that can produce a final result simply.

Do your worst

 

[ridgeway]

Cortina and Speedy have a ‘new’ method, but you have to remove your barrel. No thanks.

I've never seen how they do it, but I do it while barrel is still in the lathe. I almost always throat in a separate operation, so it's pretty easy to take the desired bullet in a dummy case with light neck tension, push case all the way in till it shoulders and use a screw driver to pull dummy case. Very repeatable and gets the baseline started. Almost always, the final seating depth does not vary far from my method.

 

[TTE]

2 things I noticed about EC's vid. First, he obviously didn't remove the ejector from the bolt which can possibly skew the cartridge when the bolt closes on it (if the bullet is not jammed in the lands). Second, he's not trying to find the lands. Jamb point is different than touch point. My method (not actually mine) locates the touch point. I shoot F-Class and don't need an ejector so I removed it.

Go to Youtube and type in - 'Erik Cortina chasing the lands' (2 part vid)

PERHAPS that will give you a different perspective.

IMO, if you are loading to the touch point, you will be adjusting your seating depth many times through the life of the barrel.
And if the erosion is not equal throughout your chamber/throat, you would need to adjust about every 200 or so rounds.

Be that as it may .....
If you are a competitive shooter, you probably know more about reloading than I do anyway, as I am not a competitive shooter and load hunting ammo mostly.

 

[Killick]

This is Speedy’s method. He does it to find ‘touch’, but instead of moving back, he goes in. He says approx. .014 into the lands. EC also seats in the lands coincidently the same depth. So ‘touch’ would be a helpful benchmark to not seat the bullet too deep so as to avoid a chamber full of powder.

 

[Killick]

Go to Youtube and type in - 'Erik Cortina chasing the lands' (2 part vid)

PERHAPS that will give you a different perspective.

IMO, if you are loading to the touch point, you will be adjusting your seating depth many times through the life of the barrel.
And if the erosion is not equal throughout your chamber/throat, you would need to adjust about every 200 or so rounds.

Be that as it may .....
If you are a competitive shooter, you probably know more about reloading than I do anyway, as I am not a competitive shooter and load hunting ammo mostly.

This is a one time operation. No need to chase the lands. It seems counterintuitive, yet it works.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I made this video.

 

[AlNyhus]

I've used the 'T.P.' method' for close to 25 years. It's simple, accurate and repeatable. Once you know the 'T.P.' for each bullet to be tried, simply adjust the seater stem length from the 'T.P.' length to move the bullet forward or backward. I start with a bullet .030-ish longer than the 'T.P.' and just move it backwards from there when testing....that way, you've only got one way to go.

By the way, the late Dick Wright wrote an excellent article in Precision Shooting about this method many years ago. Now that P.S. has been digitized and is available, it's a very worthwhile article to read.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[Killick]

https://www.wheeleraccuracy.com/videos scroll down to "Finding your lands"

Similar to my method. I like a visual confirmation so I use 'ink'. He does use 'feel' though he says otherwise.

 

[AlNyhus]

BTW, if you've got the barrel off and want to check this...the Ezell EZ Checker is like hitting the Easy Button. -Al

 

[64Rambler]

Similar to my method. I like a visual confirmation so I use 'ink'. He does use 'feel' though he says otherwise.

I also ink the bullets with this method.

 

[Killick]

BTW, if you've got the barrel off and want to check this...the Ezell EZ Checker is like hitting the Easy Button. -Al

Not really germane to this discussion.

 

[Edd]

I made this video.

That isn’t your thumb. That is your index finger.

 

[Rob01]

This is a one time operation. No need to chase the lands. It seems counterintuitive, yet it works.

That would depend on the bullet being used but being a champion you know that.

 

[Herzo]

My method is probably going to elicit a number of jeers, but it works for me.
1. Insert and hold a bullet into the lands with a short rod from the breech end.
2. Run a cleaning rod without a tool from the muzzle end such that the female threaded hole seats on the ogive of the bullet.
3. Wrap a piece of tape on the cleaning rod at some distance {an inch or so} beyond the muzzle.
4. Using calipers, measure the distance from the edge of the tape to the muzzle {Dimension A}.
5. Seat the bullet in an inert cartridge at the nominal length as described in your loading manual.
6. Measure the OAL of the cartridge {Dimension B}.
7. Load the inert cartridge under the closed bolt.
8. Insert the cleaning rod into the muzzle such that it rests on the ogive of the bullet.
9. Measure the distance from the tape to the muzzle {Dimension C}.
10. Calculate A - C + B = The OAL of the cartridge to the lands.

I then measure the cartridge length using the Hornady bullet comparator {approaching the intersection of the full diameter and the beginning of the ogive} this gives me a dimension that I can use as a starting point for most bullets.

 

[quest450]

That would depend on the bullet being used but being a champion you know that.

lol, I see what you did there

 

[JFrank]

So, how many different ways are there to find the lands ?

 

[LRPV]

So, how many different ways are there to find the lands ?

From looks of this, almost as many as there are to clean a rifle but not quite. And, people are just as stuck with their way in both instances AND those people who don’t need a borescope will never know the difference anyway. There, I summed it up. Lol

 

[quest450]

Well said Jason !

 

[LRPV]

Guys, don’t read too much into my comment. If you like your method and works for YOU, good deal, carry on. Half the time I still use a Stoney point/Hornady tool (which there’s a 100 different ways to do that single method). The “Alex” way is a way that you and your buddy can compare apples to apples from one side of the country to another. It takes a little time and doesn’t work well with some bolt designs but is consistent.

 

[bobinpa]

So, how many different ways are there to find the lands ?

I've definitely learned a few complex ways to do it with this thread.