New Member

[sid gammon]

Hello,
I am a new member from Maine. I recently picked up a couple of Ruger #1's in a .218 Bee, and a .220 Swift. I was able to pick up some decent brass and time has come to start working up loads. First I am starting off the >218 with 12 grains of 4227 and a 40 Gr. V-max. Going to see if I can get it on the paper. I am sighting thru an older Burris 12X fixed full field scope.
My question is how close to the lands (leade) should the bullets be seated. Do I want them touching the rifling or to hold them off a few thousandts?
Any suggestions or "from experience would be welcome?
Sid Gammon

 

[Twdmar]

You may not be able to hardly reach the lands. A lot of bullets are ok with jump, sometimes a lot. Try it out before you go nuts. Some rugers shoot great, some need some work.
A lot of bullets shoot well with 20-30thousandths jump. Also, many factory barrels have super long throats so you want to shoot first. Then tune from there.

 

[22BRGUY]

Welcome Aboard Sid!
Glad you are here!
The answer to your question in my experience is that every rifle and every load
are unique and the only way to find out what your particular rifle likes is through testing.
I have usually started out with what's called "ladder testing" which is done with various
amounts of powder within the recommended safe range to see which load of powder
performs the best.
Then I would look at bullet seating depth with like 10 thousandths off of the rifling and then move farther out and farther in to see which direction shows improvements.
There are many others here that have much more experience than I do but that is the
method that has worked for me.
Best Wishes

 

[sid gammon]

You may not be able to hardly reach the lands. A lot of bullets are ok with jump, sometimes a lot. Try it out before you go nuts. Some rugers shoot great, some need some work.
A lot of bullets shoot well with 20-30thousandths jump. Also, many factory barrels have super long throats so you want to shoot first. Then tune from there.

So I have found about reaching the lands. Those little 40/50 grain bullets are not very long. One of my reloading manuals give a loaded length of 1.62 inches (?) with no bullet weight or length mentioned . I guess it will be a long process to work up an accurate load and then play with a seating depth. Thanks for the reply. Sid Gammon

 

[sid gammon]

Welcome Aboard Sid!
Glad you are here!
The answer to your question in my experience is that every rifle and every load
are unique and the only way to find out what your particular rifle likes is through testing.
I have usually started out with what's called "ladder testing" which is done with various
amounts of powder within the recommended safe range to see which load of powder
performs the best.
Then I would look at bullet seating depth with like 10 thousandths off of the rifling and then move farther out and farther in to see which direction shows improvements.
There are many others here that have much more experience than I do but that is the
method that has worked for me.
Best Wishes

Thanks for the reply. I am guessing I will have to get on paper first. work out a decent load then refine the jump vis-a-vis the particular load.

 

[Twdmar]

So I have found about reaching the lands. Those little 40/50 grain bullets are not very long. One of my reloading manuals give a loaded length of 1.62 inches (?) with no bullet weight or length mentioned . I guess it will be a long process to work up an accurate load and then play with a seating depth. Thanks for the reply. Sid Gammon

I have never loaded for 218 or 220 but some cartridges have certain recipes that fairly work well no matter what. The accuracy load listed in a lot of manuals often works pretty well. You might try those. It's not always the fastest load but it may give you a good starting point and you can then work from there.
Try a ladder test, that's a good easy start. Your rifles may need a little tweaking of the foreend pressure due to the design of the #1.

 

[jepp2]

I am a new member from Maine.

Welcome to the best forum (my opinion)!

 

[joshb]

Welcome aboard. If you don’t have a manual, get 2. Load to book C.O.A.L with your guns and test with a couple different powders and bullets. If you can get groups inside an inch, give thanks.

 

[55fairlane]

Welcome to a great forum

 

[sid gammon]

Thanks for all the replys! I guess it will be a trial-and-error proposition. Both rifles have heavy Bbls. so if I am careful, I will avoid vertical stringing because of an overheated Bbl. Hopefully that can give an indication of having a fore end pressure problem or not
From then on out it will be experimenting with various loads and seating depths. Hop I live long enough.

 

[DHall_37]

Welcome! If it’s anything I’ve learned from here you need to know your twist rate and barrel length before playing with the lands. 220 Swift is a speed king and is heavily dependent on what I mentioned.

Long and slow twist can give amazing velocity!

Long and fast twist can stabilize the heavies!

 

[ragsflh]

welcome aboard.see what your gun likes

 

[Kurz]

Just in case you haven't seen this, here is some current load data and the link to the article for more information:



https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/218-bee-load-data-history/84397

Single shot rifles and forearms usually have a somewhat problematic relationship. Test some standard loads first then see if the forearm needs adjusting to improve the accuracy.

Here are the factory twist rates:



Enjoy your project!

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Just in case you haven't seen this, here is some current load data and the link to the article for more information:

View attachment 1375816

https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/218-bee-load-data-history/84397

Single shot rifles and forearms usually have a somewhat problematic relationship. Test some standard loads first then see if the forearm needs adjusting to improve the accuracy.

Here are the factory twist rates:

View attachment 1375817

Enjoy your project!

The little guy is economical on the powder.

 

[timeout]

I have never loaded for 218 or 220 but some cartridges have certain recipes that fairly work well no matter what. The accuracy load listed in a lot of manuals often works pretty well. You might try those. It's not always the fastest load but it may give you a good starting point and you can then work from there.
Try a ladder test, that's a good easy start. Your rifles may need a little tweaking of the foreend pressure due to the design of the #1.

I agree with the ladder test but with two caveats: 1) the rifle is capable of spot on accuracy 2) the shooter is experienced enough to steer the rifle correctly.
Without the above qualifications a ladder test can be very misleading.