Seating bullet to ogive

[DuckHunt]

Hornady comparator arrived, measured 18 rounds recently loaded. Nine were within 0.001 of each other. Four were under by 0.003, one by 0.005. Five were over by 0.004.

My question: what is the best method to reset the ones measuring under my target depth?

I do plan to shoot these rounds as is to determine that my target depth is the best, but for the next loading, what is the best method to adjust those seated to deep.

I'm using a Lee Collet die set, loading TTSX. Can this die be modified to seat to target depth depth by ogive consistently?

Thanks for the tips.

 

[artbosco]

Hornady comparator arrived, measured 18 rounds recently loaded. Nine were within 0.001 of each other. Four were under by 0.003, one by 0.005. Five were over by 0.004.

My question: what is the best method to reset the ones measuring under my target depth?

I do plan to shoot these rounds as is to determine that my target depth is the best, but for the next loading, what is the best method to adjust those seated to deep.

I'm using a Lee Collet die set, loading TTSX. Can this die be modified to seat to target depth depth by ogive consistently?

Thanks for the tips.

Pull then reseat. Or consider this and don't worry about them because I'm pretty sure you're probably using them for hunting: Turn a piece of copy paper on its edge and look at it. That's .004"!!! I wouldn't worry about it unless your target is the size of a bullet hole or a 1/16th dot at 100 yards. When using a comparator by hand it doesn't take much force to go from .001" to .005" when measuring. Your differences could be self imposed and not a reflection of equipment. All copper bullets/jackets are soft material. Given the tools you're working with, I think you did a fine job.

 

[FeMan]

I am not sure it is the best method, but I use a few light taps with an inertia puller and reset. I have found it almost impossible to get tighter than 5-thousandths or so in seating depth variability without using a seater with a micrometer and seating in stages.

 

[Erik Cortina]

.004" is indeed a small number, unless you are talking about precision reloading, especially seating depth.

I'm a General Contractor, when I double check my guys and they are a 1/4" off, I point it out, to which they reply "what's a quarter inch", to which I reply, "Ok, Friday I will stack your paycheck in $20 bills on a table and I will deduct exactly 1/4" from that stack and we'll see if you still feel the same way".

Back to the question:
If you have an inertia bullet puller one whack should pull them out enough to be reseated. If you haven't tested seating depths, use them for testing.

People talk about how less accuracy is needed for hunting, I disagree. In competition, a flyer will cost you a point or two, in hunting, it might get you a wounded animal. I can live with losing two points easier than wounding an animal because I got lazy at the reloading bench.

 

[243winxb]

Bullets seated/sized with a Lee Collet die can be moved with a light tap using a inertia bullet puller. But you may continue to have this COL problem as some loading presses have slop in the linkage. .005" is common. Plus variation in the bullets ogive/bearing surface.

 

[mikecr]

I agree with a tap in an inertial bullet puller, and you really should figure out the cause of seating errors.
I disagree with the sentiment to dismiss precision reloading for hunting. If it don't matter for hunting, then just when the hell would it really matter?

 

[Erik Cortina]

Bullets seated/sized with a Lee Collet die can be moved with a light tap using a inertia bullet puller. But you may continue to have this COL problem as some loading presses have slop in the linkage. .005" is common. Plus variation in the bullets ogive/bearing surface.

If .005" is common, better reloading practices need to be employed.

 

[jcampbellsmith]

Hornady comparator arrived, measured 18 rounds recently loaded. Nine were within 0.001 of each other. Four were under by 0.003, one by 0.005. Five were over by 0.004.

My question: what is the best method to reset the ones measuring under my target depth?.....

I wouldn't reset the ones measuring under your target depth. I would use them for practice.

I have similar issues when loading up a batch of ammunition. Rather than fiddle with things, I mark the rounds that don't meet my expectations up as foulers. Typically in a run of fifty rounds, I may get 4-8 rounds that don't seat to my expectations.

Regards

JCS

 

[audredger]

I recently asked a similar question and was blown off.... was told to sort my bullets by ogive to base dimension.
1.) The Hornady tool does not measure at the ogive. My tool measures .293 id.; .307999 would be the ogive and .307 would be at the lands.
2.) The seater die contacts somewhere way up near the point.

What you are seeing is the bullet variation from where seater contacts and where your "ogive" tool contacts. To date I have not found a sorting tool to sort by this dimension. I understand your frustration.

I was a cabinetmaker and .5mm was our tolerance. .005" in a bench-rest group puts you in the also ran catagory

 

[Erik Cortina]

I recently asked a similar question and was blown off.... was told to sort my bullets by ogive to base dimension.
1.) The Hornady tool does not measure at the ogive. My tool measures .293 id.; .307999 would be the ogive and .307 would be at the lands.
2.) The seater die contacts somewhere way up near the point.

What you are seeing is the bullet variation from where seater contacts and where your "ogive" tool contacts. To date I have not found a sorting tool to sort by this dimension. I understand your frustration.

I was a cabinetmaker and .5mm was our tolerance. .005" in a bench-rest group puts you in the also ran catagory

Bob Green makes the tool you are looking for.

 

[Cigarcop]

Bob Green makes the tool you are looking for.

Yep !

 

[mikecr]

What you are seeing is the bullet variation from where seater contacts and where your "ogive" tool contacts.

This doesn't matter for seating distance to lands. And the 'ogive' represents the entire nose(I think you meant land contact datum).

If an ogive radius is lower(as seen with a Bob Green Comparator), then a seating comparator tool would find it's datum closer to bearing, and so would a seater stem. This bullet would not be seated as deeply, and the actual seated distance to the lands holds correct, -and your comparator shows it's datum at a correct distance to land contact.
In other words, it all works out. And I can seat bullets forever right on the money.

The common culprits of depth mis-seating:
-bullet tip bottoming out in stem
-stem datum too high on nose(wedging)
-excess seating forces
-slop in press

The BGC is a very useful tool for qualifying ogives, prior to pointing/trimming, and in establishing meaningful datums for bearing surface comparisons.

 

[Martin52]

Here's the link to Bob's comparator to measure that dimension:
http://greensrifles.com/New_Products.html

Martin

 

[amlevin]

I'm using a Lee Collet die set, loading TTSX. Can this die be modified to seat to target depth depth by ogive consistently?

Thanks for the tips.

If the Lee Seating Die is a "Dead Length" Die, just screw it down until it hits the shell holder. Then adjust the plug down until it seats the bullet to the depth you desire.

If it is a regular die that will crimp the finished round then get a washer that will fit over the case when it's in the shell holder and rest on the top of the shell holder. Then adjust the plug for desired seating depth when the ram is up and the washer fully against the bottom of the die. This will keep the crimping ring from engaging the case and by forcing the top of the shell holder against the bottom of the die, all variations are removed from the die and seating plug.

Using either the dead length dies or a washer on seating dies without this feature I get very consistent seating depths as measured with a comparator.

It also helps if you sort bullets prior to loading into groups with uniform base to ogive measurements.

 

[mikecr]

It also helps if you sort bullets prior to loading into groups with uniform base to ogive measurements.

See, this is a common misconception. Base to whatever means nothing w/resp to seating.

 

[amlevin]

It also helps if you sort bullets prior to loading into groups with uniform base to ogive measurements.

See, this is a common misconception. Base to whatever means nothing w/resp to seating.

It does if you want a uniform amount of bullet in the case and are taking the measurement from the ogive.

I'd agree if you were to say any measurement to the tip meant nothing unless you were referring to bullets that have uniformly formed tips which don't come out of any factory I've heard of. Some are close but most are irregular as heck.

 

[mikecr]

amlevin, nobody will ever be able to demonstrate that common variance from an ogive datum to base has an affect to anything.
Just think about it. What will the sum of base length + base angle datum adjust + actual bearing + ogive radius datum adjust amount to when it equals 10thou?

On the other hand, seated distance w/resp to lands produces real results.

 

[Erik Cortina]

It also helps if you sort bullets prior to loading into groups with uniform base to ogive measurements.

See, this is a common misconception. Base to whatever means nothing w/resp to seating.

+1

 

[Old Navy]

Bullets seated/sized with a Lee Collet die can be moved with a light tap using a inertia bullet puller. But you may continue to have this COL problem as some loading presses have slop in the linkage. .005" is common. Plus variation in the bullets ogive/bearing surface.

If .005" is common, better reloading practices need to be employed.

+1 Later! Frank