Sizing Bullets Corectly

Prarie_Boy1 · 10-07-2006, 10:59 PM

I am just starting to reload for my .30-06 and wondering how you get the bullet sized in the case so it fits in the rifling and there is no gap. Any help would be appreciated.

stubblejumper · 10-07-2006, 11:10 PM

I am not sure that I understand what you are asking.It almost sounds like you are asking how to form the bullet into a shape so that it fits perfectly into the rifling and forms an airtight seal.Or are you asking how deep to seat the bullet so it justtouches the rifling when you chamber the round?

handloader1 · 10-07-2006, 11:16 PM

To seat your bullet to fit the length of your chamber I advise you to invest in a www.stoneypoint.com O.A.L gauge, modified case, and comparitor. Go to the web site for a discription of the tools needed and how to use them.Good luck.,

mossy33oak · 10-08-2006, 02:38 AM

Im with Stubble, not really sure what you mean but from reading your post a couple of times it sounds like you are trying to seat the ogive of the bullet so that it touches the lands of the rifling? This is called having zero freebore and is not usually recommended. Give us some more details as to what you are trying to do.

trailer · 10-08-2006, 08:26 AM

I hope you get more info before you start reloading...

eldeguello · 10-08-2006, 04:34 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Prarie_Boy1

I am just starting to reload for my .30-06 and wondering how you get the bullet sized in the case so it fits in the rifling and there is no gap. Any help would be appreciated.

I am reading your question as an inquiry as to how you determine bullet seating depth in order to have the ogive of your bullet to touch the rifling.

If that is what you are asking, what I do is to slip a loose bullet into the bore, then slide an empty, resized case in behind it, then push the bolt forward until it stops. Then I measure how muchthe bolt sticks out from being fully in battery, using a micrometer.I then seat a test bullet into an empty sized case to this depth, plus 1mm deeper. I then run this dummy through the chamber to ensure the bolt closes, but the bullet does NOT jam up into the rifling! See, generally, (with some notable exceptions, like Schutzen target rifle ammo) you don't want the bullet to actually touch the rifling before it is fired, but to be justshort of that.

You have to do this independently for each different kind of bullet you use, as every brand and even weight of bulletis possibly a little different.

There is an outfit called Stoney Point that makes gauges, etc., for this purpose. But I've never used any of them-too scientific!

Prarie_Boy1 · 10-08-2006, 06:29 PM

Thanks for the replies and Im sorry that the question was a little vague. What I was asking was how you seat the bullet so it fits properly in your chamber. I hear people saying it should touch the rifling in the barrel and to me that seems to be a little tight so I have been trying to seat them just a little off the grooves. Im was just interested if others had any easy ways of doing this.

stubblejumper · 10-08-2006, 06:41 PM

Here is a simple way.
1 Take a fired but unsized case.

2 Put a smalldent at the edge of the case neck so you can just seat a bullet by pushing it in with your fingers.

3 Barely start a bullet into the case.

4 Place this CASE/BULLET assembly into the chamber and close the bolt slowly.

5 Slowly open the bolt and remove the assembly.

6 Measure the overall length of the assembly.

7 Repeat steps 3 through 6 a few times until you get consistant readings.

8That is the length to the lands with that specific bullet.You need to do this withevery different bullet that you intend to load.

9 Simply subtract .015" or so and you have a good starting point for bullet seating.

mossy33oak · 10-09-2006, 02:33 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: stubblejumper

9 Simply subtract .015" or so and you have a good starting point for bullet seating.

yeah 15 thousanth is a good place to start but I have many of my guns at .020, and even .030". One thing to remember is after you have determined your COL make sure they fit into your magazine. Load 3 rounds into the mag and make sure you can cycle them, I have seen guys get to the field and realize they are stuck with a single shot because their rounds wont fit in their mags.

eldeguello · 10-09-2006, 06:53 AM

Just another comment. Of course, you DO have to seat the bullets deep enough that the cartridges will work throught your magazine.

And, in addition, your loads won't necessarily give the best possible accuracy with the bullets seated as close to the lands as you can get them, either. They MIGHT, but you won't know until you have tested loads with the bullets seated to other depths as well. Some loads will indeed shoot best with the bullets seated fairly deeply. You have to wait to experiment with bullet seating depth to find out how deep is best, onlyAFTER you have worked upa load for a specific bullet that is the most accurate you can get it by changing the other variables - powder charge weight, primer type, etc. Then you can test out the effects of different bullet seating depths......