dig4gold

RCBS press, steel dies, pretty standard stuff. Reloading .308, 25-06 mostly. I've noticed for a while now that when all other things are identical (bullet, brass trim length, loads, seating depth, etc) my cartridges come out of the press at slightly different C.O.L.'s. Varies as much as .005 - .008". Kind of frustrating when you go to so much trouble to make each round exactly the same to maximize accuracy.
Any idea what I might be doing wrong? I occasionally clean dies with brake cleaner and a brush.

Ridge Runner

its the bullets
RR

Big Z

Keep on loading away. Measure from the ogive and you'll see more consistent numbers.

flags

This could very well be it. You didn't say which bullets you use, but bullets with exposed lead tips can get flattened on the tips pretty easily just by the jostling they get during shipping. Take a box and carefully measure the overall length of each bullet and you'll see some variation. For what it is worth, the weights can and will vary slightly too. Anything made by mass production methods has an acceptable amount of variance built into the acceptable benchmark for that particular product.

This is why the folks that shoot for competition go to the trouble of measuring and weighing every bullet before they load them. In that world everything has to be exact. The question is, are you loading for competition or for hunting. If the answer is hunting and the reloads still group well, no problem.

If you measure all the bullets and they are all exactly alike, all the cases are exactly alike etc... and you still have this problem then something is slipping in your dies. Make sure the set ring for the die is in place and it can't move. I actually super glue the set screw in the ring after I get it how I want to help prevent this. Bad thing about that is it is very hard to make adjustments later so you need to be sure it is right. Because I shoot different bullets in my 7mm Mag I've got 3 different sets of dies, each set to a particular load. With the cost of components these days, buying a new set of dies is cheaper that coming up with a new load.

Wayspr

When I first started I noticed the same thing. Then I bought this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/231...with-6-inserts

homers brother

In terms of accuracy, consistency in this measurement will have more impact than COAL will. You'll need something like the Comparator already linked.

dig4gold

Makes perfectly good sense to me. I'm gettin' a set!
As far as bullets . . . I didn't mention them because they all came up with the same results. From hollow point, soft point, or ballistic tips, all the calibers did the same. Even handgun. Just did some 9mm and saw the same results. Thanks all.

bronko22000

I agree with the above. But I also saw a reloading tip either on "the gun nuts" or "shooting USA" that when you seat your bullet, lower the ram of the press slightly and rotate the case about 180* and seat again. This may give you a more consistent seat and also better bullet alignment.

Ridge Runner

that will help runout, but won't change varying ogives in individual bullets.
RR