seating depths, for the love of god.
- Thread starter Tikkat1x
- Start date
Have you actually shot them to see if it makes any significant difference?
Hornady Brass is not the stuff you want to be firing four times.
You will have lost all neck tension consistency
Your ogive measurements need to cross reference against actual bullet length otherwise is largely redundant.
Measuring length of an object with one plane being an angular AND curved surface is notoriously inaccurate depending on equipment being used and the quality control on the bullet production.
Your seating in is not using the same datum point to seat the bullet.
Any variation there and you have a large variable
Is the brass the same length and what brand os your seating die?
Nothing to do with powder volumes
Hornady Brass is not the stuff you want to be firing four times.
You will have lost all neck tension consistency
Your ogive measurements need to cross reference against actual bullet length otherwise is largely redundant.
Measuring length of an object with one plane being an angular AND curved surface is notoriously inaccurate depending on equipment being used and the quality control on the bullet production.
Your seating in is not using the same datum point to seat the bullet.
Any variation there and you have a large variable
Is the brass the same length and what brand os your seating die?
Nothing to do with powder volumes
223 max case length is 1.760" trim to 1.750" i trim it on and over 1.757" so not all the same size,
not shot them yet but im fairly sure they will be ok for what i use them for but its still annoying that there not more a consistent seating depth.
and i use redding dies,
as iv never come across this before it may well be the brass, but i always thought Hornady brass would be good for a few more firings than 4-5,
but im reasonably new to reloading (2 years in) so always learning,
I know its been a while but i would like to revisit this if anyone can be arsed 
as iv still not got to the bottom of it, since last time, iv changed my press from a RCBS summit, to a Forster coax, for my redding dies i have a STD and VLD stem, iv just today loaded up some rounds as iv bought some new Lapua brass so going the the load development again,
sierra 69gr TMK's N140 powder, done it lots of 5, first out was 23.5gr set at 1.875", after setting the first one the rest were spot on, then 24gr, a coupe were 1-2 thou out,
24.5gr i heard some slight crushing and they were 5 thou out, 25gr were 10 thou out and when i got to 26gr they were 15-20 thou out, tried both stems, had to adjust the stem on them all to get them down, but the OAL on them were the same once adjusted down, totally lost, my 243 loads are bang on every time,
as iv still not got to the bottom of it, since last time, iv changed my press from a RCBS summit, to a Forster coax, for my redding dies i have a STD and VLD stem, iv just today loaded up some rounds as iv bought some new Lapua brass so going the the load development again,sierra 69gr TMK's N140 powder, done it lots of 5, first out was 23.5gr set at 1.875", after setting the first one the rest were spot on, then 24gr, a coupe were 1-2 thou out,
24.5gr i heard some slight crushing and they were 5 thou out, 25gr were 10 thou out and when i got to 26gr they were 15-20 thou out, tried both stems, had to adjust the stem on them all to get them down, but the OAL on them were the same once adjusted down, totally lost, my 243 loads are bang on every time,
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What kind of neck tension are you achieving?
K
K
well thats also another story, i also bought some new Lapua brass for my 243, usually iv not done any brass prep for new brass, after having a read on here, this time i decided to run it through my mandrel
this time, and chamfer and debur it, when i ran the 243 brass through the 241" i could feel it expanding the neck, with the 222" for the 223" it just slid straight in, slight bit if friction but thats about it, i even did a few with the bit in my hand,
triggersqueezer
Well-Known Member
I had this problem with hornady bullets .in the end I realised that base to tip was consistent and base to ogive was consistent but the part that my Redding die touched to seat the bullet was inconsistent. in the end I seated them all long, check measured and finished seating by turning the competition seater as required .sad and time consuming but improved groups.
thats what iv been having to do, not a massive problem, but it is annoying, i even got some new dies a while back to just in case it was them, same redding ones though, and its doing it with the standard seating plug, and a redding micrometre seating plug, VLD,
You have got to the bottom of it…..I know its been a while but i would like to revisit this if anyone can be arsed
sierra 69gr TMK's N140 powder, done it lots of 5, first out was 23.5gr set at 1.875", after setting the first one the rest were spot on, then 24gr, a coupe were 1-2 thou out,
24.5gr i heard some slight crushing and they were 5 thou out, 25gr were 10 thou out and when i got to 26gr they were 15-20 thou out, tried both stems, had to adjust the stem on them all to get them down, but the OAL on them were the same once adjusted down, totally lost, my 243 loads are bang on every time,
You have too much powder in the case for how deep you are trying to seat the bullet. The only way that might improve things is if you have a drop tube on your funnel.
If its compressed give it a couple of good taps to ensure it settles in the case. You might have to check the col every time and adjust the die to your desired COL.
Also you might need a different seating die as the long tips might lead to inconsistent location in the die.
D
Also you might need a different seating die as the long tips might lead to inconsistent location in the die.
D
thanks chaps, after a bit of load development with the new brass iv settled on the 24gr charge, i can easily sacrifice a bit of speed in favour of accuracy, and less messing about,
i used to use 23.5gr in some other brass, but changed to 26gr for better speed
i used to use 23.5gr in some other brass, but changed to 26gr for better speed
Have you done the jam test to see what the maximum oal your rifle can take? You may be able to get the speed you desire if you don’t have to seat the bullet as much as you arethanks chaps, after a bit of load development with the new brass iv settled on the 24gr charge, i can easily sacrifice a bit of speed in favour of accuracy, and less messing about,
i used to use 23.5gr in some other brass, but changed to 26gr for better speed
im 20 thou off jam, but also at mag max, but i dont really crave any particular speed. did all them tests before with the chrono, best speed was the best ES and SD, but the worst group size,
i will load some up at the weekend at 24gr and see how it goes, and run them over the chrono,
i will load some up at the weekend at 24gr and see how it goes, and run them over the chrono,
I think you solved the problem being at mag limits, I would not worry much about the very slight variance in length. Some of what was posted to help such as a possible compressed load being the problem I have not experienced. If the die body has managed to go further down in the press the lock ring simply is not tight enough. If the seater stem does the same thing it isn't locked down either. It may be possible while seating to cause the issue by more and less force being applied at the press. That is a theory I have not proven but seems possible. Good luck.im 20 thou off jam, but also at mag max, but i dont really crave any particular speed. did all them tests before with the chrono, best speed was the best ES and SD, but the worst group size,
i will load some up at the weekend at 24gr and see how it goes, and run them over the chrono,
Just a quick update as i made some rounds up today,
i thought i was at mag max so no chance of seating the bullet further out, but i forgot id recently put the 223 in a XRS chassis with a AICS mag, so plenty of room,
also re=measured the chamber as its been a while, managed to get a bit extra there too, so now iv gained an extra bit there going from an ogive measurement of 1.875" to 1.915"
so now powder crushing till i got to 26gr, all the rest up from 23.5gr to 25.5gr were all cock on
i thought i was at mag max so no chance of seating the bullet further out, but i forgot id recently put the 223 in a XRS chassis with a AICS mag, so plenty of room,
also re=measured the chamber as its been a while, managed to get a bit extra there too, so now iv gained an extra bit there going from an ogive measurement of 1.875" to 1.915"
so now powder crushing till i got to 26gr, all the rest up from 23.5gr to 25.5gr were all cock on
it would certainly seem so, we got there in the end mate, be boring if everything just worked
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