I am new to reloading, was trying to find out what the exact bullet deph is suppose to be , , i am reloading .243, hornady 58 gr v-max bullets, this is what i found , is this the best way or does anybody else have any suggestions, Thanks Bullet Seating Depth
Bullet seating depth has a great impact on rifle accuracy. The bullet seating depth for each individual rifle and bullet varies and should be set accorgingly.
NOTE: Do not use this procedure for rifles chambered for weatherby cartridges as these have long throats cut into the rifles bore.
Step 1. Insert a bullet into the neck of a unprimed resized case. Do not fully seat the bullet but seat it deep enough that it is gripped fully by the cartridge neck.
Step 2. Using a black magic marker or dykem steel layout blue, color the entire bullet.
Step 3. Insert the case and bullet into the chamber of the firearm and gently start to close the action. Stop as soon as you feel resistance.
Step 4. Remove the cartridge from the chamber, now look at the bullet, it should have well defined marks where the bullet contacted the rifling in the barrel.
Step 5. Continue seating the bullet deeper and chambering the cartridge until you only feel a slight amount of resistance when the bolt is closed completely. There should only be marks left on the bullet from the lands of the barrel.
Step 6. Now take another resized casing and with your bullet seating die set, repeat seating another bullet in the cartridge case to verify that this is your maximum cartridge length.
(NOTE) Never start working up a load with a bullet set against the lands in the barrel as this will sky rocket your load pressures.
Step 7. Shorten your cartridge maximum length by .06250" or 1/16" this is where you want to start to tune your load for seating depth.
(NOTE) Best overall accuracy, velocity, pressure uniformity and overall bullet performance will usually be obtained with most bullets seated from the barrels lands between .062" - .005".
Checking Accuracy
Once you have loaded a round of ammunition for your rifle there is one final step that you can take that helps eliminate fliers before you go to the rifle range and that is checking bullet run-out.
Bullet Run
Bullet seating depth has a great impact on rifle accuracy. The bullet seating depth for each individual rifle and bullet varies and should be set accorgingly.
NOTE: Do not use this procedure for rifles chambered for weatherby cartridges as these have long throats cut into the rifles bore.
Step 1. Insert a bullet into the neck of a unprimed resized case. Do not fully seat the bullet but seat it deep enough that it is gripped fully by the cartridge neck.
Step 2. Using a black magic marker or dykem steel layout blue, color the entire bullet.
Step 3. Insert the case and bullet into the chamber of the firearm and gently start to close the action. Stop as soon as you feel resistance.
Step 4. Remove the cartridge from the chamber, now look at the bullet, it should have well defined marks where the bullet contacted the rifling in the barrel.
Step 5. Continue seating the bullet deeper and chambering the cartridge until you only feel a slight amount of resistance when the bolt is closed completely. There should only be marks left on the bullet from the lands of the barrel.
Step 6. Now take another resized casing and with your bullet seating die set, repeat seating another bullet in the cartridge case to verify that this is your maximum cartridge length.
(NOTE) Never start working up a load with a bullet set against the lands in the barrel as this will sky rocket your load pressures.
Step 7. Shorten your cartridge maximum length by .06250" or 1/16" this is where you want to start to tune your load for seating depth.
(NOTE) Best overall accuracy, velocity, pressure uniformity and overall bullet performance will usually be obtained with most bullets seated from the barrels lands between .062" - .005".
Checking Accuracy
Once you have loaded a round of ammunition for your rifle there is one final step that you can take that helps eliminate fliers before you go to the rifle range and that is checking bullet run-out.
Bullet Run