Bullet seating question

juju

I am new to reloading and was wondering about bullet seating. I understand that if it doesnt fit the mag then its seated to long, but what about too short. Just what are the ramifications of seating a bullet to deep in the case. Also, is there a guideline to follow? I am especially interested in the 300 winmag round.

Thanks for any and all info

spclark

Seating too deep can lead to overpressure events. In bottlenecked rifle cartridges you want to try to seat so the bullet has a certain amount of freebore to cross before entering the rifled portion of your barrel. Too little and cartridge pressures can climb beyond safe levels, too much and the bullet may not enter the rifling properly. Hunting rifles - as opposed to benchrest target rifles - generally are chambered for greater freebore. ANY rifle prefers a particular amount for a particular load combination for best accuracy. If you're new to reloading, the best advice is to obtain one or more reloading manuals, read & follow the loading tables, instructions & procedures detailed within, and keep good records of what you load & your accuracy.

rogerreloader

A good reloading book will give you the correct seating depth for different bullets. Also the max oal.

shootinfool

You need to get a OAL gauge from Stoney Point and learn the need for its use.

chuck

Im with shootin get one of those OAL gages they are worth the money, I have used one for a couple of years now, they are especialy great when you change brands of bullets, you can get the ojive the same.

kwwoody

I think the best advice is to obtain a reputable reloading manual, especially for a beginer reloader. Adhere to the specs in the manual. The Stony Point OAL Gauge is a good tool is used properly and tightens groups well. Learn the basics first. Safety is important. You don't want pressures to exceed maxium or the minium. Good Luck.

aby80

A simple way is to buy bullets that have a crimping cannelure and seat the bullets to the center of the cannelure whether you crimp or not.

bwa

kwwoody:

Which manual would you recommend? I'm intending to get one soon, and there's a boatload from which to choose. A number of experts here recommend Lyman's. What do you think?

cliffdropover1

The experts are right. The Lyman manual is probably the best as it is very comprehensive in its explanations. It will list the overall length of all loads. Also, get a caliper and measure that Overall length. (OAL) Too deep causes too much pressure. I have seen guys blow up guns because of this. Follow that manual's instructions.

kwwoody

bwa:

I have the Lyman 47th edition manual and it is one of the best I have found that encompuses a variety of bullets (or at atleast in my opinion). I have also found that the internet can be a good source as well. Recently, I was reloading Hornady's 60 grain V-Max grain .223. I found specs for this specific on Hornady's website ( I would probably stick with reputable websites). Also I believe Sierra offers specs also and technical help via email. Sierra also has a CD Rom manual as well. I hope this helped.

Woody

bwa

woody & cliff:

Thanks for the assistance -think I'll go ahead and order Lyman's.


juju:

Didn't intend to commandeer your topic. Better pay attention to the experts here re: seating depth; though I'm somewhat confused after experiencing a pressure problem a few months ago and having others here telling me my OAL wasn't the issue(my bullets were seated .020 - .035 under the spec. given in the data for that weight -the data didn't list my exact components so I guessed; nevertheless only one round exceeded pressure -I sent the rest to the powder company for testing and they averaged less than 75% of max. pressure, so the depth wasn't a problem for that particular load.).