Bullet seated to lands?

litetrigger

What is the scoop on seating bullets into the lands?

dgac

not a expert but you dont push them into the lands but seat them 10-15 thousands off the lands. Pushing them into the lands may cause the bullet to stick in them. In turn the powder will spill everywhere when you eject a unspent case. (because we all unload out guns pointed down) Every gun is different and may not like 10-15 thousands might like more. I believe the closer to the lands the more pressure. I have some factory 87gr ammo for my 257 and shoots 1in groups. These are like 1/4in off the lands. In turn a 120 gr bullet with 26gr or 4198 set 12 thousands off the lands shoots just as good. who knows.


dgac

mrbruce

Just about all the br shooters seat into the lands figuring that they will be seated straight and not off center when chambered. Some guns like em that way and some don't.
Some shooters like to prep the cases so they can seat a bullet out long and then have the bolt
close and push the bullet into the case until it hits the lands, then each and ever one of the loaded rounds has the same overall length..
Others will neck them down tight enough to push into the rifling .020 or so...
and then they will have a problem if they forget and pull a loaded round out of the chamber
and dump powder into the action.. after just one time they usually will point the barrel up before they do it again...
Sometimes pressure will raise up, and sometimes not.. A bullet way down into the case will cause as much of a pressure rise as one into the lands...
All this needs to be sorted out while working up a load for any particular rifle.......

jtmarine0831

HAve fun experimenting with this! I have only been handloading for 3 years and still am. It all depends on the bullet shape, chamber cut, charge weight, powder burn properies, magazine length, etc.. Magazine lengths are usually a big limiter when it comes to seating depth, as well as how deep the throat of the chamber is cut. Bullet profile is another as well. If you take a typical profile, such as Sierra Matchking or Hornady Match(Ihave found them to have similar profiles), and seat them with the ogive touching the lands the C.O.L. will be short than if you used say a Berger VLD, all because of the position of the ogive on the bullet. And the chamber cut is a kicker too. This is why if you load a specialty round(fireformed, specific C.O.L., etc..) for a caliber it should only be fired in that firearm! My Savage 114 in 7mm Mag I load 168gr A-Maxs at .004 off the lands, but if I loaded the same cartridge in to my No. 1, it won't chamber all the way. It is all trial and error! But that can be the fun in it as well, because it makes you spend more time with you rifle and you get to know the rifle better. The better you know your rifle the better you can shoot it. As a safe practice, if you do get to the point of seating bullets where they are touching the rifling, back the charge down a bit because in MOST cases(not shell cases) this can cause higher pressure. And in most magazine feed rifles(either bolt or auto-loader) especially short-actions, if you find a happy place of the lands, the round will no longer fit in the magazine.