I am relatively new to reloading so I thought I should ask the experts.

I have started reloading .223 Remington loads mostly using 55 gr Sierra HPBT bullets. I have mixed brass which is Hornady, PCU and RP. I am using a RCBS RockChucker press and RCBS dies.

According to the reloading manuals, Brass length should be 1.760. All of my cases were 1.760 or less. There were some that were as short as 1.6 and there was a fair amount of variation in the case length. I did not trim them to the same length unless they were over the 1.760 limit. The seating die was adjusted as explained in the manuals to give me a C.O.A.L. of 2.240 for that bullet. That seemed to work pretty well initially, but the problem is that when I continued reloading and checked the C.0.A.L. the cartridges varied from 2.18 to 2.60. I adjusted the seating die to bring the long cartridges into spec but is it the variation in the original brass length that is leading to this problem or something else? Any suggestions as to how to achieve a more uniform O.A.L. would be appreciated. Checking the length of each finished cartridge and adjusting and readjusting the seating die does not seem to be correct.
Thanks

Bullet variation will prevent uniform COAL. Just see how they shoot. Trim length is typically 0.10 less than maximum -- saves having to trim every time a case is fired. Unless you have a benchrest gun, all you can do is get a rifle to shoot it's most accurate load well enough to satisfy your needs.

I'd separate brass by manufacturer and keep records of how many times each lot is fired/trimmed/reloaded.

Hi Edod,

Welcome to the world of reloading. The length of the brass should not have any bearing on the COAL. Sounds like your seating die is not staying adjusted properly. Check the lock ring on the seating die stem to insure the stem is locked properly.

Or is the die body adjusted properly in the press? It also has a lock ring to keep it from moving after it is adjusted properly.

The instruction that came with your dies explain exactly how to adjust the dies properly.

Thanks for the quick responses.

I should have thought to measure the actual bullets and there is more variation in length than I thought there would be. Would not the seating die take this out of the equation by seating the bullet deeper or less deep into the case and therefore not impact the C.O.A.L.?

I checked the lock rings and all were tight.

I don't have any real problem with the variations in length since the rounds all function well and accuracy so far is reasonable, but will the length variations not affect accuracy because the bullet may be closer or further from the lands?

You've identified the cause of the variation - the bullets are different lengths. Usually the variation in bullet length is in the nose portion. This happens quite frequently with hollow point match bullets. The seating plug in the die is hollow and hits the bullet at a point equal to the ID of the plug. That point is usually pretty constant in relation to the base of the bullet. Therefore, the effective distance to the lands in the chamber throat is still constant, even though the OALs seem to vary.

If they all fit in the magazine, don't worry about it. As previously mentioned, make sure the lock rings are all tight.

As long as they all fit the

Measure off the ogive and separate head stamps. I trim everything to 1.750 that's not new. Or spoil yourself and buy Lapua...

quote:

the cartridges varied from 2.18 to 2.60.

That's almost 5/16 of an inch variation. That is not only unacceptable it is almost impossible. You sure you are reading your calipers correctly?

quote:

some that were as short as 1.6

Again, that's over 1/8 of and inch, there would be almost no neck left. I have to think you are feeding us Typos or you do not know how to use a caliper, or both.

None of your measurements make sense.