I own a ruger MKII M77.270 bolt.What is the proper way to seat a bullet close to the lands? I always load to the C.O.L. A friend told me to seat the bullet close to the lands.Thanks for the info.

RiflemanZ,



Every type/brand/weight of bullet you use will have a DIFFERENT seating depth! So you will HAVE to DETERMINE the seating depth for EACH type/brand/weigth of bullet you use in you 270.



I hope that is clear, if not read it over and over until it is.



The only way I KNOW to measure the actual point at which a bullet engages the rifles is this way.



1.) Take a fired case (not resized)

2.) Take the bullet you want to use.

3.) Place a little masking take on the base of the bullet allowing the tape to slightly wrap around to the side of the bullet. The tape is a "shim" to get a "tight" slip fit between the bullet and the fired case.

4.) Place the bullet with the tape on it into the fired case. Leave it setting way out there i.e. a very long COL.

5.) Chamber this cartridge in your rifle.

6.) Remove the cartridge from your rifle.

7.) Measure the COL of the cartridge after is has been removed from the rifle. Being careful not to seat the bullet deeper with the calipers/micrometers.



Now you KNOW the length from the bolt face to the riflings with THAT type/brand/weight of bullet.



I suggest you SUBTRACT 0.030" from the COL you got in step #7 above and consider this your MAX COL for that particular type/brand/weight bullet in YOUR rifle.



If you are using those Barnes X or monolithic solids you better back the COL you got in step #7 above off by at least 0.050"!



If this isn't too clear I can take some pictures and post them.



ASS_CLOWN

Call Sinclair http://www.sinclairintl.com/. Best $30 you'll spend for a length Gage.

Just like others have told you above, except that with a set of Stoney Point gages, sold at Cabela's and other stores, makes the job much easier. The set consists of two gages and a case, and a holder. For your .270, you would have to order the set with a .270 Stoney Point case. The primer pocket is threaded, to accept the rod (holder).

One gage is used to measure the chamber up to the lands (from the bolt's face to the lands), while the other is used to measure case stretch (before and after firing).

The Stoney Point is the easy way. Be careful when pushing the bullet up to the lands when you use one. The bullet is easy to shove into the lands and have it stick.
Go slow and take a average of a couple measurements. I recommend getting the bullet comparator to go with the lenght gage. The comparator lets you measure the OAL off the ogive of the bullet and is a much more accurate way of doing it. The nice thing is with the comparator you only have to find the lenght to the lands once and the figure is good for any bullet you load in that rifle.

RiflemanZ:
I heartily agree with the use the Stoney Point tools. In addition however, I'd spend the money on a QUALITY electronic, vernier caliper. Makes a world of difference. Also, you don't go with OAL but rather the length to the ogive. It's a much more consistant measurement & the one that really counts. FWIW, I've generally found that seating the bullet about 0.010" off the lands gives the best accuracy but of course ya have to play with it. This assumes it feeds thru the magazine. Hope this helps some. Bear in Fairbanks

AC, the REALLY quick and dirty way I seat a bullet in a fired case to measure the distance to the lands is just to push it into the case through a piece of tissue paper. That holds it sufficiently tightly that it'll stay put, but lets it slide into the case as it contacts the lands and it can be pulled out with the fingers.

Ricochet,

Now there is some info I could use. Thanks!!

ASS_CLOWN

Those East TN boys are full of.......knowledge.

The Stoney Point works great and gives accurate readings but I prefer the Sinclair offering as I feel it is easier to use and you don't need to buy stuff for each different chambering. FWIW

I like to take a fired case, lightly press the edges against a hard surface (so it will lightly squeeze the bullet for a light friction fit), put some agraglass gell inside the neck and then chamber it with a bullet inserted- when I pull it out the next day I have a permanent MAX COL gauge that I throw in the box with the dies.

Obviously, be sure that you don't have any epoxy on the outside of the neck!

I also use a Stoney Point OAL guage. It works well although there is a learning curve involved. Until I got used to it I was getting a different reading every time. Now I'm better at it. I honestly don't know it is any better though than seating long and then closing the bolt on the round letting it find the maximum OAL for you. If you do it that way back up about .005 from that length. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Until using the Sinclair gage I didn't realize how limited "the old fashioned way" was.

By the time I could feel (or see marks)the bullet against the rifling it was already into the rifling 10-20 thousands.

OAL is a constantly changing dimension. If you are shooting a relatively hot performer and try to maintain the same distance off the lands your seating depth will be shallower and shallower. Maybe your readings were accurate all along.

As Wally points out if you determine your seating depth the old way you can be .030 or .040 into the lands very easily. Jim