I was ae the bench last night loading my guns faviort bullet horndy spsx 50gr. When I ran out I opened a new box same bullet it looked different so looked at a few more they are different so go ahead and use one don't change dies it's overlengh was .020 shorter. I know led tiped bullets can very some anyways but not that much. I went and loaded another same thing. I can see the difference it the tips one is more pointed and longer do you think the rest of the bullet is the same or do I need to move die? I did shoot the 2 I loaded & they were right on. Has anyone else had this happen to them.

Hey Boss, My reloading started about a year back and I distinctly remember my first box of handloads. I was measuring OAL from base to tip of nose and was getting 'significant' variations. I hate to admit this but another newby mistake I was sdjusting my micrometer seating die all the time trying to get the same OAL on each round. I got to practice with my kinetic bullet remover on that batch. After the light bulb went off in my head I stopped the presses Until I got a guage that would measure from base to the OGIVE not the tip. Once I did that the seating die never moved again a and all my rounds were consistent, to the ogive (not to the tip). I shoot an M1A so as long as they fit in the magazine I don't worry about the base to tip measurment knowing that they're consisten to where it counts, yep..the ogive. Hope that makes sense and helps a bit...

Cheers
XWind

i went throught the same thing i kept measuring the whole thing and it was driving my nuts. i just figured the bullets were shaped a little differently. thats why the oal was longer on some. i checked for dirt in the bullet seater and tightened everyting. had a few tylenol trying to figure it out

Hey BossMoss, Sinclair sells a hex shaped tool called a Bullet Comparitor which provides measurements off the "Ogive" (just like the previous posters mentioned).

But, there is another way to do the same thing. Open your tool box and use a "socket". Use the largest one you have that will not slip past the Ogive. If you have both Metric and US Standard sizes, one of them will work well.

I'd also encourage you to write the size of the one you use on the Bullet Box so you don't kick yourself for not remembering which one it is the next time you want to check.

But, if you will use the Overall Die Length method listed in the Stoney Point Thread you can forget about measuring OCL. It will do nothing but mess with your mind.