Ok gang I just reloaded my first shell ever. All seemed to go well but Im not quite sure if I completed the bullet seating properly. I am loading once fired .270 winchester power point brand brass. I loaded the shell with 54 grains of IMR 4831 and am using a 130 grain Speer Sptizer BT. I had trimmed the brass (using a Lee case trimmer with .270 gauge) after case sizing. I had set my RCBS bullet seating die according to the instructions and the Speer manual by backing up the die by one full turn when it touched the mouth of the case with the case/shell holder at the top of the press stroke. The finished cartidge overall length is only 3.081 according to my digital caliper and that doesnt look right. Prior to bullet seating the brass measured 2.534 which Im pretty sure is close to the correct size. Im going to assume that have I done something wrong here and it is probably easy to correct. Do I simply need to unscrew the seating die another turn or two and try again and see waht COL I come up with? Any help you can provide would sure be appreciated. Thanks. Mike

Check your loading manuals, they should give you an OAL. This measurement is not set in stone, it can be tweaked a few thousandths to fit your chamber length. Doing the math, your OAL is .547 longer then the case length. I just went down and checked my Hodgen book and it shows the .270 with a 130 gr. bullet with an OAL of 3.280 so you are somewhat shorter then max(199 thousandths). You could adjust the seating stem on your seating die out or up the .199 and then load a round and check to make sure it will chamber in your rifle. It should, but its always better to check. This length of 3.280 will give you a starting point for bullet depth. Some guns are more accurate with the bullets just a few thousandths off of the lands of the barrel while others may be more accurate with the bullet touching them. Each rifle can be different. Others one here with much more experience hopefully will chime in and give you more info. I hope this helps and remember, have fun but above all, be safe!

Sounds like the bullet seating die is set right.

But you can loosen the bullets seater that is in the top of the die too.

Cobrajet has it right. You set up the die corectly, but have not adjusted the stem seater. That is what sets up the bullet seating depth. Put away the loaded round or pull the bullet using an impact puller (if you have one). Unscrew the stem seater by several turns and seat another bullet. Then gradually adjust the stem downward until you get the OAL you want. Try it in your gun.
Peter.

I just came up from the basement with a much better finished product this time. As cobrajet suggested I checked the seating stem and sure enough that was the step I missed. This time I unscrewed the seating stem all the way up and adjusted from there. I screwed the stem down until I felt resistance on the case. I then removed the case and screwed the stem down the distance I figured the bullet should be seated. This time my finished round measures 3.268 so I am pretty close. Another turn or two and I should be there. My factory load winchesters measure 3.288 Thanks everyone for the quick replies. I sure do appreciate all the help you have provided me the last few weeks. Back to the basement for more fun. Mike

Speer recommends 3.240" for their 130gr BT in a 270 Winchester. I`d color the ogive of the bullet you just loaded with a magic marker and chamber it. If the cartridge chambers easily and no rifleing marks appear in the ink I`d try staying at the lenght you are now and work your charge up with it at that setting. You can then play with the COL after you get the max charge decided and will only be changing one variable as you tune the load to your rifle.

.......you are getting there!! The standard COL for the 270 is is 3.340".

Spend a lot of time initially reading the instructions for your dies and the "how to" portion of your loading manuals.

You will find that you really don't save any money by hand loading........but you will shoot a LOT more!!

Bob

Couple more things. Don't get too hung up on OAL. If you are going to crimp, check the groove for it's OAL. If you are not going to crimp, but are going to use the magazine, load another round with the rifle handy, checking for the longest OAL that will fit in the magazine. Then work from there.
Peter.

Is there a point where it would be unsafe to fire a round that has the bullet seated too deeply?

Yes. But it has to do more with compressing the powder in the case then total length of cartridge. For all intents and purposes your going to be working from the long end of the spectrum then you will the short end. Remember, some guns are more accurate with the bullets just touching the lands while some prefer to be seated just a few thousandths off. While you dont hear much talk about needing to seat a bullet really deep for accuracy, I'm not gonna say it doesn't happen.

Ok thats what I was thinking. I guess the first one that I had loaded with th ebullet seated deeply I should probably toss in the trash so I dont accidently take it on a hunting trip.

Also I had noticed that on the handful of shells that I have loaded the primer is not seated as deeply as my factory loads. However my reloads do lie flat on the counter top. I primed these using a RCBS hand primer and cleamed the pockets completely with a pocket cleaning tool. Do I really have to squeeze the handle down super tight to get them to seat as deeply as the factory loads or are my results typical? I have not yet tried priming using the press but will try that later today.

The primers should be slightly below flush in the pocket when properly seated. Primers are of a common lenght and all of them should set to the same depth in the pocket. The Lee hand tool I use requires a bit of pressure to seat the primer but care must be taken not to crush the primer when doing so. The press will seat them with a bit more ease as it has much more leverage but it too will crush them if you aren`t careful.

Seating a bullet too deep in a bottle neck case normally doesn`t hurt. The straight walled cases may or may not show pressure signs when over seating a bullet. Small capasity pistol cartridges like the 9mm or 45acp are more prone to problems from this then other cartridge types. The deeper you seat a bullet the smaller in effect the "chamber" becomes. A straight walled case with its large diameter bullet fills more % of the powder space then a thinner bullet used in a bottle neck case.

The idea of starting with the bullet at max COL and working down is a good one. I`d double check the bullet isn`t hitting the rifleing at this lenght before starting though. Seat a bullet to your max lenght of 3.340" and color the ogive with a marker pen. Chamber the rd and see if the ink has scuffed on the rifleing, if so seat 1/8 turn deeper and recheck until it chambers with out the bullet hitting. Call this your "MAX" COL and work from there. Keep in mind each different type, brand or style, of bullet, even of the same weight wil contact the leade at different COLs.

Hot Core, I believe posted of useing a old socket from a wrench set as a cheap "Stoney Point" tool and setting the COL off the ogive. This gives a more uniform reading and will place all bullets off the leade at the same point. This is very helpful if you are planning to use more then 1 bullet weight or brand. I use the Stoney Point (now Hornady) and highly recommend it. Sinclair also has a comparator tool and others rave about it. You might want to look at them if you have a few extra $$ to spend on tooling.

I will make up a dummy round set at max COL and see if the bullet has any marks on it. Im assuming that an unprimed round should measure the same as one fully charged.

I will take a look in the catalog for the tools you mention. Thanks. Mike

Well I chambered a dummy round at the max COL 3.340 and there are 4 or 5 round marks on the bullet. These marks were maybe 1/16" in size. I just chambered a dummy round of 3.234 length and there are still marks on the ogive but they are much smaller marks. Should I keep going until I dont see any marks at all?

Try shortening the COL a tenth turn or 0.005" at a time and see if you can find the point the marks disapear. Call that your point of kissing the lands and go from that point.