most of the time I load my rounds to the length of the mag of the rifle. I hear a lot of people talking about loading .005 of the lands ect. How do you know how long your chamber is with a factory rifle? I have been doing is taking a case that has been shot and putting a bullet in it. I tighten it down just enough so that it holds the bullet in with out it falling out. I do that ten times then take the average lenght and start from there. I'm just wondering if there is a precise way to do this.

People use all sorts of methods for this, so you'll likely get quite a few options presented.

There are several variations of the method you use: lengthwise cut of a sized case neck, lightly crimp an unsized case neck etc etc. All to ensure that a bullet can be kept stable at the position where it is set when pushed into the lands.

Sinclair makes a simple gauge (which you can also emulate by marking a cleaning rod) which works on the basis of mesuring distance to boltface vs. distance to bullet held into the lands.

I personally prefer the gauge made by Stoney Point (these days marketed by Hornady), which works with "modified" cases allowing you to fix (and measure) a bullet at the "in lands" position. Others will disagree, but I have found this gauge to be reasonably easy to use. Drawback: this gauge requires you to buy (or make) the modified case for each caliber.

- mike

I use the Stony Point/Hornady gage and it works well for me. The modified cases are't expensive. I've made 2 myself but find it much easier to purchase them Hornady will also make one for you (you send the brass) if they do not offer your case for $15.

Overall it's easy to use and relatively quick to measure.

I use the cleaning rod method with the 2 small plastic clamps you can buy cheap at MidwayUSA.

Close the bolt and insert the cleaning rod and mark at the muzzle (or place the first clamp).

Then open the bolt, place a bullet into the chamber and push and maintain in place with a pencil or small dowel then mark the second location at the muzzle on the rod (or place the second clamp).

Measure between the two marks (clamps) and you now have the Max COL to the lands. Adjust your seating depth from this measurement.

I find this method very reliable and duplicatable.

quote:

Originally posted by BISCUT:
I use the Stony Point/Hornady gage and it works well for me. The modified cases are't expensive. I've made 2 myself but find it much easier to purchase them Hornady will also make one for you (you send the brass) if they do not offer your case for $15.

Overall it's easy to use and relatively quick to measure.

This device works very well.

For 30 years I've used the cleaning rod method but now use the Hornady OAL gauge, comparator, insert and modified case. Very easy and effective. Wish I could have been using it for the past 30 years.

Bobby B.

quote:

People use all sorts of methods for this, so you'll likely get quite a few options presented.

There are several variations of the method you use: lengthwise cut of a sized case neck, lightly crimp an unsized case neck etc etc. All to ensure that a bullet can be kept stable at the position where it is set when pushed into the lands.

Yep !.

Save an empty case fired from your particular Rifle , chamber the empty into you Rifle ( bolt close ? )

OK ; Now one easy way is to take and only NECK size that case or some people slot the neck then pinch it down.

The object is to hold a bullet tightly enough and out far enough so when carefully placing that empty back

into the chamber it doesn't move until you start closing the bolt . By using a felt tip marker all around

the front half of that bullet ,you'll be able to visually see the land marks after closing bolt fully and

CAREFULLY extracting that empty . Now take Micrometer or Vernier Calipers and measure over all length.

Now when loading reduce that distance .015" to start with then .010" and so on .

Barnes bullets are one of the exceptions they prefer to JUMP .040" - .065" and you don't want them

against the lands !!!. Some Rifles can be finicky about the distances so it's trial an error .

What everyone failed to mention is the further you load into the lands the higher peak or spike

pressures become ,so WATCH for pressure signs and stay below Max loads , until YOUR SURE of


what your doing is safe !!!. I measure too the Bullets ogive however that takes a specialty tool .

http://www.snipershide.com/for...wflat&Number=1037211

http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2...ullet-seating-depth/

quote:

I use the Stony Point/Hornady gage and it works well for me. The modified cases are't expensive

+1

I'm another satisfied user of the Stoney Point/Hornady OAL tool & bullet comparator.
Easy to use, more accurate & repeatable than some other methods.

1 - Remove bolt from gum
2 - With muzzle down drop bullet into chamber
3 - Insert a wood dowel into chamber and make reference mark aligned with receiver index.
4 - Remove dowel and bullet
5 - Insert case fully into chamber
6 - Reinsert dowel and make another mark
7 - Remove case and dowel
8 - Cut dowel into four equal pieces
9 - Weigh each piece
10 - Take average of weights, add bullet and case weights, subtract powder charge, divide by caliber x gun weight = OAL

Easy!

P.S. Be sure and use a Hickory dowel for really precise results.

My method is to crimp a shell enough to hold the bullet then load a blank shell long and put a bullet in it so it gets pressed into the lands, then remove the shell and put it in the press.

Now, if I seat and crimp separately I have the seater press in, then run the shell up all the way into the die and run the seater plug all the way down, then back the shell off and give the seater plug 1/8 turn and tighten the locknut down on the plug. Then replace the seater die with the crimp die and kinda the same thing- run the crimp down all the way, then back the shell off and tighten the die up 1/8 turn but do whatever you need to do to get a firm grip.

If you are seating and crimping with the same die, then I put the shell in and run it all the way up, then run the crimp die down by hand until you feel resistance. Then run the seater plug down so it touches too. Tighten the seater locknut, then back the shell out and tighten the crimp die 1/8 and adjust the locknut on the die.

What I have done a few times is to load an empty and unprimed case with a flat base bullet inserted upside-down. The bullet needs to extend as far as possible out of the case and must have a fairly tight fit in the case mouth. When you chamber this cartridge the base of the bullet will not go beyond the start of the rifling and gets pushed into the case. When you extract the case you can measure how far ahead of the case mouth the rifling begins.

Bullets of varying nose shapes will extend into the bore for varying distances. If you get measurements taken using the base of the bullet loaded forward you can use that information relative to the beginning of the ogive of any bullet.

I have used a couple of the methods mentioned here(such as crimping the bullet in the case, using smoke, felt tip marker, to mark bullet, etc., etc.). Then, some years back I discovered the Stoney Point Comparator,now owned by Hornady.

Mine came with six different caliber inserts. Separately, I bought modified cases for the cartidges I load. To me, the cost was relatively inexpensive; results more accurate and reliable and significanly faster.

I think if you are satisfied with the old methods; don't want to incur the expense or try something new- or whatever; keep with what you are satisied. But, the Comparator works great for me.

quote:

Originally posted by BISCUT:
I use the Stony Point/Hornady gage and it works well for me. The modified cases are't expensive. I've made 2 myself but find it much easier to purchase them Hornady will also make one for you (you send the brass) if they do not offer your case for $15.

Overall it's easy to use and relatively quick to measure.

Me 4!

several methods ..

for me, its -.027 to .030 off the lands to start a load .. increase that another .03 in addition, for TSX/barnes type bullets...

quote:

Originally posted by BISCUT:
I use the Stony Point/Hornady gage and it works well for me. The modified cases are't expensive. .

+5 ?

muck