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Posted: 7/6/2012 8:28:33 AM EDT
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what do you guys do to sort them? how do you base your OAL when you load them?
i changed my method last time out and screwed up my velocities... i was finding the longest bullet in a group @ 1.100" and loading to 2.25" OAL. then i read about sorting bullets to get the best accuracy out of reloads. Last time i loaded up i sorted all bullets over 1.08" out of my loadings and based my OAL of 2.25" off the 1.08 loading. what I ended up with was a bunch of reloads that were sub par as far as velocity was concerned, finally clicked in my head that it was a change in the seating depth of my bullets that caused the drop. |
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Set the COAL to accommodate the longest bullets. Assuming they have identical ogives, each bullet will be seated to the same depth in the case. This is more important than minor variation in length due to the meplats.
I weighed and measured the first batch of MatchKing seconds I bought over 10 years ago, and I won't do it again, it's a waste of time with very few exceptions. |
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How are you measuring the bullet length? Are you using a bullet comparator and measuring the base to ogive? Or are you measuring from the base to the tip?
If the bullets are a hollow point then the meplat will vary as the bullets are pointed up. Another words the base to ogive measurements might not vary but you are seeing a difference with the base to the tips of the meplat. I am a benchrest shooter and make my own bullets and I do not measure the length of the bullets as I feel it does not matter. That being said my bullets made by hand on custom Niemi carbide dies do not vary when measuring base to ogive. I shoot bolt action rifles in competition over wind flags. The distances I compete at arre 100 yards and 200 yards. Unless you are shooting over wind flags I would suggest you are waisting your efforts measuring the bullet lengths. |
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Quoted:
what do you guys do to sort them? how do you base your OAL when you load them? I don't sort bullets, not even the Widener's bullets. Bullets like Sierra, Hornady, etc do not need to be sorted. My seating stem operates off the bullet ogive, not the tip. This results in extremely consistent seating depth into the case. I bet yours does, too. If not, get a new seater. I have adjusted my seating depth such that the longest bullet is still shorter than the magazine, even when tipped in the magazine (slant height is longer than length). |
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Quoted: what do you guys do to sort them? how do you base your OAL when you load them? i changed my method last time out and screwed up my velocities... i was finding the longest bullet in a group @ 1.100" and loading to 2.25" OAL. then i read about sorting bullets to get the best accuracy out of reloads. Last time i loaded up i sorted all bullets over 1.08" out of my loadings and based my OAL of 2.25" off the 1.08 loading. what I ended up with was a bunch of reloads that were sub par as far as velocity was concerned, finally clicked in my head that it was a change in the seating depth of my bullets that caused the drop. What bullets are you sorting? |
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