getting different OAL with each load?

B

bigsal5353

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 21, 2004
38
1
n.w. pennsylvania
#1
Im shooting a 300 wm with berger 190gr vld's.. Using forseter benchrest seater.. use a comparator to measure my rounds and my guns shoots best with an oal of 3.871, my problem is that every time I load a round and measure it... I get a different OAL, anywhere between 3.870 to 3.875...

Should I measure each round and adjust my die till they all measure the same or should I leave the die set in one spot and leave each round a different length??? sorry if this is a dumb question
 
#2
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

Forget OAL. The bullet tips will vary. You are talking .005 variance? Know your bullet seating depth to the lands and measure your rounds to the bullet ogive. Now you are good to go.
 
#3
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

sorry if I explained it wrong, I am using a comaprator (measuring ogive) and I still get different lengths with each round without moving my die, why is this?? should I leave the die in one place, or adjust it each round so that my ogive length is the same?
 
#5
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bigsal5353</div><div class="ubbcode-body">sorry if I explained it wrong, I am using a comaprator (measuring ogive) and I still get different lengths with each round without moving my die, why is this?? </div></div>

Any chance that the powder is highly compressed and pushing the bullets back out of a lightly holding neck?

A properly setup competition seater die that pushes at the ogive should be able to hold +/- 0.0015 measured at the ogive which will end up being +/- 0.006 when measure as OAL. So, perhaps there is a point in your seater die that is "not set up correctly". You might want to disassemble the die, clean all the components and lubricate them (gun oil) prior to reassembly.
 
#6
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

Mitch, thanks for the advice, i'll give that a try

tripwire.... WOW, I guess your one of those guys that knows everything, instead of just telling me what im doin wrong or how I should set my die up, you just give a smarta#s answer
 
#7
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bigsal5353</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Mitch, thanks for the advice, i'll give that a try

tripwire.... WOW, I guess your one of those guys that knows everything, instead of just telling me what im doin wrong or how I should set my die up, you just give a smarta#s answer </div></div>

Stick around here and you'll get used to it.
 
#8
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

outfitter, you are right.. I do alot more reading on forums than posting just for that reason... people that write smarta@s comments on an internet forum are the same people that wouldnt have the balls to say a word to someone face-to-face.....

anyways, I am NOT shooting a compressed load, if all my brass is trimmed to the same length, my benchrest die is making contact at the ogive, and my die doesnt move, why do I get different lengths (from the ogive)??
 
#9
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bigsal5353</div><div class="ubbcode-body">outfitter, you are right.. I do alot more reading on forums than posting just for that reason... people that write smarta@s comments on an internet forum are the same people that wouldnt have the balls to say a word to someone face-to-face.....

</div></div>

Then you shouldn't have missed the exact same question you posed, in the exact same context ad nauseum, asked countless times in just the last few weeks, by noobs who simply can't realize that bullets do infact vary dimensionally......

'Course you attempted to reverse your stupidity by remembering to add that you measured off the ogive while I was typing my "smarta@s comment", according to the time stamps.

As far as saying something to someone's face goes....any time you dare drag your pennsyltuckian ass across the Mason Dixon, by all means, do look me up.......
 
#11
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

" use a comparator to measure my rounds and my guns shoots best with an oal of 3.871".....
tripwire, you might want to check my first post and see if that line looks familiar

AND, I know each round varies slightly in length, thats not what I asked.. I asked if I should keep my die in place or adjust so each round measures the same... I would learn to read if I were you before I called someone stupid
 
#12
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bigsal5353</div><div class="ubbcode-body">" use a comparator to measure my rounds and my guns shoots best with an oal of 3.871".....
tripwire, you might want to check my first post and see if that line looks familiar

AND, I know each round varies slightly in length, thats not what I asked.. I asked if I should keep my die in place or adjust so each round measures the same... I would learn to read if I were you before I called someone stupid </div></div>

Well if you really want each round as exact as the other then you should. However it's really time consuming, ask me how I know. And I have done it with a Wilson and a arbor press which I think is faster. After awhile you start to decide weather or not the returns are worth the effort. This is a individual call so I say try it and see.

FYI pay close attention to how much pressure you use when taking your measurements. You can vary your readings by as much as a couple of thousands.
 
#13
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

Seems like the place on the bullet you're pressing on while seating is not the same place your comparator is locating off of. For this to be the case though, the bullets would need .005 variance between those two datums, which seems unlikely now that I think of it.

Definitely disassemble your Seater and make sure no debris is playing a prank on you.

Im on a number of internet forums, and this one has the snarkiest, rudest, snidest, know-it-alls of any. I've been trying to figure out why that is....MOST gun guys are very welcoming and decent to talk to, but not here. Plenty of good guys and good info here, but more than its fair share of fuckheads.
 
#14
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

the fitter: Im going to pay closer attention to the amount of pressure and consistency I apply to my press while seating the bullet. next week I'll shoot a few groups of each loaded with varying lengths and ones that are all the exact same and see how each groups... good point that if they shoot the same, who cares if they arent exactly the same

Turbo: I just took my seater apart a few minues ago... no larger debris that I could see, but there was alot of build up on the step that makes contact with the ogive...

Once again thanks for all the helpful replies..
 
#16
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

Are all your cases the same? By that I mean how many times reloaded? FL sized? Necks the same thickness? Have you considered 1. annealing the case necks, and 2. Polishing the inside of the case necks with steel wool on a bore brush running off a drill motor? That really slicks them up. Try doing both of those, and then lubing the inside of the case necks with LockEase on a Q-Tip. That will help concentricity and also seating force equalization. One other tip I picked up here, is to seat the bullet, then leave the handle of the press down while you fill the next case, then raise the handle and put the case in the box and seat the next bullet...ad infinitum. Works for me. FNP
 
#17
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tripwire</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm gonna puke if I see this question posted one more damn time...... </div></div>

LOL...Guess I'm not the only one who is tired of the repeats.
 
#18
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

they are all the same... trimmed to same length, reloaded the same number of times, all FL sized, necks are NOT turned.. I do use a .30 cal brush to clean up the inside of the neck case prior to reloading...
 
#20
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tripwire</div><div class="ubbcode-body">pennsyltuckian</div></div>
Ain't heard that in a while.
 
#21
Re: getting different OAL with each load?

.300 Win Mag oal is 3.340 you're at 3.8something? For the .005 variance it's bullet shape variations at the point that your seater hits compared to where you measure from. I don't think that -.001 to +.004 is going to make that much difference, you never know.
 
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