More forgiving on seating depth: 75 eld-m or 80 smk?

[WB300]

.223 Rem.

Bartlein 7.5 tw, 24", match chamber with long throat, mdt mags. I've narrowed it down to the 75 grain eldm and the 80 smk. Similar BC's but the 75 eldm will give just a tad more velocity. Both will fit in the mag just kissing the lands.

Which bullet is more forgiving on seating depth? I'm using standard RCBS seater. Not interested in buying a comp seater unless i have to. And will i need a VLD seating stem for either of these? I'm not chasing benchrest accuracy.

Which bullet seems to be more forgiving on seating depth?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dstoenner]

Smk is more jump tolerant and stays in tune better. You do not need a vld stem with it. I have not shot the eldm version but a max. Never did get a load that would out shoot the 80 smk till i tried an 80.5 Berger

David

 

[WB300]

Thanks Dstoenner. I was beginning to think I was the only one who considered these two bullets. I can just kiss the lands with the 80 smk and still fit (barely) in the MDT mag, so length, or jumping isn't a problem.

Can anyone speak for the 75 eld-m?

 

[Dstoenner]

The eldm bullets are vld which either likes to be jammed or jump a lot. Only your testing can say for sure. A seating test for vld is usually jammed, off by .020, then .060, then .100. 2 groups of 5 at each should tell you a lot

David

 

[WB300]

Thanks. I don't mind jumping or jamming... I'm more concerned if the seating depth varies say .00? +/-. I don't want a bullet that has to be at the perfect seating depth like the Berger VLD's. I'm trying to see which bullet doesn't mind a little variance (minimal). So you are saying the 75 eld-m should be like the Berger VLD where it's not tolerant of seating depth variations???

 

[WB300]

Anyone???

 

[OLD308]

.160 free bore match chamber 24” 1-7 twist could not find a load with the 75 ELDMs. 80.5 Berger’s stupid simple seating depth find. I actually found a seating depth tolerance of .005 and another .01 in the same powder charge. Accurate Mags with the front notched just a bit provides more than enough room for feeding.
Don’t get me wrong, ELDMs shoot sub .5 at 100 yards. But stretched out to 300 and the difference between them and the Berger’s was clear. So I’ll spend the .6 cents more for the Berger’s.

 

[WB300]

Thanks Old308. Seems like the more I search, more people had a harder time tuning the 75 eld-m than the 80smk. Not everyone, but enough for me to try the 80smk first.