I have gotten multiple answers to this one so I wanted to ask what ya'll thought. I have asked the question when starting a ladder development, where do you start on seating depth? I have gotten answers of 0.015-0.02 off the lands which works great for long bullets link on my 6.5 CM, but now I am working on a load for my 30-06. There is the desire to load from the magazine, so there's a constraint but 0.015 off the lands still cycles but doesn't put much bullet in the case. I have been told to make sure that one caliber worth of bullet is in the case, then there is the recommended depth from the reloading manual, and finally I have read a couple of articles, one by Berger that says choose seating depth first by loading a mid-powder charge adjusting depth by 0.030-0.040 to find what shoots best before even starting a ladder. They state at least in their VLD bullets that seating depth accuracy nodes are .030 to .040 wide. The article is at https://bergerbullets.com/vld-making-shoot/. So you might sense my curiosity and frustration since I am getting different pieces of advice. I'm trying to tune in on the most efficient method for load development esp. with the present scarcity. So where do you all start with seating depth and do you find it to be true that your gun likes the same seating depth to lands regardless of bullet? In other words, how do you zero in on seating depth as quickly and efficiently as possible? BTW, I intend for all my guns to be used in hunting so staying off the lands is a given. Thanks a bunch.
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