kiss'm ?

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It really does depend on the bullet and the gun. Most of mine like em up real close, and some do best when I actually get into the lands a tad. But not all of them, some seem to be built to perform best when seated back off the lands .020" or so off. Just make sure to do your powder work up for each to avoid significant pressure surprises when getting up close. Pressures rise significantly when you start getting close, so a powder charge that may be running perfectly fine with no pressure issues at .020" off, can spike significantly higher as you approach the lands. And this is a good rule of thumb to follow with any OAL changes when getting closer to the lands.

This is the part of reloading that I enjoy the most I think. The ability to tailor and work with various actions and loads is what this hobby is all about for me. I love every aspect of load development, and just can't get enough of it. So much so, that I find myself pulling bullets just so I can change something about the load to try and improve on it's previous range results.

GS
 
I set up all but one of my rifle to feed from the magazine. This in most cases keeps me well back of the lands. I hunt with them all so I feel function over fit is the best route. I prefer them to be as long as possible, but this doesn't always end up being the case.

That said, with most rifles and loads, you can just about figure on there being more than one sweet spot with seating depth just like there is with charge weights. I usually work up to the top end with my powder charges looking for pressures and accuracy, but in the end I usually end up seating the bullets in around .005" at a time to dial the groups in tight.

Sometimes this is only a one or two time adjustment, sometimes I might move in as much as .100". As long as the pressure signs don't come up, I will move back as much as necessary, or until I feel it simply isn't working out to my satisfaction. Sometimes it depends on the bullet lenght and how much I am working with before I get up to the beginning of the ogive. Smaller caliber or shorter lighter weight bullets give you less to work with. Another reason I like to stick with medium to heavier weight per caliber bullets.

Most rifles will show you pretty quick what they like and don't in the groups they produce, or the bullets and powder your feeding them. It's up to you to determine when, and where to stop, or when call it quits.

Hope this helps.
 
Too many variables for the beginner to worry about. They should seat to fit the mag and find a bullet and charge weight their rifle shoots well. When they get the hang of that, then it can pay to play with seating depth if they really want to.

Ammo can shoot extremely well loaded to fit the mag. :)
 
Walkalong said:
Too many variables for the beginner to worry about. They should seat to fit the mag and find a bullet and charge weight their rifle shoots well. When they get the hang of that, then it can pay to play with seating depth if they really want to.

Ammo can shoot extremely well loaded to fit the mag. :)
Click to expand...
THIS + a million
 
+ 2 million.

The most accurate factory ammo you can buy, and which will be very hard to out-shoot with hand-loads, is Match and Varmint ammo.

It is all seated to standard length, with no regard to where the rifling leade is in every rifle.

Once you can beat that kind of accuracy is the time to start playing with kissing.

rc
 
In my experience, you can usually find a very accurate load without being real close to the lands. Sometimes you have to try a several different bullet shapes and charge weights, but so far I've not found bullet seating depth to be a main factor that fundamentally changes how a given load will shoot. It can be useful to experiment with that once a promising load has already been identified but I don't think about it too much at the beginning of load development.

Pretty much what RC and others already said...
 
The most accurate factory ammo you can buy, and which will be very hard to out-shoot with hand-loads, is Match and Varmint ammo.

It is all seated to standard length, with no regard to where the rifling leade is in every rifle.

Once you can beat that kind of accuracy is the time to start playing with kissing.

rc
Click to expand...

This +3 million

It wasn't until I could match "performance" rounds with my lesser rifle and handloads that I got a target grade .308 and started playing around with OAL/Leads.

RC and Walkalongs' musings throughout the years were crucial in that experimentation- listen closely.....
 
Great info.

I started messing with kissing lands last week, and ended up having three bullets come off cartridge at the range this week. I did not seat them properlly trying to eek out that last .02".

That's for the birds. I am going back to std length and not worry about it.

Oh, I took a lot of time (3 times) trying to get every bit of powder I could find out of the action. Took a while, and it was HOT! Not my funniest time in shooting sports.
 
I'm with Walkalong.
I think that the idea of seating the bullet just off the lands in overrated in most instances. There may be a few times where it is beneficial, but for a beginner, just stick to published oal and see how it shoots.
When I start loading a new bullet, I use published oal and if I get a load to shoot 1.5" or better, I don't mess with it. Well, not the oal anyway. I'll go up and down a little with the powder charge and try to get it to tighten up some.
However, I'm looking for hunting accuracy. If you're a benchrest shooter trying to eek out every bit of accuracy you can get, maybe you'll want to play with it, but I wouldn't start out that way.
 
noob alert. what are the "lands". i asssume you all are talking about bullet seating depth or am i way off here?
 
Thanks Walk. I did make a quick scan over ABCs and couldnt find anything. Its probably their somewhere but it has no index/glossary. (i forget which its called)
 
how much room do you have to play with when seating a bullet? I guess i mean what is the minimum it needs to go down inside the case? This is the thing that most worries me about starting my reloading career (bullet seating)
 
how much room do you have to play with when seating a bullet? I guess i mean what is the minimum it needs to go down inside the case?
Click to expand...
The old rule of thumb is one diameter in the neck. .308 deep for .308, .270 deep for .270, etc. Not written in stone, but a good guide. You want good neck tension for most loads.
 
Potatohead,

Not piling on by any means, but next time you find one of the Lyman manuals at your local supply house or gun show give it a quick look through. If you can pick one up. They have a great deal of this sort of info in them, besides the reloading data.
 
I dunno. If you start your load development with the bullet jammed, and then you arrive at optimal charge, then you start backing it out of the lands to see how it performs. When you find the best combination, write it down!

This takes time and patience and bullets and at least 2 or 3 trips to the range to find the best combination.
 
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