In measuring my chamber and corresponding leade I came to realize that if I seated my bullets to the ogive, a different brand or style of bullet would either effect the COAL or seating depth. Does anyone know of any website where I can find a listing of bullet lengths for comparative purposes?:banghead:
Length of rifle bullets
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ReloaderFred
Member
Most commercially manufactured bullets are going to have some variation in bullet length, even within the same lot of bullets. I've toured both the Sierra and Nosler manufacturing facilities, and the bullets are made for the most part on World War II punch presses. There are some variations in the manufacturing process, and due to this, Nosler no longer allows factory tours, due to the propriatary process they're now using.
The cartridge over all length has more to do with feeding from a magazine than accuracy. The measurement that influences accuracy is the actual distance between the point on the ogive which will first contact the bore in the leade, and that contact point.
It would be a very frustrating excercise to try to measure each bullet all the manufacturers produce and come up with the exact length of all of them. My bet is that it wouldn't produce any usable measurement at all, but that's only my opinion.
Hope this helps.
Fred
The cartridge over all length has more to do with feeding from a magazine than accuracy. The measurement that influences accuracy is the actual distance between the point on the ogive which will first contact the bore in the leade, and that contact point.
It would be a very frustrating excercise to try to measure each bullet all the manufacturers produce and come up with the exact length of all of them. My bet is that it wouldn't produce any usable measurement at all, but that's only my opinion.
Hope this helps.
Fred
snuffy
Member
The question I have to ask is; why are you seating up against the rifling? If you seat back away from the rifling, your question is a moot point.
Of course all bullets have differing ogives. As Fred said, even within the same maker, bullet caliber, and weight. Then the factors of neck tension, and seater alignment throw even more variables into the mix.
If you're shooting targets with a single fed bolt gun, or a single shot, then maybe you have something to worry about. Otherwise forget it, move on to more important pursuits, like concentricity and run out.
Of course all bullets have differing ogives. As Fred said, even within the same maker, bullet caliber, and weight. Then the factors of neck tension, and seater alignment throw even more variables into the mix.
If you're shooting targets with a single fed bolt gun, or a single shot, then maybe you have something to worry about. Otherwise forget it, move on to more important pursuits, like concentricity and run out.
R.W.Dale
Member
What I do is I find the case head to rifling engaugment measurement for my rifle. Once this is determined I can use THIS TOOL to compare different bullets at the point where they are full bore sized to the case head.
What this does is it gives you an apples to apples point of comparison for different shape bullets.
What this does is it gives you an apples to apples point of comparison for different shape bullets.
You didn't mention what caliber your loading so I'll assume it's a shouldered round and it will be used in one rifle.
+1 on not seating to the lands.
+1 on it probably doesn't matter if you need to seat shorter to fit your magazine.
Measure your actual maximum seating depth using a comparitor, back off a bit (.015-.030 depending on caliber) and use that same comparitor to measure seating depth. I guess that's the best you can do. Tip-to-tip length variations are common. There are variations using the comparitor after seating even with competition seaters. A few 1000's isn't anything to sweat about.
Your definatly on the right track thinking about ogives though.
+1 on not seating to the lands.
+1 on it probably doesn't matter if you need to seat shorter to fit your magazine.
Measure your actual maximum seating depth using a comparitor, back off a bit (.015-.030 depending on caliber) and use that same comparitor to measure seating depth. I guess that's the best you can do. Tip-to-tip length variations are common. There are variations using the comparitor after seating even with competition seaters. A few 1000's isn't anything to sweat about.
Your definatly on the right track thinking about ogives though.
length
Thanks for all the replys...I'm NOT seating on the lands but if the profile of one has the ogive at "x" and I'm seating it (for example) .006" from the lands if I change to a different profile and the ogive tends to be higher on the bullet then the seating depth is going to be deeper in the cartridge and the COAL will also be affected. Conversely this would also be the case. When I state "seating depth" I'm referring to the depth the bullet is in the case itself...if the ogive is higher or lower on the bullet it is going to affect this if dimensions are based on the ogive point and, respectively it is going to affect internal volume. Naturally, I'm referring to the same weight bullets but with different profiles.
Thanks for all the replys...I'm NOT seating on the lands but if the profile of one has the ogive at "x" and I'm seating it (for example) .006" from the lands if I change to a different profile and the ogive tends to be higher on the bullet then the seating depth is going to be deeper in the cartridge and the COAL will also be affected. Conversely this would also be the case. When I state "seating depth" I'm referring to the depth the bullet is in the case itself...if the ogive is higher or lower on the bullet it is going to affect this if dimensions are based on the ogive point and, respectively it is going to affect internal volume. Naturally, I'm referring to the same weight bullets but with different profiles.
marlin.357
Member
To answer your original question, I don't believe there is a website with that information, and furthermore I don't believe that the bullet manufactures even provide this for individual bullets.
You are going to have to pick your bullets based on the information they do provide, weight, BC etc.
Sorry.
You are going to have to pick your bullets based on the information they do provide, weight, BC etc.
Sorry.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
That is why you use the loading data provided by the bullet manufacture in the loading manuals they publish.
Anymore, there is much more going on when swapping similiar bullet weights between manufactures then there used to be.
Things like secant ogive profiles, solid copper construction, bonded cores, jacket & core hardness, etc. vary so much between bullet makers you can't just use one set of data off the internet for every brand of bullet being made.
You need to buy the loading manual for the brand of bullets you are using, or switching too.
rcmodel
USSR
Member
Toscano,
Don't sweat the variance in OAL. Cartridge base to ogive trumps cartridge base to meplat.
Don
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