Reloading tricks to fit your chamber

[twinhairdryers]

So, much of what I have read about reloading has a lot to do with the angle and diameter of the throat of the bullet/ and or case as it goes into your chamber and distance from rifle lands.

Is it a stupid idea to get a case prepared, skip the powder and hand seat the bullet you are loading, and slam it into the chamber to try to hand fit the bullet into the chamber? then measure your oal and case dimensions, and try to load to these? or is this not great cuz you cant' still tell how far the bullet is seated to the first rifling? Just trying to find a way to measure out a bore without casting or fancy measuring tools (i have none of these).

It seems to me that you would at least nail the OAL for your chamber, and bullet seat diameter. anyone try this, or have easier idea? I may need to bit the bullet (no pun intended) and get a bore casting done, but i can't do it myself. finding a cheap way. anyone try clay?

 

[Clifford]

As far as sluging your bore it's easy. Take a fishing weight of slightly larger diameter than your bore and drive the weight thru the barrel with a wooden dowl and hammer. When you're done take a micrometer and measure the weight, that will be your bore and land dia.

 

[dakotasin]

twin - no, what you propose won't work very well. if you attempt it, you will have a helluva time getting your bolt open. when you do get it open, you will then have to either beat the bullet out of your bore, or hope it didn't pull while you were beating the tar out of your gun.

seat a bullet to barely fit in the mag box. if the cartridge chambers and bolt closes easily, you are done - if you seat long, you will no longer have a repeater.

after testing mag fit, and the bolt doesn't easily close, stop what you are doing and examine the bullet for rifling marks. keep seating shorter until these go away.

you can either use steel wool to remove the marks, or you can soot the bullet after every trial. whatever you do, do not do what you proposed in your first post. you will unleash quite a bit of colorful language.

experience is a cruel teacher...

 

[MNgunhead]

Get yourself a stoney point gauge. They work slick. Put a bullet in the gauge, push it into the chamber, tighten the lock nut, pull it out, measure. You now have an accurate oal to the lands. Seat the bullet .030 (or whatever the bullet manufacturer recommends) off the lands and your ready to load and go to the range. Start your loads light and work up in 1/2 grain increments to get to max and look for pressure signs to avoid bad things.

 

[benzy2]

I took a piece of brass, dremeled the neck so that there was very minimal tension holding the bullet in place and leave it seated out a farther than I think the lands start. I then chamber the round. Since there is minimal neck tension the bullet shoves back into the case rather than sticking into the lands. The first time I chamber the round gives me a rough estimate of where the lands start. I then pull the bullet out roughly 5 to 10 thousandths and rechamber the round, slow and gentle again. I do this about 5 times to see if the numbers repeat. This seems to put me right at if not a hair into the lands. I tend to back off a thousandth or two, load a bullet into a nonmolested case and check if it touches at all. This normally puts me right at the lands, though for testing I normally start off the lands a bit more. Works well enough for me, though I am sure it is not near the most precise way to check OAL. Only costs one case though which certainly does have its advantages.

 

[stubbicatt]

I would suggest that any serious reloader get a pressure testing gage. The "signs" of excessive pressure show up after pressure is already excessive.

Bad juju.

 

[Eagles6]

Load a bullet that you will be using and load it into an dummy case (no primer or powder) and leave it long. Color the bullet with a black magic marker and load it. The lands will show on the marker. Seat the bullet deeper a touch at a time and recolor with the marker, rechamber and repeat until you see that it's not touching the lands anymore. Then back off to your liking.

 

[Cosmoline]

or fancy measuring tools (i have none of these).

If by this you mean calipers, you really need to get some. They're not that expensive and they're a tool I use all the time, esp. for rifle rounds. You can use them to set your OAL and ogive for maximum accuracy.

 

[paulo]

Plus 1 on the Stoney Point guage.Easy to use,good price.

 

[USSR]

+2 on the Stoney Point O.A.L. Gauge (now made by Hornady).

Don

 

[Murphys Law]

I think MNgunhead is talking about this gauge.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=570611

I heard that this is the same one and that Hornady bought them out. I also use the old Stoney Point gauge, and it works better than anything else I've tried.

Heres some calipers to look at also.
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Bro...yId=19945&categoryString=9315***731***8866***

 

[Silent Rifleman]

I use one of these:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=570611

Then measure with one of these clipped to my calipers

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=231904

Since the tip of that bullet can vary, you are getting the exact length from base to the ogive of the bullet right where it's touching the lands.