I normally seat my bullets by going by the recommended AOL for the specific bullet I am using. I am presently shooting a Rem. .243 using Sierra 70 grainers HPBT bullets. If my infomation is correct, the AOL for this bullet is, 2.625. If I set my caliper for the above referenced setting the Sierra's will measure pretty close. However, Nosler BT, 70 grainers will not measure correctly. What am I doing wrong? Help!!

I usually don't worry about the COAL (cartridge over all length) as much as I worry about weather or not the round will fit in the clip/magazine.

Nosler and Sierra bullets have different ojives so that will also make a difference in COAL. Meaning how the bullet nose fits in the bullet seater plug. The longer the ojive the farther the bullet will fit in the plug. If you want to maintain the same length you'll have to adjust your seater.

Hope this helps you dilemma :D

Hey John,

I usually get the best results by seating a bullet in a resized, unprimmed case and then sooting the bullet. I start with the bullet seated out far enough that I can see that it is contacting the lands after closing the action. You'll notice the marking on the soot on the bullet. I then repeat the procedure and seat the bullet a fraction further each time until I no longer see the marking. This may not be the most accurate way of doing it but it has always worked well for me. Just my opinion. :)

Doug- do you use a candle or a lighter to soot the bullet?

I usually use stick matches and sometimes put a drop of oil just below the sulfer before striking the match to try and get a dirtier burn. I hold the bullet high enough above the match to be in the dirty, sooty part of the flame. I've never tried a candle but that is a good idea because they produce a dirty flame, or maybe a oil lamp would work well. BTW, this method doesn't work for all rifles. Sometimes the magazine, or clip is too short to seat the bullet out to the max, but it works in most of my hunting rifles and the max length seems to give me the best accuracy.

A majic marker works well too. Let the ink dry a little.
Cheezywan

Went the route of smoked bullets and inked bullets - just too many scrapes and other marks to satisfy me, so made a dummy case that has the neck split into quarters with a fine bladed jewelers saw. The petals can be hand pressed to a good, tight fit for the bullet. The bullet is pushed into the case enough to keep it from falling out, then carefully loaded into the chamber. Upon withdrawing, the COAL is measured. Do this several times to assure the measurement is the same. This establishes the land touch point for this particular bullet. Back off the recommended .010" - .020" and make sure it functions through the magazine. If not, seat until the cartridge will clear the mag.

Sometimes, there's quite a bit of distance between the bullet ogive and the beginning of the lands when seating to clear the magazine, but all my rifles are for hunting, so I'm more concerned with functioning. Accuracy usually isn't greatly affected by this procedure.

If loading for single-shot rifles, or just shooting a round at a time, then by all means, seat the bullet out as far as practical. Have to be sure to seat into the cartridge neck enough to align in the chamber properly and have a bit of tension on the bullet, though.

kdub makes a good point but I still use the magic marker technique. Some markers work better than others, you want one that is generous with the ink. You also need to re-ink (is that a word) after each time you pull the cartridge from the chamber so as not to confuse markings. The process is a little tedious but it works well. Most marker ink is easily cleaned off with standard alcohol.

When I find a bullet/load combination I like I always make a crimped master dummy round (uncharged) so I can readjust the seat die to seat to the proper depth for that specific bullet. I have multiple dummies for the same gun - different bullets.

I do the same thing when I'm working up a load. That is write the load info on the brass, bullet weight/brand, powder charge/ brand. That way when I get a load that "fits" I keep those brass seperateed so I can "remember" what the load was. A sharpie works beat for me.

My way of setting seating depth is more complicated, but lets me buy more gadgets!

The first gadget is the RCBS Precision Mic, which has two purposes - determining seating depth and also headspace. (It's worth the $35 for headspace alone, IMO.) You set the dummy round in the dummy case, insert it into the real chamber, and the chamber pushes the "bullet" back to the depth that corresponds to a bullet in contact with the lands.

The next gadget is the Stoney Point Cartridge Comparator (not the OAL Gauge), which mounts on your calipers. You then use the Cartridge Comparator to measure the "ogive length" (cartridge base to bullet ogive). Record this measurement - it's the baseline measurement in thousandths of an inch of that dummy cartridge in your chamber from the base to the ogive, in contact with the lands.

You can then load up a real round and measure the Ogive Length, adjusting the seating die to back the bullet off the lands by whatever increment you choose. (I almost always use 0.030.") You measure the loaded round with the Cartridge Comparator until you have the die adjusted to where you want it.

With the baseline measurement, you can change this seating depth without having to measure again. Very repeatable, assuming good quality bullets. (Nosler and Hornady are good, for instance. Speer has broad variations, and I don't recommend them.) The Ogive Length measurement is much better than COAL, since most lead-tipped bullets have some variation in OAL, due to having their tips beat up in the box. (Plastic tips are less susceptible to this damage.)

Jaywalker