I read a lot about loading bullets until they just touch or are just short of touching the rifling lands. My understanding is that this could enhance accuracy by limiting the distance the bullet has to jump to get to the rifling.
I've never tried this. How do you go about determining how far out is far enough? I would assume that each rifle of the same caliber could be slightly different?
If this were done on a semiauto is there any potential problem with the cartridge ramming into the rifling due to the action of loading and perhaps bending the neck.
Does this have any relationship to the published OAL for any given cartridge?

Thanks

Has something to do with the published OAL..not a whole lot as it turns out. OAL is important for fitting a loaded round into a magazine.

One thing to realize, when seated to just touch...or just barely miss touching...pressure is usually a bit HIGHER. Think of it this way, the bullet doesn't have that "running start", so peak pressure of engravemnt is the same as ignition when seated almost touching. Might make a differenece if you were loading to the ragged edge before you changed the seating.

The old-school way is finger seat a bullet in a fired, unsized case. Seat it way-long. Soot the bullet (candle flame/match/bic lighter/etc/). Chamber the round. Will touch the lands...which will push back the loosely eated bullet...so when it's fully chambered it will be as long as that chamber can possibly take. CAREFULLY remove and measure the OAL. Seat it a bit deeper (and for this it varies..some like it just a tiny-tiny bit deeper, some like it 1/10th inch deeper..etc.).

You might find that this length is too long to work though the box magazine...if so, then if you have to use that bullet, will have to use whatever length that magazine will take. OF course, if you go to a shorter nosed bullet, might be able to snuggle it up to the lands and still stay inside OAL.

Once in awhile, it makes a bid differnce...usually it makes a few percentage points of difference. Worth the attempt, but proably not going to work magic.

mcg6637,
You should understand that "kissing the lands" is an import from benchrest shooting, which probably got it from the schutzenfesters of the black powder era. In the case of the benchrest shooters, they are trying to maximize their accuracy at the cost of all other factors. To do so they adjust the powder charge to avoid excessive pressure.

For hunting rounds, accuracy is an objective, but the trump card is reliability. The hunter cannot afford a round which won't chamber, a bullet stuck in the throat while out in the field or a frozen bolt when he needs a follow-up shot.

I start hunting loads with conventional jacketed bullets 0.020" off the lands, and might work deeper to check for different accuracy. Solid copper Barnes "X" bullets start 0.050" of the lands and go deeper. Lead bullets start into the lands, but firmly crimped.

I like the RCBS Precision Mic gages for this work. Best of luck....

I see now, says the blind man.

Many thanks for your guidance. It's just another fun thing to play with. Might even do some good. As you say, though, if it doesn't work it's only interesting.

Easiest way I've ever done this is with a fired case, size the neck slightly insert the bullet a small amount and chamber the round. Pull it back out and set your bullet seater die with this round. Now candle the bullet and check it again. If you see a lot of lands increase your seater depth .010 recandle and check again. When in benchrest some shot with the bullets touching well, some did not. I had a friend with a Rem 40X in 25-06 the only bullet that would touch was a 117gn round nose. He shot 117 sierra spitzer boat tails with a very hot load that all rounds touched at 200yds. This was an exception to a flexible rule. My 25-06 bench gun had to have the bullet touching, a large dose of IMR4895 and FA60 30-06 match brass that was a very hot load. With an 87gn bullet it approached 4000 fps, but would shoot nothing else I tried in 4yrs of load developement.

Buy a Stoney Point OAL guage.
The directions included will explain what is going on.

Bullet seating depth alone won't guarantee tight groups. But it can sure help... with this one variable, at least.

Keep in mind...most of the folks answering a question like this are thinking bolt action...one round, no magazine in play.

If you plan on putting any shells in the magazine, your magazine length will determine how long you can go. (and it might not be as long as you wanted to go).