Easiest way to determine how far off the lands to seat?

[yobuck]

Not a fan of the sharpie method. Getting the feel for it is much less messy.

I use a match to smoke the bullet simply because sharpies didnt exist 60 years ago.
Yes it is more time consuming than developing a (feel) for it. But it also tells you
exactly when your just touching the rifleing.

[Old Medic]

To me , the easiest way and the cheapest way is the method I use. You don't need to destroy a case by cutting slits in it. Just take a fired case and run it into your full length sizing die 1/32 to 1/16 inch. Just far enough to have tension on the bullet when it is slid in and out. Slowly push the case and bullet into the chamber with your finger as far as you can, then slowly close the bolt on it the rest of the way. Then slowly open the bolt and slowly remove the case and bullet, catching it with your finger so it doesn't drag on the action or fly out. You now have your COAL to the lands with that bullet. You can do this over several times to be confident this method works and is consistent.

This has always worked so well for me I have never seen the need to purchase the Stoney Point Tools. All done with stuff we all already have. :-)

I'm waiting for a 6.5 Creed barrel. When I get the new rig together I'm definitely going to try this. I just hope it ain't too finicky. Thanks

[foxx]

Also, its my belief that every gun is different, so i start at or just off what i THINK is the lands, then move into and off the lands, keeping track of the oal as i go. I dont worry about where the lands are as much as what the oal is. Once i find the iptimum load, thats where i stay till i lose accuracy. Then i assume, if high round count, the throat is eroding and try seating them longer.

For me, the easiest way to do all this is to use a hand held press from Lee at the range. I seat them long at the loading bench and then seat them deeper at the shooting bench till i find the sweet spot. The trick is meauring the oal accurately and keeping records as i go. Its all a matter of trial and error.

[upSLIDEdown]

I think he meant that he taps on the bullet and the whole gauge comes out.

This.


"uSd", I get what you are saying now. I just never wanted to push on the pill with a rod, thinking it may push further into the case. But in all methods, it is a matter of feel.



The reason I do it that way is it seems like every time I have the ejector and extractor in and use them to pull the 'gauge' back out, it pulls the case off the bullet a tiny bit each time and my readings are always close, but never the same. Doing it the way I do, they're more consistent. The case freely falls in and out of the chamber, the bullet is the only thing that could possibly get 'stuck' a little (in the rifling), so tapping the bullet back with a rod pushes everything back, giving me a true reading.

[foxx]

Finally, to the OP:

When we read someone's report that they seat their bullets .05 off the lands (or .06, .015, whatever), they are not saying they do so because they are following some principal that says it is best to do so. It simply means they have determined, thru testing, that THAT particular rifle/cartridge combination LIKES it there. It is true that most cartridges of a particular type tend to prefer to be seated either close to or far from the lands, (depending on the type) but that info is used to help determine a starting point for your own testing. THat's why I say I say don't worry about it. Get a general idea of where your lands are so you can be sure you aren't jamming the bullet into the lands, and then experiment with it. Keep track of how long your cartridges are, try various lengths and settle on the one that works best for you. At the end of the day, it does not matter where the lands are, but that you can duplicate a specific load and coal that works in your rifle.