Tolerances

Magnum88C · September 12, 2004, 07:04 PM

I'm fairly new to reloading and I've been very deliberate and very anal about making sure each round is perfect (don't want to blow my face off).

Question ios, how important is cartridge OAL? I always try to get it dead on, and have pulled bullets that went .002" too deep. What's a realistic tolerance for the depth, or does everyone get them dead on, even if it means pulling a lot of them?

steveno · September 12, 2004, 07:37 PM

plus or minus .005 is more than close enough. I would haven't worried about the .002 at all. I use mostly swc's in my 45 and I have never checked the OAL. I load swc's so that the shoulder is about .010 - .030 above the case mouth

HSMITH · September 12, 2004, 08:17 PM

How close OAL needs to be is very much dependent on how warm the load is. If you are up at the tip top of the charts then YES by all means keep them to -.000" to +.005". If you are loading range plinkers then +/-.005" will be fine.

It would be best to figure out why your OAL is wandering though if you are seeing variations. Something is wrong if you are using good bullets and OAL is varying by more than a thou each way.

Magnum88C · September 13, 2004, 04:47 AM

It doesn't wander, just sometimes when setting the die, I got overzealous at first and seat it too deep, or forgot I had it set for a different bullet and just crunched down on this one.

**Mal H** · September 13, 2004, 08:08 AM

All the above is good advice, IMO. I would only add that if you are reloading for a rifle and have determined the correct OAL for your rifle, and you are shooting for accuracy, then a .002 variation might be one you want to correct. Otherwise, for most rifle rounds and for almost all handgun rounds, your .002" variance is what I would consider darn good reloading.

September 12, 2004, 07:04 PM	#1
Magnum88C Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Posts: 309	Tolerances I'm fairly new to reloading and I've been very deliberate and very anal about making sure each round is perfect (don't want to blow my face off). Question ios, how important is cartridge OAL? I always try to get it dead on, and have pulled bullets that went .002" too deep. What's a realistic tolerance for the depth, or does everyone get them dead on, even if it means pulling a lot of them?

September 12, 2004, 07:37 PM	#2
steveno Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2004 Location: Minden , Nebraska Posts: 1,407	plus or minus .005 is more than close enough. I would haven't worried about the .002 at all. I use mostly swc's in my 45 and I have never checked the OAL. I load swc's so that the shoulder is about .010 - .030 above the case mouth

September 12, 2004, 08:17 PM	#3
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2002 Posts: 2,019	How close OAL needs to be is very much dependent on how warm the load is. If you are up at the tip top of the charts then YES by all means keep them to -.000" to +.005". If you are loading range plinkers then +/-.005" will be fine. It would be best to figure out why your OAL is wandering though if you are seeing variations. Something is wrong if you are using good bullets and OAL is varying by more than a thou each way.

September 13, 2004, 04:47 AM	#4
Magnum88C Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Posts: 309	It doesn't wander, just sometimes when setting the die, I got overzealous at first and seat it too deep, or forgot I had it set for a different bullet and just crunched down on this one.

September 13, 2004, 08:08 AM	#5
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,947	All the above is good advice, IMO. I would only add that if you are reloading for a rifle and have determined the correct OAL for your rifle, and you are shooting for accuracy, then a .002 variation might be one you want to correct. Otherwise, for most rifle rounds and for almost all handgun rounds, your .002" variance is what I would consider darn good reloading.