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mrawesome22 · March 3, 2007, 02:05 PM

I've heard most people start out with The ABC's of reloading. I just did a bunch of reading here and when I had a question just asked these nice folks and had answer's in no time. Sounds like you have most of the stuff you'll need minus a scale. And components of course. Do you have case lube? You'll need that too. You probably won't be crimping. You can if you want. But most people don't with bolt action rifle cartridges. I would not have bought that Barnes book unless you plan on only using Barnes bullets. I buy these little pamplets called One Book/ One Cartridge. They have photocopies of all the bullet makers load data from each manufacturers book. They are only like $6. They also have powder manufacturers data so you can compare all the different data. Bullet seating will be determined by how close you want the bullet from the rifling. And that is determined by which OAL (over all length) is most accurate for your rifle. Here's a great way to determine where to start with OAL.

Take a empty case. Cut a vertical slit in the neck, barely into the shoulder, with a hacksaw. Barely seat the bullet you want to use in this case with your hands. Chamber this round in your rifle. Eject it with your hand covering the ejection port. Take it out and measure it from base to tip with your calipers. This will give you MAX OAL (over all length) for that bullet. In other words, this bullet is touching the rifling. Now you can experiment with different seating depths. I've found that my rifle usually gives best accuracy .030" away from the rifling. But you'll just have to experiment as to what shoots the best out of your gun. This method works very well and you don't have to waste money on a Stoney Point guage.

Good luck and we'll wait for all of your questions to start rolling in LOL.

March 3, 2007, 02:05 PM	#2
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	I've heard most people start out with The ABC's of reloading. I just did a bunch of reading here and when I had a question just asked these nice folks and had answer's in no time. Sounds like you have most of the stuff you'll need minus a scale. And components of course. Do you have case lube? You'll need that too. You probably won't be crimping. You can if you want. But most people don't with bolt action rifle cartridges. I would not have bought that Barnes book unless you plan on only using Barnes bullets. I buy these little pamplets called One Book/ One Cartridge. They have photocopies of all the bullet makers load data from each manufacturers book. They are only like $6. They also have powder manufacturers data so you can compare all the different data. Bullet seating will be determined by how close you want the bullet from the rifling. And that is determined by which OAL (over all length) is most accurate for your rifle. Here's a great way to determine where to start with OAL. Take a empty case. Cut a vertical slit in the neck, barely into the shoulder, with a hacksaw. Barely seat the bullet you want to use in this case with your hands. Chamber this round in your rifle. Eject it with your hand covering the ejection port. Take it out and measure it from base to tip with your calipers. This will give you MAX OAL (over all length) for that bullet. In other words, this bullet is touching the rifling. Now you can experiment with different seating depths. I've found that my rifle usually gives best accuracy .030" away from the rifling. But you'll just have to experiment as to what shoots the best out of your gun. This method works very well and you don't have to waste money on a Stoney Point guage. Good luck and we'll wait for all of your questions to start rolling in LOL.