bullet seating ?

rebs · May 8, 2013, 04:14 AM

Loading for 223. The seating die seats the bullet by pressing the ogive, right ? If you seat different 55 gr bullets without changing the seating depth adjustment then they should all be the same amount of ogive off the lands, right ?
In other words if you seat a bullet to 2.230 OAL, it will be so many thousands off the lands. So when you seat another brand of 55 gr bullet without changing the seating die depth, then it should be the same amount of thousands off the lands but maybe a different OAL, right ?

PA-Joe · May 8, 2013, 06:49 AM

Wrong, each bullet and bullet maker uses a differently shaped bullet and therefore the ogives are not the same. You cannot set the seating die for one bullet and then generically use it for all others.

You should also remove the seating plug and test your bullets to see if it is pushing on the ogive or on the tip of the bullet. With the newer pointed and plastic tips many seating plugs are pushing down on the tip and not the ogive.

If you look at the tips of your bullets you will also notice how inconsistent they are the tip ends get damaged during shipping. You can also measure the length of the bullets and you will notice a lot on inconsitency there.

May 8, 2013, 04:14 AM	#1
rebs Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2012 Posts: 3,881	bullet seating ? Loading for 223. The seating die seats the bullet by pressing the ogive, right ? If you seat different 55 gr bullets without changing the seating depth adjustment then they should all be the same amount of ogive off the lands, right ? In other words if you seat a bullet to 2.230 OAL, it will be so many thousands off the lands. So when you seat another brand of 55 gr bullet without changing the seating die depth, then it should be the same amount of thousands off the lands but maybe a different OAL, right ?

May 8, 2013, 06:49 AM	#2
PA-Joe Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2010 Location: NEPA Posts: 909	Wrong, each bullet and bullet maker uses a differently shaped bullet and therefore the ogives are not the same. You cannot set the seating die for one bullet and then generically use it for all others. You should also remove the seating plug and test your bullets to see if it is pushing on the ogive or on the tip of the bullet. With the newer pointed and plastic tips many seating plugs are pushing down on the tip and not the ogive. If you look at the tips of your bullets you will also notice how inconsistent they are the tip ends get damaged during shipping. You can also measure the length of the bullets and you will notice a lot on inconsitency there.