In
my opinion, if you total all reloading factors: neck sizing, primer pocket fiddling,
powder weight, case weighing, neck turning and all the other excessive compulsive traits
pursued by some handloaders, they just might be as beneficial as paying attention to
bullet seating depth. Put another way, you can do all those, almost whimsical, things done
by benchrest shooters, while ignoring the bullet’s relationship to the rifling and
still shoot improved-cylinder groups. I say almost whimsical because these fine details do
work in the microscopic world of the benchrest competitor, a place where they use
micrometers to measure groups. The rest of us, hunters and even varminters, should spend
most of our worry-time on seating depth.
My
first lesson about seating depth was both subtle and of long duration. I bought my first
real varmint rifle in 1964. It was a Remington Varmint Special, .22-250 Remington. At the
time and for many years after, my knowledge of handloading was minimal at best. Bulk
powder (in paper bags from Hodgdon) was the rule and Hornady 55-grain softpoints were the
bullet of choice. The best primers, like the powder, were the ones I could get a “deal”
on. The Hornady bullets were best because they were accurate and because they killed
coyotes more surely than anything I tried. What was important was the rifle hit almost
anything I fired at; range was not a problem at least as long as it was under 500 yards.
I
did not spend a lot of time at the bench shooting groups. When I missed more than twice in
a row, it was time to check the zero, and more often than not, the wood stock would have
shifted a bit. The rifle always shot .5- to .75-inch groups. Then, one day it would not
quite make an inch. I cleaned the barrel. It must have needed it because I could not
remember the last time I scrubbed it, but the groups did not change. Someone told me that
it mattered if the bullets were close to the lands and that my barrel might have worn in
the last few thousand shots. Okay, one full turn out on the seating stem and voila, .5
inch again!
From
time to time over the next 30 years the disease would appear and the same turn on the stem
would cure it. Finally, one more turn on the stem was too many; the bullet stayed in the
seating die. Unscrewing the barrel revealed the ugly truth - it was smooth for about 9
inches.
Anyway,
somewhere along that path, I fully realized that getting the bullets in the right
relationship with the lands often controlled accuracy. My most recent encounter with
super-accurate rifles has not been an
exception. These are long-range, fast-twist .22-6mm improves using 80-grain Sierra bullets. When
the bullets are seated off the lands, accuracy is ordinary. When they touch, it is very
good, and when they fit at .030 inch crush . . . how about 2 to 3 inches at 800 yards!
The bottom line is some rifles like to hug
bullets, others like some room and some are in between. There is a wonderful tool that
makes the process mechanical and scientific, instead of cut and try. A Stoney Point OAL
Gauge allows you to use a case and bullet to measure the relationship between seating
depth and that individual bullet and throat. The measuring part of the tool makes
identical measurements on loaded rounds, allowing you to precisely compare the engagement
of the load with a known relationship between bullet and throat. With this you can
determine what a rifle likes, measure it
to the thousandth of an inch and repeat it at will. The little tool is simply a necessity
for the rifleman who reloads, especially if he wants small groups and minimal hassle. The
OAL gauge is available from Stoney Point Products, 1219
N. Front Street, New Ulm MN 56073-0234; or you can visit its web site
at www.stoneypoint.com.
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