While I am new to reloading, I have been doing a ton of research. I do not want an explosion near my face to go wrong. I am already ugly enough. Anyways, I was loading up some 87gr vmax in the 6 arc for some testing before I take it to chase song dogs. Hornady calls for an overall length of 2.14”. Well, at well below max loadings, I realized I was loading them at 2.114”. Whoops. Am I gonna die? Should I pull them or is this not enough to worry about? Thanks for any advice given.
- Thread starter morning would
- Start date
This is 0.026" difference, correct? Twenty-six thousandths? You should be perfectly fine. The book COAL is something most experienced reloaders ignore, esp for precision shooting; we prefer to base our COAL off of where the lands are in the barrel. This typically results in longer overall length; the main concern when going too short in overall length is powder compression, so if you stuff the bullet too deep you end up using up powder volume and have to reduce charge to avoid pressure signs. This then results in typically lower muzzle velocity. However, 0.026" deeper is fairly negligible as far as powder room goes, unless you're at the very edge of pressure already.
Also, we typically measure at the ogive, using a bullet comparator, resulting in a measurement that is called "cartridge base to ogive" or CBTO. This measurement tends to be more repeatable than measuring off the bullet tip (meplat), since those can be deformed enough from the factory to throw off measurements by even 0.010".
Also, I'd refer to this as "COAL too short" instead of "seating depth," since that's the actual number you're measuring that's too small. A minor thing, but since you're new to it, figured I'd mention it.
Welcome to reloading! The Hide can be pretty savage when asking for advice, don't get discouraged.
Also, we typically measure at the ogive, using a bullet comparator, resulting in a measurement that is called "cartridge base to ogive" or CBTO. This measurement tends to be more repeatable than measuring off the bullet tip (meplat), since those can be deformed enough from the factory to throw off measurements by even 0.010".
Also, I'd refer to this as "COAL too short" instead of "seating depth," since that's the actual number you're measuring that's too small. A minor thing, but since you're new to it, figured I'd mention it.
Welcome to reloading! The Hide can be pretty savage when asking for advice, don't get discouraged.
Bullet's oal (Over All Length) can easily vary by .010 due to imperfections in the meplat. So, if there might be an issue of seating too deep, this needs to be kept in mind as you some of the bullets could be even deeper than expected.
More detail about your load is needed for anyone to have some idea if there might be a problem; like what powder you're using and how much, even what brand of brass can be helpful.
The big issue here is how much powder is in the case. If you're loading your cases to the minimum starting point that's listed for the powder, you certainly shouldn't have a problem with being .026" shorter that standard COAL. But if you're loading at the max recommended, then you very well could be compressing the load, which would increase pressure. Then if you're out shooting in ambient temperatures that are high, that could add additional pressures from your load. If you've been testing your loads and working up your powder in increments and have not seen any pressure signs, then you should be just fine, but still may need to pay attention to the temperature issue and watch out for any pressure signs. These are just some thoughts, which are absent of more information that's important about your loads.
You won't blow your face off with that load concerning your COAL.
You should get a kinetic bullet puller, you can give it a whack or to and run it through the seating die again at the right height
