SmallCaliberCentral

i am new to the forum, and the 204. i just got a ruger 1A, and am working up some loads for it. i have had extremely good luck with hornady vmax in the past, and decided to see if i could get a 40 grain to work okay in the new gun. i settled on a few varget and h335 loads, and discovered that the bullets were varying in length by about .019! the difference seems to be in the plastic tip, maybe, but i haven't ever run into this much variation before.

i sorted them into groups, and had 47 that were the same, so i loaded up some and fired several groups. it really liked one h335 load, and made several 1/2 inch groups, letting the barrel cool for a bit between shots. i am actually happy with that, out of a new number one, so i am assuming it is going to shoot 40 grainers fine. i have duplicated the load with the once-fired brass, in a few different c.o.a.l.s to try, but haven't had time to get back to the range yet.

i guess my main question is, whether the length variation is common in these projectiles, or if i just got a weird box. i guess if i find a happy c.o.a.l. with the known length, and then just trust the press to seat the bullets to the same place, it will probably work out, but it is a little bit aggravating to an admitted o.c.d. reloader/target shooter!

after reading a bunch of your posts, i am also wanting to try the 39gr sierra bk, but haven't bought any yet.

thank you in advance for any input!

ed

Not just something that happens with the 204 or other bullets.For every bullet to seat at the exact same place would require the seating stem of
your die to contact the bullet in the same place every time.A slight difference in the shape of the bullet will change that.In the case of the tip,remove the seating stem from your die and see if the tip of the bullet is making contact in the cavity,prior to the rim of the stem contacting the upper body of the bullet.You can drill out the stem to allow the tip to enter (enough room), without touching. Hope this helps.

the best i can tell, they are hitting the seater at the same place, and hitting the rifling at the same place. the difference seems to be in the tips, and actually don't even seem to be affecting accuracy. it is kinda strange to have c.o.a.l.s across a .020 range, but maybe it is no big deal.

at any rate, i found a box of sierra 39g blitz kings today. if they work as good in my number 1 as they seem to be working in everything else, i will just switch to them.

thanks!

i have found a difference in almost every bullet. i use my micro seater die to make them all the same length. using your calipers size each bullet and you will see a difference. Alot of them will be the same or close but many way off. again it is not just hornady . your seater seats off the ojive of the bullet not the tip, but varience in the tip length is what gives you the different over all length. just my take