SmallCaliberCentral

hi guys ,can i ask when your fine tuning your seating depth how much do you move at a time with the .204?i was thinking 5 tho at a time but is that too much?

.005 is what I used. Keep in mind that with a factory chamber you will not get anywhere close to the lands. The 204 was originally designed with a lot of "bullet jump". In most cases this serves the 204 very well. Also, as you get a little closer to the lands, make sure you check for over pressure. The closer to the lands, means pressure will build more quickly!

thankyou i thought 5 thou at a time would be ok.oacl from base to tip is 2.253 and it might be as good as it gets.not even going to try and touch the lands in the tikka as it would be longer than the mag .

Also I would suggest getting a bullet comparator. This tool will tell you how close you are getting to the lands. It will also give you a good idea of chamber deterioration over time. You will need to keep accurate records to track this info.

Your measurement to the tip of the bullet really does not give you the measurements you need. The bullet comparator measures from the ogive of the bullet. This is the measurement you need.

cheers for that again ,i have a comparator but looking on the favorite loads page i asumed folks were giving the complete length or i'm seating waaay to deep .

zx10mike wrote: have a comparator but looking on the favorite loads page i asumed folks were giving the complete length or i'm seating waaay to deep .

I am looking at my records now. My oal, with my comparator, with 32 gr vmax bullet is 1.925. OAL. With the 39gr SBK's on the other hand is 2.983 with my comparator. with the 39's I figure I have somewhere in the neighbor hood of about .162 to .165 bullet grip, which for me is enough to keep the bullet aligned in the bore. The bullet jump is still at around .045. I cannot use my magazine w/ these loads, but I single load anyway. In my Howa, this load will group around 3/8 in if I do my part. HTH

yes thanks all info helps.i'm treating my 204 to a swarovski z6i today and i'll see how it groups then.last time i had one of these scopes my groups tightened up a tad.there is just something about that illuminated dot that focuses my eye.once on its time to have a propper play with seating deapth.
best
mike

dropped my powder to find a second better accuracy load.i'm now running 23.5 of rl10x so tame but grouping consistently.