SmallCaliberCentral

Hey guys, for Christmas I got pretty much everything I need to reload. I finally got it all set up and am to the point to start throwing powder and seating bullets. So I set my redding competition die to seat 2.25 (which is fantacstic die), then I remembered to set up a dummy round to find a more optimum seating depth. I have come to the conclusion that I cant touch the lands and the bullet be in the round. So my question is, should I just not worry about seating depth until I have a load worked up I like? Should I seat all to 2.25 because I can find more info on that seating depth than any other? and what is a "safe" amount of the bullet in the case? or rather max OAL may be a better term. Rifle is a Savage 12 VLP

Thanks

Unless you want to buy or make a device to check the seating depth where you ogive hits the lands, I'd just advise you to go with 2.25" or 2.26" and begin your load workup, always starting well below the maximum load. When you get a load or loads that seem to be up to your accuracy standards, you can start playing with seating depth a little more.

You may want to do a "Search" on this Board and use "Seating Depth" as the search string and do some reading for more advice.

Thanks Silverfox, I have done the search, and I think I will go with your suggestions.
Still anyone feel free to add.

I believe you'll find that with one bullet diameter seated into the case yo still won't be near the lands.Most factory 204r chambers are throated long,while factory ammo is seated 2.250+/- OAL.Never=the-less,it shoots well,and they put a very tight crimp on the bullet.I like my bullets seated no deeper than the neck shoulder junction,then I go out from there.My final OAL are around 2.350,w/.002-.003 tension.

I am shooting a ar 15 in 204. I load to max coal of 2.260 . I have found in my other factory bolt actions that if i load to about .002 off the lands my gun becomes a single shot as the amo no longer fits the mag! This is the case with my rem 700 bdl in 22-250 My 308 has had the action trued and I am able to load just off the lands and still use mag. It depends on the gun but most factory guns have allot of unnesasary throat depth to keep pressures down due to liability. VarmitAl.com has a prettu good idea for a gauge you can make to check your distance to the lands in comparison to your ammo. Have fun read read read, and keeo it safe!

I have to agree with previous posters. Normally you want one bullet diameter in the case, In other words .200 bullet in the case for a 204 or any .20 cal. rifle. You can vary this measurement to a point. as stated, as you seat closer to the lands, you will reach a point where the loaded rounds won't fit in the magazine. This is a personal choice, is the rifle for packing in the field where you may need a 2nd or 3rd shot quickly, or a bench rifle where this is not a problem.
Personally, my Howa in 204 is way heavy for a pack around rifle, so I feed one round at a time, and I seat the 39gr SBK's quite long. I cannot load rounds into the mag because of the length. This is OK for my shooting, which is off a bench, when shooting at skippy.
Just keep in mind that you need enough bullet in the case to keep the bullet centered, and keep tension on the bullet.

Hi Jake,

Nope, haven't found a bullet yet that will seat and touch the lands in my Mod 12 FCV. Long throat for sure.
As for seating depth, I started with factory depth and worked up a powder/primer combo that gave me the tightest groups. Then I tweaked the seating in both directions until I found a sweet spot. That turned out to be .063 back from the lands using a 40 gr VMax. My wife can hit a cigarette filter on end at a 100 yards with it, now. (I'm not that good, so I'll stick to dimes. ).

I don't have the same rifle, but I seat my bullets for function and accuracy....Both my AR and CZ restrict my cartridge length to the magazine for feeding...I usually will seat my bullets a few thousandths below my magazine length and then tweak them for accuracy....

As stated above, most factory chambers provide pretty long jumps to the lands and for some reason it works..