Jerry Sharrett
1) I use a Wilson arbor press die customized to my 40 degree PPC.
2) I just back off 0.03" or so and then with the firing pin out start seating till I get the impression I want on the bullet nose. I go for a slight whisker mark by ALL lands.
3) Some. Especially on V133. On 8208 and IMR4198 not much. Too much tension does cause a bunch of runout. I seat with an arbor press and if the tension does not feel the same on all the cases in that batch I scrap that brass.
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Jackie Schmidt
1) I use a Redding Seating Die that I have modified by making my own sliding
sleeve assembly that I reamed with my chamber reamer. I like the Redding because of its ease of adjustment. Many shooters have the misconception that since you use it in a press, that it is not as precision as a hand die. But if you examine the sliding sleeve assembly of a Redding Die, you will notice that it is nothing more than its own chamber die. That micrometer knob on top is nothing more than a precision stop.
When using the Redding, always make sure that the shell holder contacts the bottom of the die firmly, so you are relying on the die to establish the critical depth, rather than the linkage of the press. In fact, all the press does is furnish the horsepower to insert the case and remove it.
2) I get the rough seating depth by using my chamber "thingy" that is reamed with my reamer. I then seat a bullet that has been polished with never dull. I examine the marks with a 5x loop. With the bullet and barrels I shoot now, (Bruno OO Boatail and .237 4-groove Krieger), I want the marks to be about twice as long as they are wide. Once this is established, I measure a set point on the ogive to the base, using my own home made tool, (like the factory ones), and dial calipers. Once I establish this measurement I rarely change it. Since I set my barrels back about .020 about every 300 rounds or so, the marks always stay pretty fresh.
3) I never change neck tension. The die I have does not even have a bushing. It is a Redding full length die that I bored the neck portion out to .265, to use with my .269 neck. This die bumps the shoulder, full length sizes the case body, sizes the neck, and decaps the primer in one stroke. One other modification I did was to turn the bottom of the die to about 1/16 inch wall thickness for 1/4 inch of length. I then pressed a steel ring over this to tighten it up. This allowed me to then polish it out to size the base of my cases exactly the way I want. I ended up with a die that is case hardened and does a good job of full length sizing. As to how important neck tension is, I believe you need to insure that you have enough for the combination you are shooting, and that it be consistent from case to case. But changing neck tension as a tuning tool, in my opinion, is way over rated. If a combination is that finicky, you might get it to shoot a while, but I doubt it will stay there. As you might guess, I tune with the powder charge, and of course, my tuners. If it is of any note, I doubt I changed my powder weight more than .2 grn one way or the other for the entire last season of shooting. But since, as of right now, I will not be able to change my tuner setting at the line, I might have to re-think my tactics.
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Bill Gammon
1) I use a Wilson seat die in stainless with the calibrated top. When in my trailer I use an arbor press to seat the bullets. Why? The stainless is basically moisture proof, the top is calibrated so if I am seating at 2.089 and want to extend or draw back in the seating depth by .010 it is simple. I know roughly how many marks it takes to reach the +.010 or -.010. You still have to double check with a good set of calibrators but so far it has been right on.
2) I have tried the various gadgets for determining seating depth over the years and I still keeping coming back to the steel wool and a Davidson seating checker. I don't use the base just the nose piece. Go around the bullet with the steel wool, insert the primerless and powderless case, (that is very important, EH!) and look for the scratch mark on the bullet, which is easy to see. Sure it might take a few bullets, 4 or 5 to get the exact touching depth but when you are sitting there with 2000 bullets, what's 4 or 5? Using your trusty calibers, measure the base to ogive with your seating checker. Say it measures 2.089 from the base to where the lands touch. Guess what? 2.099 puts you .010 into the lands and 2.069 puts you off the lands by .030 how much more accurate can you get then that. Changing bullets same deal. I keep very good records on every shot that goes through the barrel along with all of the measurements.
3) Well I am going to get into trouble on this one! #1 I have a hard time believing that using a .259 button is better then a .258, or visa versa. Think about this for a second, when you touch that trigger you unleash 65,000 lbs to the square inch of pressure inside that pc of brass. The neck of that brass measure roughly .0085 per side. I don't believe for one second that kind of pressure gives a rats ass on a pc of .0085 brass whether it was sized with a .259 button or what ever. In my opinion the only time it would make a difference is if you were jamming the bullet into the lands and if you were, you would want to use a .009 with a .258 button, even then?? Consistent tension case to case? Again you are talking 65,000 lbs pushing against a pc of brass .0085 thick
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Ron Hoehn
1) I believe the best way to get the straightest loaded round is with a "straight-line bullet seater" and an arbor press. It can be a Wilson steel die, a Wilson Stainless steel die with a micrometer top, or one of JLC's "Top-of-the-line" Stainless dies or one from Sinclair, with the micrometer top. The only thing wrong with all these dies is that they have to be made large enough to accept the largest cases out there, so the only thing better, in my opinion is a custom seater, made with the reamer used to chamber the barrel, and one that uses a adjustable micrometer on the top as a plunger, (easy to adjust).
2) No need for any fancy tools here, and in fact, all they can do is give you some bad information. It is so simple to load a "Dummy" round, lightly polish the bullet with 0000 steel wool, measure the over-all-length, and chamber it in the rifle. ) (Remember: Dummy round has no primer or powder in the case). Do this with light neck tension, set the bullet out "long" on purpose, and let the rifling push the bullet back into the case. Do this 4-5 time so you can eliminate any "false readings". Measure the OAL after each time, and when you feel good about the measurement you have, you can put the round in your seater, loosen the adjusting screw that holds the plunger or drift assembly, and gently turn the plunger down until you feel it touch your loaded round. Now you need to seat it about .006" deeper to start, and then you can "play" with different seating depths to see what your rifle likes. (A good way to set up a non-micrometer top seater is to use shims between the plunger and the base. It is very easy to add and subtract shims to change seating depths without loosing your original setting.) * Keep notes, as each different bullet will have a different "jamb" length, and even bullets from the same supplier may vary from lot - to - lot. Another point to remember is that the amount of bullet engagement is always changing as the barrel wears! You will want to check the amount of engagement at least every 200-300 rounds.
3) Neck tension is very important, not so much in how much or how little, but in the uniformity from round to round. When you are seating your bullet, each round should feel the same. You can try different bushings to get different seating pressures, and let the rifle "dictate" what it likes best. Different neck tension is a very subtle way of tuning a rifle. Again, there is no "Best" neck tension, just the best for that barrel / rifle / bullet combination.
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Bart Sauter
1) Carstensen bullet seater (not threaded). I like it because of the adjustable clicks. It makes changing seating depth quick and easy.
2) I always start by determining the “Jam Length”. This is done by seating a bullet long in the case and letting the rifle lands push it back when the bolt is closed (empty case of course). I use a standard set of 6 inch calibers with a Davidson attachment to measure off of the ogive. I always start at Jam and work the seating depth backwards when tuning or testing a new barrel. If I try a new bullet I start all over and determine what the jam is for that bullet and start working backwards.
3) Consistent neck tension is very important. As for how much neck tension (given that you have consistent neck tension) I consider this to be the last step in tweaking/tuning a load. The order of importance being seating depth, powder charge, and then neck tension. The reasoning is I can give you seating depth that no matter what powder charge or neck tension your gun won’t shoot. My normal setup is 257 bushing with a 262 neck with cases turning to .085.
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Gary Ocock
1) I use a custom die that I made 25 years ago. At that time I was learning how to use a lathe and a mill from a friend and so I looked for any Br projects that would serve two purposes. To continue to learn how to use the machines and at the same time get a custom product that I made and use. I guess I was lucky in that this seating die is the same one I use today and it will load a 6ppc round with usually less than .001 of run out. Run out is measured by holding the base of the case on roller bearings and the tip of the bullet in an arbor then putting a .0001 dial indicator somewhere on the bullet usually around the neck area. You then spin the loaded round and let the indicator show the loaded run out. The smaller the better.
2) I only shoot the 6ppc, I shoot my own bullets and I chamber my own barrels with known reamers. I do however always check my seating depth on a new barrel. I use about .001 on neck tension. To check a new barrel I will size my case, seat the bullet by hand or just start the bullet into the case with my seating die and then chamber the round (almost always a dummy round, no primer or powder) and let the chamber push the bullet into the case. I then use what is commonly called an ogive checker, (a piece of old barrel that has a beveled hole for the bullet to slide into) attached to a caliper to measure the jammed bullet on this case. Measurement is from someplace on the bullet to the base of the case. This measurement is just a number, it has no relationship to anything it's just a reference number. This number is what is commonly called the jam. This number is where my chamber will push the bullet back into the case and the bullet is jammed into the lands with about .001 of neck tension. If I were to change bullets I would do the same as above. I will use shim stock on my seating die about .050 in increments of .010 or 5 shims to give me this jam measurement. If I want to seat the bullet a bit deeper into the case and thus change the pressure I simply remove some shim and shoot for group, I do this quite frequently to test for it's effect on my groups.
3) First I must say that I almost always shoot boattail bullets (my own) I've been shooting them for over 30 years. I THINK that neck tension isn't as important with a BT as with a flat base bullet. I almost always set my necks on my brass so that I have between .0025 and .003 of total air space around the loaded round in the neck area. My chambers are .262 and my loaded round is about .259+. I use a button in my size die that will give me about .001 of neck tension when the case is sized. I also almost never clean the inside of my necks with anything. It seems that as I shoot the brass the neck tension becomes even more uniform as a result of not neck cleaning. I think the burnt powder acts as a slight lubricant and thus the tension to seat the bullet seems to be very uniform as I shoot the brass. I usually use 15/20 cases per weekend (2 Gun) and after the match relegate that brass as practice stuff. Bottom line I haven't found much difference with neck tension with my setup and my bullet in my chambers. There are way to many other things for me to worry about.
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