.270 Win. seating depth

[Virginia Jim]

Loading 130 gr. Nosler Ballistic tips. Using a dummy round, I found that the bullet contacts the rifling at an overall length of 3.545”. Seating the bullet another .020”, there is only approximately .200” of the bullet inside the case neck. Is this enough?
I have a Lee factory crimp die that I’ve never used. Could I impart a slight crimp to ensure enough tension on the bullet?
Cases are trimmed to the specified length.

 

[horsey300]

Nosler seated at 3.2, I'd start there, no reason to chase the lands partner. And I NEVER crimp.

 

[41 Mag]

When I run across an issue like that, I usually pick whatever factory load that shoots the best and use the OAL from it. That gov me a starting point and usually during my work up I'll hit a sweet spot on the low end and another right at the top end depending on the powders. I prefer hitting something good about 3/4's the most but I'll always take accuracy over velocity.

 

[Blue68f100]

I generally use the OAL recommended by the load data. Provided it does not put me into the lands. I always check for MAX OAL with every bullet mfg/size/profile before doing any loading. This way I know how much wiggle room I have it I need to do some tweaking.

 

[Grumulkin]

If the chamber and throat are well aligned with the barrel, a bit of bullet jump won't hurt much. Having the bullet right at the and, compensates for discrepancies in chamber, throat and barrel alignment. Reloading doctrine is that the bullet should be seated at least a caliber length inside the case but you can fudge on that a little. The difference between 0.20 and 0.27 isn't much and I might try it as I have with some 308 Winchester loads which worked fine.

If the bullets don't move under recoil, there is no need to crimp them. If they do move, then the Lee Factory Crimp Die would likely solve your problem.

 

[horsey300]

If the chamber and throat are well aligned with the barrel, a bit of bullet jump won't hurt much. Having the bullet right at the and, compensates for discrepancies in chamber, throat and barrel alignment. Reloading doctrine is that the bullet should be seated at least a caliber length inside the case but you can fudge on that a little. The difference between 0.20 and 0.27 isn't much and I might try it as I have with some 308 Winchester loads which worked fine.

If the bullets don't move under recoil, there is no need to crimp them. If they do move, then the Lee Factory Crimp Die would likely solve your problem.

+1 if the bullets are moving with recoil we might also revisit the topic of proper neck tension as well.....

 

[Tony k]

A reloader friend who shoots much better than I recommends having at least the bullet diameter in the neck. I don't know how much truth there is to it.

 

[Virginia Jim]

Thanks. I opened a new box of Noslers and there was a note from “the lab” that recommends seating .10” to .05” from contact with rifling. This should give me more than adequate bullet-to-case neck interface.

 

[Sunray]

SAAMI max OAL is 3.340". 3.030" is minimum. Measured from the point bit to the flat bit. No ogives involved. Unless you have already worked up the load, you can forget the off-the-lands stuff altogether. It's just a 100% trial and error, load tweaking technique that's done(or not) after you've worked up a load. Save you a lot of mucking about.

 

[Bfh_auto]

A reloader friend who shoots much better than I recommends having at least the bullet diameter in the neck. I don't know how much truth there is to it.

I found this when I was loading 90 gr Sierra in 270. Kept dropping 1 of 5 till my Dad told me to try that.