What a difference in seating

D

Dano4734

New member
Just set my hardcast a hair deeper. Wow did accuracy improve amazing. Reloading is indeed a science. I had my previous loads well within spec. Same with this but it was a big difference using hardcast in accuracy. Oh I also switched to Winchester primers from cci did that do it instead?
 
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More likely the primer change than the OAL. Theory is that if you change any one component you should work up the load again.
 
best to just change 1 thing at a time when experimenting as you have found out and yes a small change in seating depth can affect accuracy, so can a change in primers. If you have a sleeve of Winchester primers load about five or ten loads with the new seating depth. I sure as heck would not start completely over every time I change one thing. However I do only change one thing at a time.

I like to pick a safe middle of the road powder and charge the do a seating depth test first, pick the best depth and do a powder charge workup, then fine tune primers, move seating depth in and out etc

a example of how .015 seating depth change can make a ho hum load into a holy crap look at that load

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primer changes can cause major changes also

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I'm glad the OP achieved some success, but I can't comment. I have no clue what cartridge or gun or bullet weight or type or powder or how much or even what primer (large or small, pistol or rifle, standard or magnum) the OP is talking about. It is best to lay these things out as the baseline information about a load so the thread can stand on its own like any other published story.
 
Uncle nick 45-70 405 penn hardcast now using imr4198 38.3 grains. Starline brass Winchester large rifle primers. Great hunting load I think not heavy just right for my gun. Couple weeks ago I switched my powder to imr4198. It seems to work better than the h322 I was using before. More consistent for me
 
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True enough Uncle. Bullets are a good example. Certain bullets are more sensitive than others when it comes to seating depths. Primers effectiveness can vary on powder type, brand, and case fill.

I consider reloading 1/4 science, 1/4 art, 1/4 voodoo, and 1/4 pure luck
 
I am just playing. I found a reloading shop going out of business 40 percent off on all powder. I bought five bottles of all the good stuff. What a deal. Plus some 06 brass and nosler 180 accubond 20 bucks for the nosler yay
 
Sounds like you got quite a deal. Thank you for sharing the rest of the information.

I've seen lead bullets in pistol also shoot much tighter when actually jamming the lands by a couple of hundredths, but I don't know if your crimp will have an appropriate location if you do that, or if the added length will affect feeding. I have not used that particular bullet in my Marlin. I've also found mine prefers 0.460" bullets, but YMMV.
 
Penn has a really nice crimp line on their hardcast. I love that lee factory crimp you guys recommend. It has made a world of difference in my shooting. Thank you uncle you always help me
 
I don't know if I would call reloading a science...a science is predictable , reloading is more black art. With all the many different variables that could be, hitting on that one most perfect load is anything but predictable.

In load development only change one thing at at time ! Now you don't know what caused the improvement , was it seating depth or primer brand....could be one , could be the other ...could be both. Could be the way you held your mouth when you reloaded this batch or the phase of the moon....it ain't no science .
What's even stranger it the most accurate load in your gun may not group for beans in mine.
Looking for that perfect load does give you something to shoot for !
Gary
 
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