Hunting Forum

I am loading Barns 130 garain Thriple-Shock x-bullets, the chart calles out for the length of the shell and bullet to be 3.300 and when

I put a bullet in an empty shell and push the bolt down it fits at 3.36 at the entry of the barrel.

Some place I remember reading that its better to have the bullet close to where the bullet enters the barrel is this correct?  I know you have to experiment with each step of loading a shell, to see where your best group is.

I will load some at the recommended lenght but can i go to just the entry of the barrel and maybe get better groups?



IMR 4350 min 53 grains and Max 56 grains.   will load seaveral of each to see where the better group is.  The most accurate loade is using H 4350, I have the IMR and don't want to buy the H 4350.

I havent' loaded anything yet with powder, I am seating the bullet with out the primer or powder now to set my die. 

I am using a Browning A bolt with the boss barrel.  

 

 

 

I've read but have no personal experience that Barnes bullets do better with a fair amount of 'jump'. Regular bullets often do better when seated close. But each gun is law unto itself. I'd start with the Barnes recommended length and go from there.

Dale

Barnes recommends .05 off the lands. I have loaded a bunch of Barns bullets and have had very good results seating the off the lands but your rifle will tell you what it likes.

With the boss system I have been told you load to pressure or speed desired and do final tuning with the boss. As you can tell I do not have or used a boss system.

I have heard that you can improve groups by loading the bullet just off the lands. You need to be careful not to let the bullet be in contact with the lands for "hotter" loads as this can cause pressure increases that could be significant. In my personal experience, I have not noticed a change in accuracy by loading close to the lands or loading to the recommended OCL. One thing to keep in mind is that if you load out to near the lands the rounds may not fit in the magazine of your gun. For my .270 win if I load just off the lands it becomes a single shot rifle as the cartridge is to long for the guns magazine. One other thing, I am not sure how you check to see if you are off the lands or not for a given bullet but if you do not have a fancy gauge to take the measurement then you need another way to see where the lands are. I do not think you should assume that closing the bolt on an empty case with a bullet in the end will give you the correct answer. Brass is springy and you may still be in contact with the lands even if you set your die to seat the bullet a bid deeper. Because I do not have a fancy guage is take a black magic marker and rub it on the ogee of the bullet after seating it into an empty case. Then I chamber the round and eject it. Look for land marks on the bullet. Then seat it just a bit further and repeat until you do not see land marks anymore or just see very faint marks. Then you know where the bullet is just off or at the lands. From there you can adjust to the amount of bullet jump that you want. Remember if this is a hunting rifle make sure you can load the magazine for the OCL you end up with.

For me, messing around with bullet seating depth is just another excuse to spend more time shooting, so if for no other reason, it is worth messing around with even though I have not seen any difference in groups for my hunting rifles.

jack

I have loaded Barnes for my .300 win mag that I shot with my Browning A Bolt with the BOSS on the end. Since right now I am using this gun for whitetail and pigs I felt that the extra $ for theBarns was not worth the difference. I am reloading Nosler Ballistic Tipsand they work fine. When I was loading the Barns I was keepin the total length correct. Was reloading somewhere between min and maxium with imr 4350.
As far as the BOSS goes. Get aa cronograph and speed your reloads. Then match the bullet speed with a factory bullet speed and start there.
Hope this helps
Joe

I have loaded Barnes for my .300 win mag that I shot with my Browning A Bolt with the BOSS on the end. Since right now I am using this gun for whitetail and pigs I felt that the extra $ for theBarns was not worth the difference. I am reloading Nosler Ballistic Tipsand they work fine. When I was loading the Barns I was keepin the total length correct. Was reloading somewhere between min and maxium with imr 4350.
As far as the BOSS goes. Get aa cronograph and speed your reloads. Then match the bullet speed with a factory bullet speed and start there.
Hope this helps
Joe

JB: You answered your own question.  The way you described how to adjust to the proper seating depth is exactly the way I do it.  And from what I've read.  Is the correct way to do it.  I usually do the saame thing with a magic marker. You don't want the bullet to actually make contact with the rifling. You want a slight gap.  For the reason already mentioned.  The slight jump from the case to the rifling will be just enough that you won't have to worry about excessive pressure.  Where as.  If your up against the rifling.  There is a potential for excessive pressure build up before the bullet actually starts down the bore.