Bullets that don't care about seating depth

[megastink]

I think it would also be good to add what you are doing with the rifle. If you target shooting I would also abscess to agree Bergers would be my choice. They take some time to get depth right but it's good to practice anyway.

Now if your hunting I would lean heavily towards the hammers. One is hard to beat for targets and does work on game for sure. The hammers is fantastic on game and will work for targets.

Hunting deer/bear out to 500 yards.

 

[snox801]

Hunting deer/bear out to 500 yards.

Bth those critters are pretty easy tough bullet is not needed. But at those distances hammers are still my go to. They are fast and at that distance they are flat. Add tat with mother on game performance being about as good as you can get it's hard to beat for your needs. Plus the ease of load work is always a bonus

 

[Rosebud]

That's what I get for replying while driving lol...I'll fix it

So you are the guy that was running off the road in front of me today!

 

[snox801]

That's what I get for replying while driving lol...I'll fix it

Don't worry happens to the best of us.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

I have heard, if it won't shoot a Sierra Game King...it needs a new barrel.

That said, I had very good luck in a few 270s with 130 and 150 Game Kings.

150 Bergers did well close to the lands as well.

 

[Seabeeken]

I load hammers and Barnes in 8 cartridges and never had one yet be sensitive to seating depth. I seat them .050 off and get .5" or better with a couple under .1

 

[VinceMule]

I've experienced the least sensitivity with hammer bullets, Nosler ballistic tips, and flat base hornady interlocks (and any flat base cup and core will be pretty easy to work with, they're underrated nowadays)

This speaks volumes!

In an old Ruger 270 I have, the 110g Barnes TTSX loaded with 58g of Win 760, Rem 9 1/2 or 57.5g of R#17 with a fed 215 does not care much about jump as long as it is over .050, amazing accuracy at 300 yards for a boat paddle stock gun. 110g sierra with the same bullet is also very, very accurate, and they shoot holes through deer when they are lung shots.

 

[xsn10s]

I'm a new reloader. I am working on load development for my 270 Win using 130gr Berger VLD hunting pills. I've read, and in fact Berger states, that they can be sensitive to seating depth. I also read that some bullets, like Lapua Scenars, aren't sensitive to seating depth. I was hoping some people on here can give some real world analysis on which bullets are picky and which ones aren't. I'm not downplaying the importance of seating depth, but would rather not have to chase it at the range. I appreciate all of the input in advance.

Like previously posted the tangent ogive bullets are more forgiving than secant ogive bullets. But I've gotten VLDs and ELDM's (secant) to shoot well without chasing the lands. So I seat them to magazine length and do my load development for hunting rounds. Roughly around 3/8" to 1/2" at best. Which I felt was fine for what I wanted to to with them. Accuracy is more what the barrel likes.

 

[Phil Rizzo]

With your bullet of choice, take a mid power charge and 10 or so loads at different seating depths.
move 5 thou deeper per shot, and I'm certain you will see a pattern of expanding and shrinking within that 10 shot range. When you want to tune it based on your results, move 2-3 thou at a time.

 

[Shadow6arc]

In my experience, sensitivity to seating depth is 80% barrel, 20% bullet. some bullets are better than others, but a good barrel will generally shoot almost everything well.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Nosler Accubonds aren't sensitive to seating depth at all and are very accurate, ABLR are highly sensitive to seating depth, however, they will shoot faster than their equivalent weight Accubond. Have seen this in several calibres now, right up to 338 and 375, 300gr in both cals.

Cheers.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I'm a new reloader. I am working on load development for my 270 Win using 130gr Berger VLD hunting pills. I've read, and in fact Berger states, that they can be sensitive to seating depth. I also read that some bullets, like Lapua Scenars, aren't sensitive to seating depth. I was hoping some people on here can give some real world analysis on which bullets are picky and which ones aren't. I'm not downplaying the importance of seating depth, but would rather not have to chase it at the range. I appreciate all of the input in advance.

Haaa!
The Bullet may not be sensitive to seating depth, but the chamber and rifling will be.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I've experienced the least sensitivity with hammer bullets, Nosler ballistic tips, and flat base hornady interlocks (and any flat base cup and core will be pretty easy to work with, they're underrated nowadays)

this^^^... plus Sierra Pro hunter bullets. I dumped a mule deer at an honest 1/2 mile with a 140 Pro Hunter from a 7rum once.

 

[Mark37082]

I still consider myself an amateur reloader. I have just a few years experience at this point. I've read reloading manuals cover to cover and learned a lot from the experienced reloaders here. However, once you have basics down to make sure you are being safe, it boils down to a bit of experimentation and closely observing your results. Like many have said this is not a one size fits all situation. I have found that seating depth changes have really not made clear measurable differences in accuracy in some of my rifle and bullet combinations. I generally stay in the 20 to 30 thousands off of the lands. The secant ogive bullets have generally performed well here for me. I let the rifle tell me what bullet it prefers. I don't buy several hundred bullets of a particular style and weight until the rifle tells me it likes them. With all this stated, once the rifle says it likes a particular bullet, I will experiment with other tweaks like varying seating depths to see if I can squeeze a bit more consistency in accuracy.