Seating depth discovery....and question

[javman]

Looks like 2 different bullets. They could both be seated the same distance from the lands. Bottom pic looks like a berger vld upper pic more like a sierra match king.

I'm with you on that.

 

[Bullmark]

Agree - a COAL measurment is only useful for magazine lengths - you need to go off the ogvie to get a CBTO measurment. If they are the same, all si good.

Measurement to the ogive is different by the same amount as the OAL. I'll take a pic or two and you can see. I really think I simply got a box of their standard spec 168's w/Nosler brass. Unless u request a specific seating depth they seat them according to some sort of standard...so when I made an order of 6-7 boxes, they mistakenly threw in one box of their standard spec rounds.
Wouldn't it be funny, now that the barrel is broken In, if the the standard seating loads shot better than the ones we specified??
I really should have shot the rifle more before settling on a recipe....it shot better and better as the round count increased. Still only have 55-60 down the tube. I've been a diehard bow Hunter my entire adult life and am not very knowledgeable when it comes to long range and precision rifles and shooting. I have learned a lot in the past year or so, because of this group.

 

[PApa Black]

IF, they seated measuring off the ogive and not the tip there can be a little fluctuation in COAL.

I use the CBTO measurement for seating depth. The COAL can vary quite a bit.

 

[antelopedundee]

Measurement to the ogive is different by the same amount as the OAL. I'll take a pic or two and you can see. I really think I simply got a box of their standard spec 168's w/Nosler brass. Unless u request a specific seating depth they seat them according to some sort of standard...so when I made an order of 6-7 boxes, they mistakenly threw in one box of their standard spec rounds.
Wouldn't it be funny, now that the barrel is broken In, if the the standard seating loads shot better than the ones we specified??
I really should have shot the rifle more before settling on a recipe....it shot better and better as the round count increased. Still only have 55-60 down the tube. I've been a diehard bow Hunter my entire adult life and am not very knowledgeable when it comes to long range and precision rifles and shooting. I have learned a lot in the past year or so, because of this group.

They likely seat to a standard COAL because they have to fit in a magazine. Do all of the boxes have the same markings on them? The bullet in the top pic appears to have more straight shank than the one in the second pic.

 

[Bullmark]

It's the same bullet....of course the shank is going to look longer b/c there's more of it showing. I took pics side by side. The shorter seated bullet is not as shiny and new looking, they were stored in a leather ammo pouch inside my pack...so they aged a bit. I never thought I would get so many comments....I appreciate everyone's feedback and enjoy reading the comments. When I first posted I was interested in finding out if the depth difference in this case was considered a lot or just a little. I think that question has been answered, and .05" is a big number for a seating depth change.
Anyway, I tried taking the pics in different spots but the light would always seem to reflect a certain way and make it hard to get a good photo for comparison.