Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Who uses an ogive measurey thingy?

I've used the Hornady gauge set since it was made by Stoney Point. Finding the preferred land to ogive distance is the final step for all my load work up. I've found that close to the lands is nice, but not necessary in all cases.

As "woods" posted above, I too have found variations in bullet weight and length which transferred into a different COAL to maintain a target "gap". I also found a change in bullet ogive in different boxes of Partitions, which reflected there differing bullet length.

I have found similar differences in Nosler Partitions. Also Hornadys but not as great a variation.

My solution to the quandary is to slowly approach the OAL when seating for each individual bullet using the Hornady OAL tool in my big game hunting loads. Real PITA. Not as worried about small discrepancies in my varmint loads.

To add to this - in some cases, particularly OTM style bullets, one could go nuts trying to figure out the variations in OAL that results from different nose lengths of the bullets. I loaded a few hundred 75gr Hornady BTHP bullets in 5.56 the other night; ogive length was very consistent, but OAL varied from 2.245" to 2.260", and one box required deeper seating than the other to stay within magazine length. If I had been going by OAL alone, it could have been very frustrating, and I've had ended up with two different batches of ammo at two distances off the lands.

I use the same ogive measurey thingy that woods showed in his pictures. A side benefit to that is that the red body can be used with an different insert for a shoulder headspace datum measurey thingy. I use it more for setting up my dies for proper headspace than I do measuring ogives.

I use the Hornady tool and measure ogive. Seems to work well for me.

Just to be different, I use the Forster thingy.

Yep! 👍




Shod

When loading Barnes or other copper bullets I always use the Hornady tool to work up the load. Once I have the correct seating depth for the rifle set on the die I do not keep checking anymore. I have found that seating depth does not change more than a thou or two with them and that change does not seem to affect accuracy noticeably. Got outside of .005 and I have see change though.

Cup and core bullets I set up with the Hornady tool as well, but they are much easier about seating depth.

+1

sounds interesting and available
is there a consistent difference between bore and grove diameters between different calibers?
if not, how does one know those dimensions?

thanx

You can look on the SAAMI (Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) website for specifications of each round, but but in general .22 centerfires have a .220" bore and .224" grooves, cartridges from .243 to 7mm have a .007" difference between bore and grooves, and .30 and up have a .008" difference. A .308 Winchester, .30-06 or .300 Magnum will have a .300" bore and .308" grooves.

Same here for my needs.

thank you