Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Hornady OAL Gauge?

For those who use them...

How important is it to have a bullet comparator to go along with it?

Plan on measuring: 17 Rem, 7-08, 223 & 243 for now, maybe more in the future.

Thanks in advance...

It's a must, IMO. Measuring off the tip will have you chasing your tail. Off the ogive is much more consistent. I use the split neck method to find the lands, then work off the measurement to the ogive to set dies and adjust seating where need be. The actual COAL is more of a "reference" since tips will vary, and in some cases a wide margin.

I hear ya, but once you find the lands for a given bullet and measure to the tip, couldn't you just back it off the lands from there and measure from the tip again?

Or are you measuring each and every load from the ogive? Seems excessive. You'd be resetting your seating depth on your die for each and every round you produce.

Are you assuming every 120 gr. NBT .284 out of a box is so different that you have to seat each and every one different?

Measuring off the ogive is more consistent than measuring off the tip, especially when using bullets with lead noses.

I hear ya, I do. But, what I'm asking may be different than what you may be thinking.

If I'm using the OAL gauge to find the lands, I should be able to extract the round and measure to the tip and that will tell me the MOAL to the tip (even though the ogive is what was touching the lands obviously). If I want to back it off .002 from there, I'd make the adjustment by measuring off the tip. This would cause the ogive to be .002 off the lands also. Am I not understanding this correctly?

Nope.

Waay too much variation in tips. Most consistent tips I've found are Berger/Sierra match HP types and even they vary. Lead or plastic? Forgeddaboutit...

Why do want to measure off the tip? If you're shooting for mag box clearance seat them back enough to fit and go to town. Even if you're just looking for, say, .002" off the lands set up your dies by measuring off the ogive than leave it. My dies are exceedingly consistent at seating at the same depth. So much so that I quit measuring every round. I set my OAL off the ogive (usually to kiss) than rock out. I'll measure several COAL just for S&G to put in my notes but it's basically meaningless unless providing others with mag box information.

Hope this helps.

That's my whole way of thinking...

Go measure all if your loads you made after setting your die and leaving it. Measure from the tip. All of those rounds will be the same to the tip, but may be different to the ogive.

The seating die seats the bullet based off the ogive and not the tip; therefore, all of your loaded cartridges are seated based off the ogive. The tip means nothing.

How many measurements to the ogive are you going to make of one bullet before you say, "T'ell wid it," and average them all together?

That must be my issue then. I always used the seating rod to adjust my seating depth with RCBS dies...once I set up the die how I wanted. Getting into Forster now, so I'll look into it more.

If it can reach the ogive.

Measure 10 rounds to the tip, then the same 10 to the ogive and look at the variance. You might be surprised.

I fully agree that the ogive is a better measurement. My point is that I can stand there all night getting a different reading just about each and every time that I run a bullet into the lands.

You doing a split case or rod stops? Either way, get whatever the mode is, hang your hat on it, and roll on.

You are getting yourself really confused here.

Your best and most consistent measurement will always come from the ogive.
If you use a dummy, partially neck sized case to initially seat a bullet to the lands then use your horn OAL guage (which comes with comparators) to find the base to ogive measurment to the lands.
Subract 10 thou or whatever you wish and put that dummy in your seating die and set the stem to just touch the bullet. Turn the die in a little at a time until you reach your desired length. Write that measurement on the case with a sharpie along with what bullet it is and it's weight.
If you wish to load those again at that length, just place the dummy in your seater die and set it up.

The only other consideration you have is will the cartridge fit your mag box at the length you desire.

So how do you set your die to load 50 rounds to the exact seating depth off the ogive? Seems to me you need to make adjustments for every round.

The (seating stem in the) die shouldn't be pushing on the tip of the bullet. It pushes against the ogive.

So average 3 measurements to get a starting point. That's all it really is anyway. Your groups will tell you if you need to seat deeper or out further. Onc you feel you have it dialed in, simply bank that base to ogive measurement and you are in business.

YOUR measurment is off the ogive regardless of where the seating stem touches the bullet.

Once your dummy round comes out of your seating dies with the measurement you want, tighten the ring and load as many as you want.....you will need no other adjustment to your seating die for the same loads as you mentiond above.

The process is the same regardless of where on the bullet you get your measurement from. But, you will be better off going from base to ogive.

Does this help you?

http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instructions/ReloadingDieInstructions.pdf

Read page 3