Confused

[ctafoya]

Same lot number. Huge difference in measurements. Loaded back to back. is this normal for Hornady? I just loaded 300 without issues until now. I spot check every third round. 

[ctafoya]

[Delw]

Theres a few things that can throw your mesurement off.

1st is primer sticking out farther than others?? so instead of measuring on the exact bottom of the case its hitting the primmer

then you have the way your checking.  always put the attachment for the calipers on the NON MOVEABLE JAW. also alway put the Primer end of the case on the NON MOVABLE jaw(when not checking with the gage). like in your second picture. I'm not a fan of Caliper attachments as there is too much room for error, one spec of dust a burr or even if its not seated perfectly throws it off.

Then there could be a bad calculation if the bullet dia where the attachment locates will change the OAL a ton due to the rad,/angle. for example if you had a spec of dirt or even the dia of the bullet on the angle part was out .0001 it could change the OAL . a huge amount.

make sure your gage is prefectly clean with No burrs or rough spots. also you need to do the exact same for the DIE. as your bullet seater on your dia unless its the Exact Same dia as your gage and locates on the exact same point of the bullet dia can vari . one other thing to check is make sure you have relier and no build up which could be hitting the tip of the bullet on the seat rod..

I hope all that makes sence

Edit: also measuring the bullet OAL does Nothing nor does it effect the measurement of the bullet being loaded into the case. as the seating rod hits on a portion of the round part of the bullet and NEVER hit the tip. Check your seating rod to make sure its not dirty,

 

[dse]

I bought 2 boxes of 145 eldx and found up to .9 gr difference in one box and .8 gr in the other. I've loaded thousands of 40 gr and 53 gr V-max and never had an issue

[muledeerarea33?]

To add to what delw said, also make sure your seating with the same pressure. Too hard or too light can can change a few thousandths.

[Delw]

12 minutes ago, muledeerarea33? said:

To add to what delw said, also make sure your seating with the same pressure. Too hard or too light can can change a few thousandths.

forgot about that one good call. Theres lots of moving parts in Loaders some more than others. they will all effect the variance in height

On that note take a indicator and stick it on the top of the ram if you have any doubts. they do change sometimes. always gotta check for cleanliness in all joints. the other thing is if your shell holder is hitting your dies you wont get the same height every time. depending on what type of loader your using you need to check all parts that hold dies for up and down movement. even the dies themselves as if your lock nut is loose your dies will move. Dillion loaders need to check the groove that holds the alum die plate as well as slop and even the shell plate itself.

[CraigK]

I’ve had difference in lots similar to this with nosler accubonds that I load for my brother in law. I shoot bergers for myself and rarely see anything more that .005” of a difference between lots. 

[AZAV8ER]

Your variation in the length to ogive looks normal and I have found that COAL does vary some, this was my experience loading 270W with 140 Bergers.

 

[ctafoya]

Should i just worry about the over all length and not o give? Not super concerned with accuracy. 300 blackout with a 7.5 inch barrel. 50 yards is all I'm expecting to shoot out out to. 

[dse]

As long as there are no feeding issues I would only check base to ogive. It should make for better accuracy.

[PRDATR]

Have you shot any yet? If so are any of the primers flatter than others?

[lancetkenyon]

I never, EVER, worry about COAL unless it is very close to max mag length.  I only measure CBTO.  

If those are ELDs or V-max, I have found big variations in bullet BTO in the same box.  Drives me nuts.  But as long as your CBTO is within .001" like your loaded rounds show, I wouldn't worry about it in the cartridge it looks like you are loading and light for caliber flat base bullets.  Doesn't seem like those are LR rounds, so out to 500ish, you probably won't see enough of a difference unless you are shooting F-class/benchrest.  But again, the round doesn't look like that is the case.

[lancetkenyon]

1 hour ago, ctafoya said:

Should i just worry about the over all length and not o give? Not super concerned with accuracy. 300 blackout with a 7.5 inch barrel. 50 yards is all I'm expecting to shoot out out to. 

Opposite.  As long as they fit in the mag.

[ctafoya]

Thanks for the info. Just thought I'd get a few opinions since this is for semi auto. 

[Hoss50]

I had a new one for me the other day. I was loading for my dad's 260 Rem with Berger 135gr classic hunter. Cbto was about 2.33. Cool no prob. I check one as it comes out 2.21 WTF? Berger must have mixed in a VLD with the Classic Hunter box. It is a completely different bullet from the rest of the box, and I have never used VLD in 6.5 caliber, so I know I didnt mix it.