seating depth for 68 and 75 grain hornady match bullets

S

snowking

New member
I'm new to reloading, so I need some help on this one. When I seated a 75 grain bullet in a 223 "dummy" round to Hornady's C.O.L., it seems as though too much of the bullet is below the neck of the case and into the shoulder area. Is this normal? I took a pipe-cutter and split the case to see how far down/back it was, and it looks crazy. I can't seem to find any info on how far back inside the case I can go before I have issues. I know with lead/cast bullets you aren't supposed to seat below the neck, but what about copper jackets? I'm using a quality caliper to check, so I know my measurements are correct. Can someone point me in the right direction?
Thanks in advance, Snowking
 
75 gr. in an AR mag don't work too good. Can be done, buy why bother. Usually those 75 grainers are hand fed at the range. For magazine fed ammo stick with the 68 or 69 grainers.
 
Its not the bullet weight or how far the bullet sits back inside the case, but the ogive of the bullet that dictates if it will work at AR mag lengths.

There are bullets from every major manufacturer in 75 and 77 Grain weights that work great in ARs.

The 75G Hornady BTHP works great in an AR platform, the 75G AMAX does not.

When loading the heavies seated a long ways into the case, pressure can build faster than shorter/shallower seated bullets so be sure to watch for pressure diligently.

Don't be scared off of them though, they have their purpose, as long as you have the need for them.
 
"Its not the bullet weight or how far the bullet sits back inside the case, but the ogive of the bullet that dictates if it will work at AR mag lengths."

I don't think so!!!!!
It is only the total length of the round which determines if it will fit in the magazine.

Jack
 
Wow. Thanks for that Jack, you are so helpful sometimes. Technically you are 100% correct.
But considering that the OP stated that he was loading to Hornadys C.O.L which is already shorter than mag length, I find it rather redundant to to say that if its longer than the mag, it probably wont fit. But thanks for pointing that out.

Also Jack, have you tried to load the secant ogive VLD style bullets at standard C.O.L.? The ogive is well inside the case mouth, so as you state "It is only the total length of the round which determines if it will fit in the magazine." Just because you can fit it inside the mag doesn't mean you should.

However the OP said nothing about ARs or mag length, so this may be a moot point.
 
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