Chasing the lands is STUPID! Don't do it.

[@ErikCortina]

If you are limited by mag length, treat mag length as “jam”. Order “I neck size” shirt here: www.bunkerbranding.com/products/neck-size?variant=33994469605507

[@rbm6184]

Erik Cortina "If you are limited by mag length, treat mag length as “jam”." Why I prefer internal and hinged floor plate mag rifles, not detachable box mags. I do not like detachable box mags on bolt rifles for that very reason of cartridge length limitation.

[@jbuch66koop]

I have to say, this is a crazy set of events that just happened to me haha I know you from demo ranch, and I'm on a shooting page, on Facebook. I click on this video and it's you! Haha I had no idea! Haha you and Matt definitely need to shoot some time!

[@leonshaw_ted]

You find charge weight first ..but at what seating depth do you start with?

[@TerryGilsenan]

@@leonshaw_ted Jam - 0.020 Work up the charge for ES there.

[@peterandersson5662]

Erik Cortina , Hi again Eric. I need help here. Wich barrel twistrate would you choose between 1:10 or 1:12 in caliber 338 Lapua, i will only shoot 220-230 gr bullets, competition, and hunting Rifle will be Sako Trg 42, barrel leangth 69 cm. Thank you 🙏

[@rg3412]

Please, keep producing content like this. This is gold, especially for those of us getting into it.

[@gascheck8151]

You have just spelled out what took me decades to realize. I’m on the same wave length as you. Chased my tail but learned on the way. Knowledge is to be shared especially the hard earned stuff.

[@jwhitaker81]

I've been using this trick since I was 26 years old. At 42 it has served me well. Good explanation on how to set a good COL for a specific rifle. Good content man.

[@gaccount70]

Erik, I have been reloading for the last 12 years and have watched hundreds of instructional videos on precision loading. I have tried many different methods and spent hundreds of dollars buying suggested tools and many hours trying new ideas. Your methods keep it simple and instructed with common sense. Thank you for sharing your knowledge which is backed by obvious success. In this sport we are always students as things change so rapidly. For those that have negative comments to some of the videos that go against tradational thinking, I suggest posting pics of your recent trophies. Erik, thank you and keep up the great work.

[@stompingpeak2043]

My best way is to just load a bullet in my bolt action until the bolt falls freely. Then it's jammed in there and it'll show the measurements. This is the most precise loads but you might get jams if you don't crimp the rounds tight. It just is what it is.

[@latorgator23]

Wow, this guy is really sharp. I like the focus on results and knowing the reason why to do certain processes. First of his videos I have watched. Subbed!

[@MarcosCaminante]

Wow. What a great video. For 25 years, I associated “lands” with what is actually “Jam.” This makes a lot of sense. The process of identifying two or three consecutive lengths that shoot well was a real revelation for me. I WAS the guy who fell for that one accurate group. Thanks for the education!

[@tonysmith5871]

Thank u so much Eric . I did your powder charge test then just completed my setting depth test today and finally got my Tikka shooting at under quarter inch in 4 shot groups after 4 years of reloading. Your a absolute legend. Thank u again. Tommy from Australia

[@kugelsicher5721]

Easier/better method: Select brass - fireform and necksize Select bullet, powder and primer Select bullet seating depth that feeds/chambers easily (Does your bullet have a cannelure?) Use a Lee Factory Crimp Die and be consistent with the amount of Crimp on every cartridge. Now... Keeping everything else the same choose your starting powder load and, loading three to five cartridges per load, move up and down in 0.5 grain increments, staying within safe load range. You will see the groups open and close as you work through the powder charges, and you will find one or more that look promising. Choose one of the smaller groups and then repeat the process by working around that powder charge up/down in 0.1 - 0.2 grain increments. Again, you will see the groups expand and contract as you move through the loads. Pick the best one and load 3-5 more to check for repeatability. As long as it is a safe load, don't worry about FPS - unless bullet expansion dictates a particular FPS. Typically in the the 30 cal range - 0.308 to 0.323 - with a 150gr bullet, I always find a sweet spot (NODE) in the 2500 - 2700 FPS range. Great groups and accuracy, and I'm not beating up myself or my rifle. Enjoy!!

[@Chris-Garrod]

Thanks for the time spent on the video Erik. I am a fairly new re-loader, just to make sure I have understood:- 1) Find out the max length round your action will take. 2) Make the 1st round shorter (measuring COAL) than the max by 0.002”. 3) Then repeat making a batch of 5 rounds 0.002” shorter. 4) Shoot the rounds and look for at least 2 batches with the closes group, this will be the best length for your ammo (using same materials) for this rifle. 5) As the barrel wares and the group starts to open up make the round 0.001” longer (to allow for erosion) until the group shrinks again.

[@bdavies2454]

After 3 years of instruction, advice, suggestions and heaps of frustration. You have in less than 30 minutes opened the door to where it is all going wrong. Thank you from sunny Australia.

[@dudebroski9460]

This was incredibly well explained. I just bought a 338 lm and am about to work up loads for it and im glad i watched this. Thank you. I fell into all the traps reloading had to offer. You are exactly right. The only thing that matters is where the bullet hits.

[@jamesminshall4601]

Never reloaded but watched loads of vids, this is the first time I’ve understood how long the round needs to be. Thanks

[@ApexNick]

I'm getting old. Way back when...20-30 years ago, before cheap (and expensive) widely available tools and "sciencey" youtube videos; this is how we (as competitive shooters of all levels and disciplines) did things. We loaded mid length, found our best powder charge, then our best OAL, then our best crimp/neck tension, then, as we honed in on all the variables, we fine-tuned and did it all again. Nothing but your gun, your components, and you as the shooter... armed with real world data for your combination on your target at your distance.

[@adam8642]

Sounds like a good way.

[@biblejohn4681]

You are correct and best not to be disappointed when cartridges engineered for a specific rifle and barrel don’t get the same results on a different one. I have a CZ in .223 that won’t shoot anything consistently unless the bullet is touching the lands.

[@ralphjones7240]

Once seating depth is determined, I will not change until it drops out of that node.

[@howarddawson4732]

That's the way we did it in the 70's.

[@kriserickson2256]

Still doing it this way. Theres no alternative to tailoring a specific round to your specific barrel

[@401pick]

Eric you are a genius. I have a remington adl in .270 that never shot very well. This winter I decided to make it more accurate or buy new gun. Things i tried new stock, bedding stock, new scope, many different factory loads, lightening trigger pull, different bullet powder combinations. I was ready to give up. Then I saw this video.tested 4 different bullet lengths and bam sub moa i even got a 1/2 moa group. I am so impressed thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@endutubecensorship]

I would say that everything you did including applying the info in this video probably helped, TLC is all it needed

[@Niobium23]

I have been trying to tell people in my reloading community this for many years, it seems like they do not want to hear the common sense of it. Fantastic job articulating this point extremely well!

[@DingaReloading]

I have watched this 2-3 times...taken notes...and am practicing what you preach my friend. Thank you for the knowledge! Its great to see big time pro's passing down their expertise!

[@grazjj]

Makes perfect sense. Wish I had known this years ago. Sounds like I could have saved myself a lot of time, effort and frustration. Thank You!

[@b.morris2816]

Agree with you. My understanding is that the nodes in a barrel are based on the resonate frequency characteristics of the barrel and you tuning the load to that. I see changing seating depth as adjusting timing so the bullet exits the barrel when the zero node is at the end of it. Changing barrel characteristics like adding a brake or suppressor would be things that could change the barrels resonate frequency enough to cause you to revisit you seating depth.

[@matthewtracy8744]

I'm relatively new at both reloading and long range shooting. This info is absolutely amazing and will change my load development from here on out.

[@rulonjjj]

This is good stuff. I’ve never chased the lands but having two seating depths in a row shoot good is something I didn’t know.

[@SamSung-tr9lw]

This video just changed my life. Please keep this kind of knowledge and experience coming. Thanks.

[@tpalshadow]

Thank you for the 'simple' logic you bring to these videos.

[@Munky332]

Finally someone bringing some common sense and explaining it. I've tried to explain it to my buddies before and they still just don't seem to understand it.

[@brian-lee5251]

This makes perfect sense, and I literaly just strarted getting into unferstanding the precision side of shooting and relaoding.. That was very educational. Thanks brotha. Love the shirt.

[@anamericanpatriot5230]

We knew this decades ago . some people you just cannot educate. I'm glad you have the ability and the means to put up a video with some graphics for those that are open to education

[@AntiPattern328]

I'm not a super experienced reloader but what you say makes a lot of sense. It also seems to allow for future throat erosion not affecting performance for a long time.

[@willo7734]

Excellent content. Your channel is a gold mine for anybody like me who is interested in this stuff. I’m the kind of guy that likes to dig into the details to try to understand things better.

[@WardEnterprises]

Please keep making these “newbie” videos. Not many people produce into content near as solid as this

[@happyhome41]

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL ! Great concept, clearly described, patiently delivered, lovingly shared. THANK YOU !!!

[@kilovictor9024]

I just got back into 'accuracy' reloading after a sabbatical into pistol/carbine matches. I had no idea that so many new things had developed since I was away. You and Sam (Panhandle Precision) are the most interesting and informative. I wish I had found you earlier - I've replaced all my neck-size-only dies with full-length bushing dies, use your technique for measuring bullet seating and off of CBTO measurements, and your shoulder bump calculations. All of this is completely new to me. I was using SAAMI spec measurements for cases and COL for seating - I know better now, and I thought I was doing really well before. I had no idea a 308 Win could be so accurate! I will be doing the same for my 6XC later, and 6CM when it arrives!

[@tonywoodall4938]

I have watched so many reloading videos, I am totally surprised today, this is the best seating depth explanation video I found so far.

[@mikestrunk3282]

Starting .20 off the lands has always worked for me with bolt guns. In Service Rifle there is always a big jump. They still shoot awesome too.

[@loulu9879]

This video is really great. I’m 74 and I remember, believe it or not, I bought my first rifle in 1979. I have been out of the shooting hunting game for 30 and just getting back into it. I’m amazed at all the measuring devices and all the ocd stuff that is going on but it seems to work. No internet back then, I would make a dummy round chamber it measuring it and seating it deeper until it did not have any marks from the lands , measuring it at that point and set my die there. I would load in steps up to where I saw pressure. If I got a 1/2 moa, that was my load. That would be my wood chuck poison in Vermont. I would bust wood chunks over 400 yards with my Remington BDL in 243 spotter barrel , cheep 4-12 scope and wobbly bipod . This video is great because it’s something I can relate to and will work on this way now.

[@jessewerner4067]

Makes good, solid sense when we're talking about barrel time. The node would be at an optimum barrel time. Chase the lands and you actually shorten barrel time enough to put the barrel out of the node/time.

[@eo69]

Excellent! This saved me a ton of time on preparing loads for a new barrel I am getting ready to use for the first time.

[@randad9333]

I've always checked the distance to the lands, then generally load to mag. length, if it works. My 6.5 CM has 2400 rounds through it never altered my coal, and it still shoots 3/4" or better.

[@earlcahn3688]

Thanks Erik, you really made this so much clearer and simpler. Plus not wasting components.

[@58harwood]

This is solid gold Erik, thanks. Your system makes it dirt simple to stay in the sweet spot. How about a video on how you zero in on a specific powder charge?

I watched Part 2 of this video and I’m not sure why anyone is having problems comprehending this information. It was explained perfectly.

[@KrugerrandFarms]

So you don't chase the lands you chase the "Node" or the harmonic sweet spot. This I believe is when the barrel is pointed in the same spot when the bullet exits the muzzle. I worked with a barrel tuner on a .22 and it really worked. I got sub minute groups at 100 yds. with, at the time, seven dollar a brick ammo. Federal Lightnings.

[@raybates3119]

I watched about 2:00 of your video and said to myself, "Self, I like this guy. He knows what he's talking about!" LOL Then I subscribed!

[@ascendingvisions1350]

Great information! Especially to a guy who is new to reloading (me!) I’m running a 6.5 creedmoor for my longer range. God bless Ya Erik!

[@michaelvangundy226]

If you're new you always need to look for signs of pressure. A load that just starts to flatten primers with a jump to the lands can go bad. When touching or very short jump it may have increased to a dangerous level.

[@itzvrtx2244]

Cortina with another beautifully simple method. This reminds me of a process i do in my equipment setup process for a competition compound bow- everyone spends a ton of time making sure their rest is perfectly aligned with the string travel... It makes sense for a hunting bow, but none for competition. No bow I have ever owned has shot best there. We'd just bump our rest a 1/32nd at a time and group test to find the spot. 10/10 content.

[@whatwevefound7769]

I am new to shooting, and found your explanation very interesting and helpful. Thank you for taking the time to explain your experiences and thoughts on this topic. Awesome job!

[@tmaretzki]

I had no idea what 'chasing the lands' was as I just came across it on a forum for 6.5CM barrels choices. This is gold and makes so much sense. Can't wait to start reloading again (assuming I can find the components I need). Subbed

[@kyleb209]

Thank you! This was awesome. I’m just getting into reloading and I feel like you just saved me a lot of trouble.

[@stacybrown3714]

Wow this really opened my eyes to problems other hand loaders are having. Your method is exactly how my uncle taught me to load for a specific rifle. I didn't even know that others were not doing this. I thought this is just how you set the COL and adjusted as "the chamber burnt forwards ". Thanks for the explanation now I have knowledge that I can share with others.

[@thedetective8150]

This makes total sense Erik. I am a varmint hunter and have reloaded for 15 years. I was taught how to reload by an oldtimer. He always talked about making sure that my loaded ammo was kissing the lands. I always thought it was a waste of time and never did it. My rifles shoot consistently under.50 MOA., and I have a few that shoot consistently in the .33 MOA range by basically following what I have done for years and what you taught in your video. It would drive my oldtimer friend crazy when he asked how far away I was from the lands when he saw my groups and I would say, I don't know. Thanks for the excellent video. I will add your techniques to my reloading skillset as it offers more precision.

[@jasonweishaupt1828]

I use permanent ink, keep seating longer until I see rifling marks, then back up ten thousandths at a time. If I’m using a mag or crimp groove, I use these as my max length gauge.

[@ToadleyBrowne]

Your knowledge and presentation has great value. I think VLD's created a bit of obsession about critical hard to measure seating depths. I shoot Berger Hybrid 105's and once I get the correct depth it is all about case prep after that. Another Gem of a video. Thank you Erik with a K.:)

[@glennwatson2751]

i was a bit sceptic at the start but glad i carried on watching as I really appreciate hearing your explaination and it makes sense what you say

[@patrickgleason6610]

I love this video - there are SO MANY shooters who get wrapped around the axle about minutia that doesn't really matter that much, and this is getting down the meat and potatoes, and keeping things in a basic common sense way for actually what DOES matter! Well done! Side note, I just followed your FB page - I want to learn more of this kind of stuff!

[@torreyintahoe]

This is fantastic information. I've been loading pistol and shotgun for years but just getting into rifle. There is much more to know and you're taking a lot of the mystery out of it for me. Thank you!

[@mrmikesgunrack]

Thanks for doing this. I always did my seating workup in 10k increments and never really found a better node than what i got with my powder work up

[@harmeyrandolph1678]

I've tried everything and you make perfect sense. I've been loading for 40+ years .020 off jam. Now I'll try your Method. Thanks for your great vidios.

[@takingbacktoxic7898]

You have explained to me in 20 mins more than anyone has about extending a barrel's useable life. You quite literally brought my dad's old weatherby hunting rifle back to how I remember it shooing when I was little.

[@robertboyd3863]

The freebore on my weatherby is so long I can't touch the lands with a bullet , it will fall out the end of the case before it hits,

[@don_sharon]

I went back to this video and studied it. Today I took the time to follow your instructions exactly as described. I found that the difference between jam and lands was .029 and was a little nervous about moving forward, but I loaded 4-three shot groups for my RPR 6.5CM/Bartlein barrel set up. I started .020 off jam, and went to .029 in .003 increments. I am blown away - three of the four groups averaged .273. I found the node - the worst group was .395. To get 3, 3-round groups of .273 in a row is incredible, not to mention I shot from a picnic table using an Atlas bi-pod with rubber feet. Thank you Erik.

[@ErikCortina]

Glad you listened. :)

[@kriswhitman8027]

Great information Eric. I struggle with finding seating depth so I look forward to applying your technique. I am that guy that changed seating depth .010-.020 at a time. I'll be at the range this weekend. Thx

[@jonathanrogers9961]

Hey. Finally got to try this method.great results. Took my budget rifle that was 1.16moa down to 0.6moa. Got my SD down to 7.5. Started at max col. Worked back 0.003 in 5 shot groups. I was not able to see the vertical to centered to horizontal shift. Shooting at 100yds, wind was gusting 9 to 19mph but the one group was great. It will have to do until I can test on a more reasonable day.

[@45acp]

Makes perfect sense to me. I’ve always used a depth gauge just for a starting point and creep my way back. Once it stacks rounds at 200 I’m good. But, I’m not a competition shooter so 200 is all I need.

[@leeleland1183]

Glad I found your other (this) channel! I don't compete anymore, but this is fascinating. And I love that shirt!

[@ImZeDoctah]

Just bought a reloading kit myself and started reading the reloading book. When I got to the part about seating depth the first thing I asked myself was how the hell I was supposed to know if the bullet was touching the rifling or not lol Thank you for this

[@kenproctor6517]

a USMC armorer taught this same way to find C.O.L. for my loads. Great content and teaching. Thanks

[@UrbanTiger74]

WHO KNEW the boss of Barndominiums is a shooter!? I sure didn't until now. LOL!!!

[@Red7554]

Same here!.... lol

[@4scoren744]

Dude shot a 1.3" group at 1000 yards at a match. 4 of the holes were touching...I've thought it was super weird this whole time that they never mention it on Off the Ranch when he's there building Demo Ranch HQ. Imagine building a football stadium and just casually mentioning that your contractor is Peyton Manning without ever talking about the fact that he was a football player.

[@stareagle5000]

I knew he looked familiar!

[@Mark_Spivey]

Eric! You are amazing!! So cool you’re a shooter too!

[@kerbyfab]

One of the best shooters in the states!

[@grassroots9304]

Thank you for the time and effort to make and post this. This makes a lot of sense. I'm just a guy working to improve the accuracy of my loads for a hunting AR, scavenging whatever information might help and seeing what you guys (long-range competition) are sharing might help me so...here I am. I have some bolt-action rifles I mess with occasionally and this seems very helpful here in this video (seating depth isn't as applicable in an AR-15 as we're hard-capped on COL, I was mostly watching this just to expand my knowledge in general). I watched your 4/1 video and, in that vein, I wanted to tell you that you only got your record at 1k yards because I didn't shoot against you that day. I have reasons which will convince you of that fact: 1) 22LR was hard as hell to come by and I was out of ammo, 2) my new Simmons scope hadn't been delivered on time (Amazon screwed me again). Oh, and I have no long-range skill. But for those failings, I'd have that 1k record. ;) Thanks again for the effort and info.

[@brettb614]

I watch this video twice a year whether I need to or not. Keeps me from pulling my hair out!!! Thank you Eric for all you do, it means a lot to those of us chasing the one whole group!

[@georgeguest9089]

Thank you so much! I've had this argument with people for years! I have NEVER cared where the lands are, just where the rifle shoots at it's best!

[@wdtaut5650]

"If this offends you, even better" That would be a good t-shirt itself.

[@KeithBair]

Kinda like, "we aren't happy until you're not happy"

[@wdtaut5650]

@@KeithBair The Second Principle of Liberalism: Everyone Must Be Equally Miserable.

[@sambocotton5868]

@@wdtaut5650 hahaha.......yes that’s very true! 🇬🇧😂😂😂

[@nomlasrellik7286]

@@wdtaut5650 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@theThinkerator]

maybe not the best for understanding IF you don't have a great grasp on chamber/rifling relationship but when you do, this makes ALOT of sense thank you Mr. Cortina

[@jonathonimpey5938]

Listening to your methods and applying them regarding seating depth. Today I achieved a 10mm group with a sako M995.270. Owe you a beer mate!!! 🇦🇺

[@davidwiggins9676]

Thank you . I followed your advice on 3 rifles . You have changed how I load from now on. Those 3 rifles hammer now 👍

[@stevenwagle1101]

I could never see spending time figuring out and measuring distance to the lands. Nice job here. Complete and easy to understand. Remember guys and gals, the lands do not make the holes in the target, so they are not worth my time to measure. Have solid reloading techniques, learn to measure with, read and adjust your equipment at a "NASA" level and then spending time shooting and keeping accurate range data is much more productive in the quest for one hole groups than chasing the lands. Nice work, Erik!! Thank you.

[@D70340]

Good stuff Erik. I learned this method MANY years ago. Glad you made a video of it though. Lots of reloaders just dont know "the good stuff".

[@seanmtactical6069]

"It hammers. I don't care what it measures to the lands." Love it.

[@tommarymarking1579]

Great stuff. Your information has helped me more that I can express. Makes sooo much sense to me. Thanks for sharing your "inside" information. I would have not figured this out on my own.

[@InSightFreedom]

Well explained. I hear the "measuring the lands" mentioned as crucial to accuracy all of the time. I appreciate your logic.

[@granthunter3877]

Good stuff. I was amazed at how much my rifle throat distance changed over time.. distance to the lands changed accordingly. luckily after many rounds down range my accuracy remains the same.. for now.

[@paoemantega8793]

Very entertaining hand signals Erik 9:03, great tutorial thanks for sharing :D

[@bucmeister7713]

Hands down the most usable and sensible explanation I have ever heard on this subject. Guess I was doing this without knowing it!! As long as my rounds group to my satisfaction and hunting rounds are cooking along at a decent velocity for the bullet to expand properly I am a happy camper. I don't have to have the last 25-50 fps a round is capable of producing by running the powder charge up to the ragged edge of potential overpressure either. Toward the end when you made the point about the gun still hammering so who cares caused me to think about barrel harmonics and the theory that a given load might produce a certain harmonic pattern that results in consistency negating the need to "chase the lands". As long as the bullet keeps hitting where you're aiming keep doing the same thing. Thank you Erik for this great video with so much down to earth logic on what seems to be a completely emotional subject with some shooters!!

[@pawild5594]

Nice video man, i'm going to try this in the near future. It's an empirical way to tune seating depth...I totally agree that the measurement of "where the lands are" is difficult even using an OAL gauge. Great information, thanks.

[@cbsbass4142]

Yeah I just got a Hornady digital caliper (never had a digital before and didn't want to spend $230 on one) and got a seating depth gauge. Anyway, I measured 5 times and got a range of 0.008 (2.317 to 2.325). Given that, I'm just going to use the mean, of the 5 measurements as "where the lands are" and seat at increments less than that mean.

[@jjthefed]

My Lyman load manual says to make a dummy round, carbon the bullet with a cigarette lighter, then chamber the dummy. If you see rifling marks on the bullet you need to seat the bullet deeper.

[@ronhimmelreich238]

I just came across this video. Awesome information! I do have one question though. When you say go out and shoot groups, at what distance should you shoot? 100? 300?

[@micka8004]

I'm hooked! Time for some binge watching of your videos on this rainy Saturday! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!

[@RealHank1791]

When this video started I was like, I'm not gonna watch this whole thing, this is just some guy trying to go against the grain. Just making videos. By the end of the vid, this guy had a new subscriber. Thank you sir. I always wondered why we weren't in the riffling to begin with. Thank you sir.

[@oldgoat1890]

Wow! I stumbled on this by accident. I could not agree more. Over 40 years in machining and gun repair and I just gave up and let people do what they want to. I don't cater to long range shooters. Mostly hunters at woods range guns. I full length resize and always did. Believe me, reloading has caused more problems than it ever solved. Long ago I learned to ask if the customer reloaded for that gun. Neck sizing is a major problem with low cam guns like pumps and lever guns. Not trimming neck sized brass and having it jam or flow up into the free bore is another major problem. I occasionally made reamers and that area is the tightest dimension in the chamber. Then there is the old "You can fix your head space by neck sizing" crowd. I am glad to see someone in the shooting sports stand up and tell it like it is.

[@gobangs1117]

Facts don't care about feelings! What a revelation, thankyou Erik!

[@benhassell3030]

This is brilliant! I haven’t even started yet and will probably only load for bolt action 223 (uk) but this absolutely makes sense to me. So easy to understand when presented this way. Thankyou

[@derpfannkuchen]

I am barely beginning to reload and wanted to thank you for providing me with countless years of knowledge!

[@Peter-od7op]

Check out The Real Gunsmith Randy Selby

[@markf3494]

You took the long way to get to your destination and didn't explain why "jam" is bad (pressure), but your end result was excellent! This ended up being one of the best explanations of the method to get a correct seating depth I have heard. I have use the jam minus .020" for a long time as a starting point but would make my depth changes every .005" to .010"... which is why I get varied results. Now I get it!! Thank you!

[@benjaminhaas4634]

Sounds like an interesting method, I'll have to give it a try. Always worked at 0.010 increments on seating depth, wondering what I might have been missing. At the end of the day, you are still chasing the lands you're just not taking an absolute measurement of them each time.

[@PR-tn5pf]

I really have to agree with you 10s good I've gone a little less on a custom 243 heavy varmint barrel

[@rogueaussie9299]

This has literally answered the questions I was pondering tonight! Thank you so very much!

[@williebulletman5217]

This is one of the best video Iv heard in a “VERY “ LONG time 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@craignapoli]

Thank you for the the most simple explanation of the the most complex question, I am SOOO very grateful to you brother.

[@EC-mc7vg]

I'm not reloader, but I've been a mechanic for more than forty years so I understand measurements and tolerances. It appears to me what we are talking about is "initial contact" with the lands, and that is a measurable distance by the over all loaded length of our cartridge when initial contact is made. So we do actually care about where our lands are and when our bullet actually contacts the lands. If the bullet is "inside" the lands but not touching the lands that would still be part of "jump", regardless of where our lands begin or if our bullet is "inside" the lands. It is initial contact that matters, so we actually do care where our lands are concerning bullet contact and at what OAL our bullet contacts the lands. If the bullet was attempted to be " jammed" into the lands wouldn't we get bullet setback into the case before we got drastic "jam"? And with your example of loading "long" to check for a possible new accuracy node would indicate there has been some erosion of the lands and changed the initial contact point of the bullet on the lands. I'm am certainly not trying to be contrary or argumentative, but it appears to me a better explanation would be "initial contact" with the lands for loading length. Thank you for the video and info. I think we are talking about the same thing maybe just describing it differently.

[@WhatTheRAF]

im new to reloading ( just gathering info before i load my first round) and this makes so much sense, at this point i dont care at all about the lands. thank you

[@thetriode]

The ultimate arbiter of reality is where your bullet winds up on the target.

[@matthewlepage6848]

I love your videos man. I'm just getting into shooting, hunting and reloading and your videos answer my questions in 10 mins time. Great work.

[@Houstonmoon1]

I don’t even reload and this guy mesmerizes me.

[@Jeff_Seely]

Excellent explanation. I try to always keep an open mind to the advice given. If we don't experiment, we grow stagnant in our processes and never improve. Open minds and bigger ears shoot smaller groups. I will experiment with what I've learned here and I think it will work out well if I adhere to the procedures and parameters given. Thanks, Erik for your time with this lecture. It all makes a lot of sense.

[@colsoncustoms8994]

I noticed a big difference going from .110”+ jump down to .030”, groups were half the size. I’m fairly certain .010” -.040” wouldn’t matter much but having shot hundreds of rounds of various loads ranging from .070”-.110”+ and only ever getting MOA, then going down to .030” and having the groups immediately shrink in size, there’s something to that. YMMV

[@TheGunz4u]

I made loads, I did 5 and 5 with different seating depths and the long one made my groups go from 1 1/2 to 5/8. Now the other bullet a FMJ 150 grain 308 I loaded to the book size which was shorter worked better than the longer one. So it varies by bullet type. I bought a Wyatt mag setup for mine and it’s made to accept longer bullets. I seat depth max length off of my mag size. So basically I get it as close as I can.

i really agree with your procedure of finding seating depth and it does work if indeed you , and i am sure you are, using custom bullets ,,,,,bullets made from one die only...the problem is off the shelve bullets ,,,,,bullets made on several dies on a production line as no two bullets dies are the same,,,, you can help yourself by measuring the ogive of the shelf bullet and separate them into size batches...going back to hand made custom bullets ,they are expensive but you get what you pay for...also competition shooting is expensive