Hornady Lock-N-Load OAL aGauge

[Jbotto]

So I bought one of these awhile back since I load lots of copper/monolithic bullets and it seems they can be really picky about seating depth. I’ve been trying to get a feel for it lately using it in conjunction with a .30-06 and 150gr E-tips as I have been having a difficult time to get them to shoot as well as I fell they should. Anyways, below is a picture of some of the variations I’m getting. Getting more frustrated as I expected better results than this. Is this something I’m doing wrong or normal? **(each column is the same bullet. Different columns different bullets, I even tried with some GMX I had around. )


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jbotto]

I think I got it figured out a bit better. Been playing with it for the afternoon and discovered some things.
1) repeatable, consistent technique is a big factor
2)make sure there isn’t dust/crap in the comparator insert that won’t even let the bullet sit in the collar straight. [emoji1787][emoji1787]

Once I pulled the dust/crap/bullet shaving particles out of the comparator collar on my caliper my numbers tightened up.
Did it a handful of times with two different bullets (from the same lot) and took averages. Looks a lot better. Anyone else have any tips or tricks to go with these tools?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Flyeralan]

Glad you made some progress! This is one of my most used tools in my shop. The rifles I demand the most accuracy from all get the distance to the lands in every lot of bullets written inside the bullet box (assuming said bullet can reach the lands). I know how far from the lands each rifle likes with each bullet and makes a great starting point for working up new loads. I would be lost without this particular tool in my arsenal.