Canalure

[henry1]

Hey all was loading up some new bullets and they have canalures on them and while i was measuring my COL(putting an empty, deprimed shell in the chamber with loosely in the end so it hits the lands and gets pushed into the case) I wondered if it would be ok to load them like that. The canalure is sticking out of the case and since its a single shot rifle i will not be crimping the cases. So i figured that i should ask you guys first before i did anything else. Thanks all!
Henry.

P.S. If i spelled canalure wrong i apologize.
H

[stimpylu32]

Henry

Yes you can load them long , you may want to back the bullet off the lands just a tough so as to keep the pressures down to were they need to be ( seating into the lands will increase pressure ), but since you do not have to worry about recoil moving the bullet you don't have to crimp in most cases .

stimpy
 

[Old Syko]

As long as you retain proper neck tension there is no need for a crimp.  I've had to work down expander balls to allow for this on some dies.  I go through many thousand .223s a year in ARs and never crimp because I maintain proper tension without it.

[Glanceblamm]

reply's are sounding good...
I like to seat those .224's out there within .010  from the rifling but make sure that there is at least the diameter of the bullet seated into the case as a general rule of thumb.

[beemanbeme]

If you don't crimp, ignore the channelure.

[cwlongshot]

All good advice!!

 1) Keep the bullet OFF the rifling.

2) At the same time keep it with in .010 of that rifling.

3) Ignore Cannalure if not crimping.

Question, Are you FL resizing? You may want to try Neck sizing once you get some fired cases, it too can sometimes offer additional accuracy. Good luck!!

CW

[henry1]

Wow! Thanks fellas!

CW, I am not sure to tell ya the truth. I have always been confused on it since the day my granddaddy showed me how to reload, and that was over 12 years ago. I kinda feel like an idiot not knowing since i have been loading for this long. but hey i practically learn something new every week or so. seems like those weeks are turning into days the older i get. anyways, i just run the die down till it touches the shell holder then back it off maybe an 8th to a quarter of an inch. Look forward to your replies and thanks again.
Henry.

[beemanbeme]

That'll work. There are better (to me) ways of doing it but if it works for you, it's a good way.
After you have reloaded your brass several times (forgetting for a moment the possible need to trim) your brass will become harder and harder to chamber as it fits snugger and snugger in the chamber and you will want to F/L resize it and start over.  You, of course, want to always F/L resize your hunting ammo as reliability trumps whatever added accuracy you get from neck sizing.  And so, the way I set up my F/L die is: I run my die all the way to the shell holder with the ram up, of course. I retract the ram and screw the die in another 1/4-1/2 turn and lock it down. When I resize a lubed case, I do not want to be able to see any gap between the die and the shell holder.  I am F/L resizing.
I now get a piece of flat stock about a dime or a nickle thick (the purist will measure it to the .0000 but I just eye it in) and make a washer that will fit around the body of the sizer die. I put it between the lock nut on the die and the top of the press and wa la, I am what they call now, partial F/L resizing.  This way I am not having to re-adjust the die back and forth and avoids the risk of buggering up one of those tiny little screws that get harder and harder to see as you mature.  After a few firings, the case will develop a small doughnut where the shoulder of the case meets the neck.  This does no harm and, in fact, I think it actually helps align the case in the chamber.  It goes away when you full length resize.

[cwlongshot]

Well,
 That may work.. but its not correct. the fact that your seeing a bulge form, should be telling you something!

 Yes you can use a FL sizer to neck size. You need to "smoke" the case. Back the die out a couple turns and set the lock ring. (NOT the set screw.) Re-size the case. Notice how the residue is removed from the neck of the case only. By quarter turns, repeat this until you are ever-so slightly from meeting the neck shoulder junction of the case. Here is where you must be careful as you do not want to move the shoulder back at all. Lower the die just a bit, remove the Case and closely inspect the shoulder, you should be able to see the light contact. This is all you want. Now hold the die AND locking ring. Remove while holding position. Once loosened, tighten the lock screw on the lock nut. Your die is set to Neck Size only.

 I do this for all calibers (accept autos). If an improvement is realized. I go out and buy a set of LEE NECK SIZING DIES. Then reset the FL die to FL resizing. As a rule, all my guns shoot reloaded, neck sized cases. Be sure the cases stay with that gun/Once neck sized, they are NOT interchangeable with ANY OTHER GUN.

 I have herd the argument before about only using FL sized cases fro hunting. IMHO, Its HOG WASH!! What do I go to the trouble of working up accurate loads for then??? All modern bolt actions have the ability to remove the firing pins. Just remove it and run all cases thru the gun at home to assure there will be no problems, if your worried.
 I have loaded multi hundreds of thousands of rounds. I know if there will be a problem with a particular cartridge after I seat the bullet. Pay attention to what your doing and don't be distracted. You will see/feel any inconsistencies. Sure I have made mistakes, we all do, but you will find them if you watch and be aware of the problem areas.
 I have a spot directly in front of me, eye level, at my bench where my scale sits. I have a couple of my problem cases. This serves as a constant reminder of what happens when you so not pay attention!!

 Hope this helps and is understandable.

CW

[Old Syko]

That may work.. but its not correct.

Not correct in who's definition?  Doesn't carry much weight for folks that have successfully used this technique for thousands of rounds.  Not exactly the way I do it either but I'm not elite enough to to say it's wrong.

Yes you can use a FL sizer to neck size.

Actually you can partial size with FL dies but you can't neck size.

I have herd the argument before about only using FL sized cases fro hunting. IMHO, Its HOG WASH!! What do I go to the trouble of working up accurate loads for then??? All modern bolt actions have the ability to remove the firing pins. Just remove it and run all cases thru the gun at home to assure there will be no problems,

I guess, to each their own but I'm not going through all the described rigamarole.   I full length for such ammo and don't worry much about that last tenth MOA for such uses.