Breech loading rifle cases

[Lead pot]

Ken it's your rifle.
I did not see any change in accuracy in setting the bullet deeper ahead of the case. When I finished the session using 50 rounds from the case making contact with the bullet base to extending the seating ram 1/8" past the case mouth the worry about a possible ring is not worth it.
I do see a good increase in accuracy when I breach seat the bullet with increase in diameter of the patched bullet when increasing it from bore by one thousands diameter steps changing the paper thickness. .004" over bore is a lot tighter grouping than bore diameter when breach seating.
I scoped the chamber with the Hawkeye with 24X magnification and no signs of damage. But there is always the........

[KenH]

Thanks to both of ya'll for the info - this is how I keep learning with folks like ya'll sharing. I think I'll pass on breach seating for now. Plenty of other fun things to do

[Gunlaker]

Ken, I should mention that the only reason I use 1/8" in one of my rifles is that the chamber was cut several degrees out of line with the bore. I bought a new C. Sharps 1885 and had ordered it unchambered so I could use a local gunsmith to use my custom reamer. They screwed it up. The only way I could get it to shoot well was to breech seat a bore diameter PP bullet ahead of the leade. It does shoot quite well that way.

Most of my breech seated bullets are seated like the bullet on the right, i.e. so that the base band is partially engraved. This particular rifle has a 0.050" freebore and the case is probably full to within say 0.030" or so. This would leave an air gap of probably about 0.050" or so.



Chris.