Am I being to critical???

[carexpert]

Hey guys (and gals?),
I'm loading 148gr .38 HBWC for my K38 revolver league with Zero bullets and 2.8 of Bullseye and an OAL goal of 1.160.
When measuring the final product I am getting a variation of OAL anywhere from 1.158 to 1.165. The part that I noticed the most was the slight variation on the same bullet when measuring one side vs. The other. It's almost as if it's not perfectly square with the case mouth, the variation is about 0.010 at max...never had any keyhole shots or other issues...
Am I being too critical?

[RussellD]

Let your groups on the target be your guide. The are variances in reloading dies: resizing dies, seating dies, etc.

If your groups are good dont worry about it. You may want to try another set of dies to see if you are getting the same results..

Accuracy is by product of each step of the process being consistent..Hope this helps.

[Rule3]

Are you using all the same brass, all trimmed to the same length?

Is your caliper zeroed and an accurate one.?

seven thousandths ) .007 is not a whole lot. Set your caliper to that and see. I'm OCD and I would not worry about it

[Titegroups]

.007 pretty much the norm out of my lee turret. I don't think it's significant for handgun loads.

[Fishslayer]

I wouldn't rule out mashing of the lead by the bullet seater. With cast boolits I routinely see some deformation around the edges of SWC.

Could also be variations in the headstamping?

[GyMac]

Originally Posted by RussellD

Let your groups on the target be your guide. The are variances in reloading dies: resizing dies, seating dies, etc.

If your groups are good dont worry about it. You may want to try another set of dies to see if you are getting the same results..

Accuracy is by product of each step of the process being consistent..Hope this helps.

This sounds like good advice to me. I set my seating depth for the case brand I have the most of (Winchester) and expect a variance when using any other brands. Of course, if I were going for accuracy alone, all cases would be of the same brand.

[OKFC05]

Am I being too critical?

Yes. OAL is one of the most useless measurements on a low pressure revolver round as long as it fits and fires accurately.
Now if your bullets look like an Egyptian pyramid, maybe you need better bullets.

[ArchAngelCD]

Am I being too critical?

A little bit I think... If your ammo is shooting well, enjoy!

[Jellybean]

Are you being too critical? Only you can answer that one.

If your bullets are being loaded at an angle chances are they are going into the throat and then the barrel at an angle. Any degree of error built into the ammunition will add onto any error from the shooter, so as the others have said, is it accurate enough for you?

If your bullets are being seated at an angle it's probably due to an incorrect seating stem on your seating die. It would also be a good idea to trim your brass to make sure they are square also so you get even tension all around the cartridge when crimping as that can have an effect on how your bullets enter the throats. Give this a try and if you don't see any improvements in your groups don't waste you time with it anymore. It is possible to make ammunition more accurate than your gun will notice.

[carexpert]

Thanks everyone, I am using all brass of the same manuf. The lead is really soft and does build up a bit in the seating die, I usually clean it out every 300 or so rounds.
As for accuracy, it groups as well as I can sight and squeeze so I shouldn't be complaining too much. Holding the X and 10 (with some occasional 9's) on the 25 yard police L target. Groups can be tighter, but I am sure that is my issue and not the ammo...

[Steve C]

HBWC's are usually seated flush with a slight crimp so OAL is whatever your case length is.

[Cyrano]

If your bullet looks like it's yawed in the case, it probbly will be yawed in the bore as well. Try seating the bullet about half way, then rotating the case about half a turn and seating it the rest of the way. That might improve concentricity. See if it improves accuracy.