.22 jet bullet seating

[elpac3]

Recently acquired a model 53, .22 Remington jet. Did a range test with PPU ammo and now have some once fired brass for reloading.

Looking at the newest Sierra manual, they give a C.O.A.L for the 40 grain.223 bullet as 1.655”. Seated a bullet and this gives only about .11” of bullet inside the case neck.

Having reloaded any handgun and rifle rounds the general rule has been to seat approximately 80% of bullet diameter. I am feeling the .11” is just a little shallow.

Question is, for those who have been reloading the jet, do you see issues seating deeper to a C.O.A.L. Of 1.63” as being problematic? By my math, 1.600” would be the ideal c.O.A.L.

I am starting with 10.0 grains 2400. Understanding seating depth will kick up the pressure. Not looking for hot rod loads. Would feel a little better having a little more bullet in the case mouth.

Any wisdom is appreciated.

 

[rwsmith]

Just a scan at Wikipedia..

..on the Jet cartridge it gives an overall length of 1.58". Seeing how the 'recommended' seats so shallow, I would press it in until it was seated well, measure it and test it chambering. Funny, I don't see the cartridge in the SAAMI specs, but I'd check out any other sources. Surely you can seat it to the bottom of the case neck.

 

[elpac3]

..on the Jet cartridge it gives an overall length of 1.58". Seeing how the 'recommended' seats so shallow, I would press it in until it was seated well, measure it and test it chambering. Funny, I don't see the cartridge in the SAAMI specs, but I'd check out any other sources.

Thanks, looking at the new Sierra manual they are giving 1.655” over all which seems long. None of my other manuals list the jet, I suspect since they are not making a .223 diameter bullet

 

[Nevada Ed]

As a note;
my old manual states to use a .22 dia bullet if possible.
A .23 dia bullet was a second choice and that long OAL is the "Maximum",
so a shorter length setting may be used, if needed.

 

[rockquarry]

An older Lyman book shows 1.659" as does the NRA book "Handloading". Overall length is listed as a rough guideline only; with handguns it may or may not be the maximum length the cylinder or magazine will accept.

Try several depths as long as the bullet is held securely and doesn't move under recoil. Reduce published powder charges accordingly and work up. Shoot benchrested groups at at least twenty-five yards (fifty would be better for such a cartridge as the Jet).

Let your group sizes tell you the best seating depth, but with a revolver there is often little, if any difference in accuracy with different OALs. It's still worth trying. Most Jet data will be available in older paper published manuals.

 

[DWalt]

COTW gives COAL as 1.58”
Donnelly, Sierra, and Lyman say 1.66” max (actually 1.659”)
I’d say that is the range.

 

[Krogen]

If you have access to Quickload or the free equivalent Gordon's Reloading Tool, you can vary seating depth and judge pressure effects. It's probably less of a concern with a relatively large .22 Jet and moderate loads, than for example it is with high pressure 9mm. I was truly astounded how much pressure increases with seating depth in the 9mm. Enough so, that bullet setback concerned me. No experience with your cartridge so just my 20 m$.

 

[gwpercle]

Seat to the depth that you feel best ,a little deeper ... within reason , and start with a Mid-Range Load ( or Starting Load) and work your charge back up to the velocity you wish .
Deeper seating is Okay as long as you drop the max powder charge back , mid-range or starting load ... and Work back up slowly .
Good Luck
Load Safe
Gary

 

[M29since14]

The bullet I use most often in the Jet, and have had the best accuracy with, gives a seat depth of about 0.165”, and if you take away bearing length inoperable because of the cannelure the actual area contacting the neck is closer to 0.125”. The loaded round is about 1.600”.

I’ve never noticed any particular problems associated with seat depth. My experience is that the Jet is more primer sensitive than one might expect. If you’re serious about precision I’d devote a little time to experimenting with primers. I’d also not be afraid to try faster burning powders. I’ve never had much luck with #2400 and similar slower burning powders. I use HS6, but my load is moderate - about 1600 FPS. My goal is the best accuracy I can get. I’ve also had good luck with Blue Dot for this type of load.

Final point of interest, IMO, is to carefully check the size of the expander in your size die and the inside neck diameter after the case comes from the die. If you don’t have at least 0.0015” of interference, might be worth the time to polish the expander to the size that gives that fit with the bullet you’re using. And speaking of bullets themselves, I haven’t seen that the Jet (in a Model 53) is nearly as sensitive to actual bullet diameter as popular information indicates. In both of my Jets, an ordinary .224” bullet will drop right through the cylinder. I won’t mention which bullet is use, lest I be branded a Jet-handloading heretic.