Seating depth - does it even matter?

[Dobeman887]

I will try to be the second voice of reason. I tried chasing the lands when long range shooting was much less popular and knowledge was not as readily available. I did it for 2 barrels. It made accuracy WORSE, as the powder charge needed to be changed to bring it back.

Sometimes I throw the barrel away after the initial load stops shooting. If it is a screamer barrel, or I am being cheap, I can usually get more rounds out of it by moving the bullet out and adding powder. This is after 100s or 1000s of rounds though. Also, it is with chasing sub 1/2 moa for 10 rounds. I have never owned a hunting rifle/caliber that would consistently put nearly all 10 round groups under 1/2 moa. For very good 3/4 - 1 moa rifles it is not very easy to see. For good to average 1.25 moa to 2 moa rifles it is very difficult to see a difference. This is with 10 shot groups or more. Shooting less than 10 shots will definitely lie to you. 10 shots will occasionally, but I rarely shoot more as I feel it is "good enough."

TLDR version, only do it if you love to experiment and prove things to yourself. Chasing the lands is not beneficial to accuracy. It is detrimental.

Thanks for the input. I have only made 10 rounds so far to test, so maybe I won't take it any further than that.