Hornady’s New Micrometer Bullet Seater: Big, Beefy And Good For .001 Inch

Sometimes a new-and-improved device comes along that prompts us to ask, “Why didn’t somebody think of this before?” You know, sort of like when someone decided to attach the eraser to the end of the pencil. Hornady has done so with its new-for-2024 Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer.

Hornady has improved bullet seating micrometers by incorporating large scale markings and positive clicks that are tactile and audible.

While it seems that improvements to anything these days entails an application of digital electronic technology, the real world is physical, and there’s still plenty of opportunity for improvement in things that actually move. Micrometer bullet seaters have been around a few decades and they’ve been valuable assistants in loading precision ammunition. Happily, improving such a simple mechanical device does not entail having to learn yet another new and complex way of being a human interface between a gadget and a goal. Hornady’s Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer is so easy to use that it doesn’t even need instructions, and none are included. If you’d like instructions anyway, try these:

1. Remove the Seater Adjustment Screw from your Hornady bullet seating die.
2. Install the Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer.
3. Turn the red knob until you have the bullet seating depth you want.

Hornady says click adjustments are in .001-inch increments. To test this, I removed the Seater Adjustment Screw from a Hornady .25-06 Remington Custom Grade New Dimension bullet seating die and installed the Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer. I seated a bullet in a case and measured the cartridge overall length (COAL) with a vernier caliper, turned the Micrometer down one click and measured again. I repeated this 10 times. The resultant seating depth increase for each click was:

• .001 inch
• .001 inch
• .001 inch
• .0005 inch
• .0005 inch
• .001 inch
• .001 inch
• .0005 inch
• .001 inch
• .001 inch

Note that, while three click adjustments came up short, none came out over .001 inch, so that it would not have been necessary at any step to pull the bullet and start again because a bullet seated too deeply on one click. At this rate, the largest difference in COAL between two cartridges in a batch would not exceed .001 inch (one cartridge over nominal by .0005 inch and one under by .0005 inch)—mighty precise ammunition, indeed.

There’s no need to replace the in-line seater in any of your Hornady bullet seater dies, as the Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer works in conjunction with all of them. The Micrometer has two nice functions every handloader can appreciate. First, the clicks are audible and each click has a definite tactile feel. Secondly, exact settings can be recorded for repeatability. The latter is great when changing to a different bullet, and is especially useful when removing the Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer to use on another Hornady bullet seating die. Also, many handloaders (okay, older handloaders in particular) will appreciate the Micrometer’s big, beefy feel and its large-print scale markings.

Retailers are eager to stock Hornady’s Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer, and they should hit dealer shelves soon after SHOT Show 2024 this month. Online “Coming Soon!” retail prices run from about $88 to $109. Sure, while the cost exceeds that of some complete die sets, the handloader can purchase a single Micrometer and move it from one Hornady seating die to another and attain that same .001-inch precision in virtually all calibers of handloads.

Check out Hornady’s short video presentation of the Click-Adjust Bullet Seating Micrometer at the Hornady website.