2.30 - 2.39 swing in measurement is pretty huge.
I measure mine like yours (hornady style tool) except
Once bullet and case are seated fully, release tension from the pusher rod and lock it down ensuring you don't have preload in the rod which will make your measurement long once you remove the case.
Pull case and bullet
Push bullet back until it touches pusher rod
Measure.
Repeat a few times then take an average. If the measurement swing is that large, reevaluate and see what I'm doing wrong. When I do the max coal measurements, usually the repeatability within is .003" of each other unless I'm messing up the methodology.
I measure mine like yours (hornady style tool) except
Once bullet and case are seated fully, release tension from the pusher rod and lock it down ensuring you don't have preload in the rod which will make your measurement long once you remove the case.
Pull case and bullet
Push bullet back until it touches pusher rod
Measure.
Repeat a few times then take an average. If the measurement swing is that large, reevaluate and see what I'm doing wrong. When I do the max coal measurements, usually the repeatability within is .003" of each other unless I'm messing up the methodology.