11 replies to this topic

[Camoghost]

Hey all, I have measuring my ogive with the Stoney Point gig that Shooter John turned me on to. For safety I have been backing off about 20 thousandths off what I have measured the ogive to be. How much is common among you other re loaders?

[Frank]

10-20 thousands off the lands should do it IMHO... If I understand your question correctly. H-O-W-E-V-E-R... a couple questions... does the (long) loaded rounds fit in your magazine? A N D, have you tried "feeding" a half dozen rounds or more through the rifle with these long rounds? They can jam / not feed.Those are semi-typical problems with the longer rounds, & is why I mostly stopped trying to get the bullets close to the lands, but rather use industry standard lengths or close to it... I still play around with O.A.L's occasionally though.Good LuckFrank

[A17Shooter]

Start by installing a single shot adapter. Then start load work with the bullet touching the lands and work back. Well not all the time but, it does describe what has happened with about half my rifles.

[Fjold]

If you are loading anywhere near maximum pressures I would start at the 0.020" where you are now and work forward (seat the bullets longer) in .005" increments while watching for pressure signs as you go. If you start out with little jump to the lands, pressure can spike quickly. That's why Weatherby designs all their chambers with lots of freebore, it lets them load to max pressures and the long jump to the lands keeps them from exceeding that.Many guns are particular about seating depths as related to accuracy and this is one way of fine tuning loads to your particular rifle. My 6.5x284 has a sweet spot between .005" and .008"off the lands that tightened up groups nicely. Many benchrest competitors shoot with bullets jammed into the lands but they are not as concerned as much about exceeding SAAMI pressure specs as they are about improving accuracy.

[yunggun]

I'm at .010 off the lands in my model 700 in .280. Before I made this adjustment, I couldn't put a group together under 2". Every gun is different so you may have to play with it for a while. Some guns will shoot just about anything you want to put in the chamber. My gun didn't but with a few adjustments I got it where I want it.

[tW!tcH]

So i tried to load some rounds that are closer to the lands, but they seem to shoot worse than when I was loading them factory length. I would like some input on how to take the variables of OAL and powder charge as well as type to fine tune your loads. What do you usually start with? I was going to start with a reasonable OAL and then move on to a powder that I felt comfortable with changing the charge until I got the best accuracy. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ShooterJohn]

The biggest problem here is that most factory guns will not let you load a bullet close enough to the lands period. The bullet will be out of the case or not the required bullet diameter into the case which is imperative. Then if you get this far the loaded shell will most likely not fit in the guns magazine. They are fine for single shot but that's not what most hunters want.

[4RHUNTS]

If I can get that far, I usually start with the bullets just touching the lands. Then I go through the powder work-up per the loading books shooting 5 rds per charge, inspecting every round for high pressure signs and paying attention to see if the bolt is getting more difficult to open. When I get to the highest powder charge without any signs of high pressure, I load up 5 rds each starting with the bullet touching the lands then backing off .005 for the next 5 rds until I am .040 off the lands. Each of these 5 rds are shot for groups. Then I see what seating depth worked best for that particular rifle. This method takes time and componets, and I clean the bore about every 15 rds. It seems the 22 centerfires, 223, 222 mag, and 22-250, shoot best with the bullet at the lands. My two 270's, '06, 7-08, and 7 mag., all Rem. 700's, shoot best about .030-.035 off the lands. My Colt HBAR will not allow me to seat the bullets to the lands due to them not fitting into the magazine if loaded that long. I just seat them to whatever the Hornady COL is for whatever Hornady bullet I am loading for it, usually 40-55 gr. VMAX's.I usually use whatever powder that gives the highest velocity per the loading books. I mostly use Hornady and Hodgdon load books/data.This method works for me as all the rifles will shoot an inch or better MOA if I am up to the task.Good luck and have fun.

[Frank]

Well, unfortunately, there is no quick, sure fire way of doing this. It usually takes a lot of time, trial & error. Experience will be your best teacher over time...With that said, there are some things that may help. Eliminate some of the variables, by going with only one brand of brass & one bullet weight & brand best suited for the game intended to hunt. Since I am first a hunter, I then look at the powders giving the highest velocity, and then pick 1-3 different ones. Lots of reading on the internet & various reloading manuals first b4 picking the powders help a lot. I then take my stoney point oal measuring gage & get the max reading. I will normally back off from 10-20 thousands as mentioned above. NOW, here comes the rub, & John & I already mentioned. Many, if not most hunting rifles magazine will not hold these longer bullets.HOWEVER, the magazines will hold them longer than industry standard OAL, and will often times be more accurate than the industry standard length. Not always, but often times. So just back off (seat deeper) a little at a time until they fit & FEED through the rifle easily.Probably clear as mud, but don't know how else to say it. Other than "Just Do It", like the commercial says. LOLAll The BestFrank

[tW!tcH]

I appreciate the help. I am talking about a 300 win mag, not any of those fancy new fangled cartridges. I'm going to try a bit heavier bullet also, as it seemed to shoot Hornady SSTs real well in 180 and I was trying 165 grain. It's not like you are going to reduce the recoil. It's just an abusive rifle to shoot. I was going with RL22, as that was the powder I was using before. We'll start at 75.5 grains, .01 off the grooves and see what happens. Thanks again for the input, any help is well appreciated.

[Frank]

N OW W W W you tell us... LOL The 300 mag ain't gonna care where you put the bullet at. Well, almost... I LOVE that round!AND for the 165gr bullet USE "RL19", NOT RL 22... I am not at home so cannot look up the powder charge, but believe it too is at 77grs with a chrono'd (my gun) muzzle velocity of 3250 fps. If you want REAL, one hole accuracy, use approx 71 grs of the same powder & bullet weight. My bullet is the Nosler (is there any other?) ballistic tip. However, velocity of course, was around 3000 fps.Let us know how you do...Frank

[tW!tcH]

Thanks a bunch. Actually my brother has a 300 also and he is going to load the 165s with 4350 and I'm going to use the 180s with RL22. I'll let you know how it turns out.