Bullet seating depth/OAL

[JP]

Standby for another novice reloader question!!!

The OAL of my Rem 700 barrel is 2.950", hovever the load plate will only fit a max of 2.830" for overall length when I reload, leaving me (obviously) 0.120" jump, is this going to be a major problem? I realise I could convert to a magazine which may allow a greater overall length, but the conversion kits I have seen are really expensive for the rem 700.

The factory ammo is around 2.7ish" overall length and does shoot quite well, however with my reloads I am struggling to get better than factory. Using varget I have not yet had chance to test a whole range of loads yet, so hope to find the right recipe soon!

Any advice welcome as usual,
regards
JP

 

[finnbear270]

Hi, are you using the same brand of bullet for your reloads, as those used in the factory jobs?

 

[JP]

No, I have gone with nosler partition heads as they were easy to get hold of from my local gun shop and they do not stock the rem ammo heads which is the factory ammo I have, perhaps this is part of my teething problems?

I do intend to change away form the noslers as they are horrendously expensive. I will try some other types of heads and see what suits the rifle best. I have used nosler partition ammo in the past (factory) in my 243 the knock down was excellent though.
Cheers
JP

 

[finnbear270]

JP, as with any mixed bag of ingredients, consistency is the key, buy or pull down the same bullets you first had reasonable results with, use all same headstamp brass, weigh each powder charge by scale, this will ensure the problem does not lie here, basic prep your brass, seat your bullets to the length you are trying, with / without crimp, try to shoot over a chrony if possible, as you build up your notes (very important), you will find an area of reasonable accuracy, then you start tweaking, you WILL find a load/s that your rifle likes, just be patient & always jot down what is happening with this or that, I guarantee you will not get by without notes.

 

[finnbear270]

JP, I dug out this early comparison in powder brand versus load data, just to illustrate how things can differ in any two loads in the same rifle, the first fairly tight group is with Vit N133 at 24.8 grains shooting a 52 gn A-max, the second group is the exact same set-up & rifle just substituting Benchmark powder. .

.

 

[JP]

Finnbear,

Once again thanks very much for the advice and time you have taken to respond it is really appreciated. I have always been a bit anal about my zeroing and trying different factory ammo etc to get the best I can. I guess the reloading situation just opens those variables up alot more and allows me to vary things to a much greater degree.

I have found another fairly local supplier to get some different heads to play around with and also to find something alot cheaper than the nosler partitions!!!!

I will take the advice given and mainatain some constants and isolate the variable to find what works best. As a newcomer to reloading I have been varying too many things each time, a bit like a kid in a sweet shop would be the best description, I feel myself getting geekier and geekier by the day! I hope I get an anorak for Xmas!

I originally wanted to reload for economic reasons over the longer term, but this appears to be yet another expensive add-on to my shooting past times, still I work hard enough and enjoy it, so who cares!

Cheers and thanks again,
JP

 

[Muir]

I always reply to OAL questions in the same manner: Start with magazine length and work inward. Don't be surprized if best accuracy comes from the length closest to SAAMI over all spec.~Muir