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Posted: 4/25/2009 12:59:17 PM EDT
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Sorry upfront for the lack of knowledge and long winded post-
I have reloaded before with experienced reloaders and have recently picked up a press and am starting to venture out on my own. My question concerns OAL. Specifically for .308 winchester but I suppose for any .cal. I do have reloading manuals and some state that the proper OAL is 2.880 while others state the OAL is 2.750. I have a good set of calipers as well as a Stoney Point (now Hornady) guages for measuring length from the bullet ogive. -an aside- I am loading these rounds for a Rem 700 and an ar10 that has yet to arrive. I know I can use my length guage to determine where the lands are and back of .015. However, since I do not have my AR10 yet I would have no way of knowing how its chamber compares to my Rem 700. While the reloading manual does not state what the measurement should be to the ogive I have found charts online Herethat make mention of it. If I use the stoney point guages my ogive is almoast exact but my OAL falls short. Since bullets all have different dimensions I was under the impression that measuring to the ogive was really the only reliable way to measure length. Also when I measure factrory ammunition, specifically the Hornady Fusion in .308, the oal is in the neighborhood of 2.713 which is way lower than what the manuals statesoal should be. So to wrap it up is there an OAL that is considered standard that will work in the majority of .308 chambered rifles. I am in search of reloads I can use for hunting and plinking ammo only. When the time comes to make loads for precision I will load different loads for each rifle. |
| COAL is dependent on the bullet used for the most part as spec'd in the mfg reloading manual. Traditionally, magazaine length is in the neighborhood of 2.80" COAL. Some bullets of the VLD design will have a of COAL dependent on the chamber of your gun to set up the bullet near the lands. One should stick to COAL that is spec'd by the mfgr for NON VLD design bullets. Some bullets are of a very short OAL, and trying to seat them near the lands is not going to happen as they would darn near fall out of the case. The general idea is that you need at LEAST one (1) caliber length of the OAL of the bullet in the case neck of the cartridge. So for example if the bullet is 1.00" OAL then the ideal COAL would be 2.692", |
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Quoted:
[span style='font-weight: bold;'] The general idea is that you need at LEAST one (1) caliber length of the OAL of the bullet in the case neck of the cartridge. So for example if the bullet is 1.00" OAL then the ideal COAL would be 2.692", I think I understand. This assumes brass that is sized to 2.000? Is there a point at which the bullet will be to short to be safely seated and subsequently chambered. A minimum COAL for .308 chambers so to speak? |
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I think I understand. This assumes brass that is sized trimmed to 2.000 2.005"? Is there a point at which the bullet will be to short to be safely seated and subsequently chambered. A minimum COAL for .308 chambers so to speak?
In general you are OVER thinking this COAL issue. Simply follow the MFGR's specs for NON VLD bullets and you not ever have a problem. Quit over thinking! You are making things way too hard! This ground has been covered by the MFGR of the bullet. |
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