A long throat doesn't hurt accuracy (at least in benchrest terms) as long as it's close to bullet diameter--which prevents the bullet from tilting as it starts down the bore. But if the throat is considerably above bullet diameter, it sure can. The first Ruger No. 1A 7x57 owned, a red-pad obtained in a trade from a friend in the late 1980's, wouldn't shoot any bullet that wasn't seated very close to the lands, and no lead-core bullet under 160 grains would do that. It shot REALLY well with 160 Partitions and RL-22, but the case neck wasn't holding much of the bullet.
I've turned back to working with a 700 Mtn Rifle, so chambered. It shoots Federal 175's and S+B 173's really well, but is cantankerous with other loads. I've gotten great accuracy with 154 Hornady SP's, but pitifully slow velocities. As of yesterday, 46.0 grains of H4350 would only get 'em to 2,425 fps. I'm tiptoeing upward to see if I can get 'em to the 2,700 fps range. The
Gun Gack tome assures me this still oughta be safe territory in a strong "sucks" action.
Granted, a load with R15 that pushed this bullet to a scant 2,350 fps dropped a Dall ram quite neatly, but that was before I'd run 'em across a chronograph. It's a wonder he hasn't climbed out of the freezer to go resume his place on the mountain.
Perhaps he figured 'twas easier to just lay down, rather than face Ready's back-up shot...
FC
