Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 30-06 coal???

I could use my 700 Classic in 300 Savage to lighten a few wallets if someone wanted to insist one caliber in the neck was a necessity.

Exactly

Would it be smart to just start at 3.340 as the book says or what do you guys think

Since it is a 308 you would leave your bullet deep enough so you had .308" in the case. If the bullet is a BT then the BT doesn't count. Simply the norm is have the equivalent of one caliber bearing surface


3.34 is the std so that any bullet seated to 3.34 will be off the lands. You can load yours to 3.34 if you want. The bullet will have a long jump before it hits the lands. "Normally" a shorter jump leads to better accuracy.

Ok so I will update I loaded some up at 3.386 55 grain of imr 4350 and 56 grains 55 shot just under inch 56 opened up to 1 1/2. Went back loaded some at 55,55.5,56 at 3.395 55 was still best at just under a inch but real close to a inch. 55.5 and 56 opened to 1 1/2. What would u all do. I know I'm still a long way from the lands 3.480.

^ That; book COAL is a suggestion but you can get better results when you particularize it to your rifle, so long as that length cycles smoothly through your action which it sounds like it will.

Start kissing the rifling and then you have only one direction to work when searching for the proper length, although I've found it rare for kissing not to produce excellent results.

If you start in the middle you have two directions to work in and that sucks.

Remember too its a hunting rifle; you could get a load put together that shoots one hole groups and a half grain away 1.5", then go back next week and the results flip-flop.

For hunting I tend to look to the hotter loads (not over book, but according to the book in the top end). IMR-4350 has always performed best for me in the upper areas anyway.

I like to size a case, cut a slit down the neck and into the shoulder with a Dremel, then polish off the rough edges. This will generally let me push a bullet into the case with moderate pressure. This is what I use to determine my length to the lands. Once I start loading ammo, I like to either be in the lands, or a bit off, maybe .0015". I don't want to be "just touching", as bullet variance can have some bullets hitting the lands and some not. If I am shooting moly, I don't mind starting off with bullets in the lands a bit and have not yet had one stick in the throat upon extraction. With naked bullets, I prefer to start a bit off the lands and increase jump if need be. I never go by what the manuals indicate for OAL, but I do recognize that being in the lands may boost pressure a bit and factor that in when looking at powder charges.

Well I'm just concerned that if I seat my bullet 3.465 that would be about 15 off the lands that I won't have enough bullet in the neck

About how much bullet shank would be in the neck? If it was around 0.2" or more, I would give it a shot. My Whelen single-shot is loaded at 3.5" with Accubonds. Super long throat and that's as far as I was willing to seat them out and maintain a decent bit of bullet shank in the case neck. Nowhere near "one caliber" in the neck though.

What Steelehead said is correct. And you should be fine with the magazine length too. As long as you have a bullet diameter seated, then you should also be fine. IE, .308" of the bullet seated in the neck should hold fine.

If the case necks aren't loose then .2" of contact should be fine. There are many thousands of 300 Savage and 300 Win. mags out there having about that much to begin with.

If I seat the bullet to .308 in the neck that is 3.340 I am already past that

As stated...that's a general rule of thumb...you can go less. If you'd already stated that length put you with that much seated, then I missed it. Sorry if it was redundant.

Sounds like you should be able to get to your 3.465 OAL you mention and have about .2" of bearing surface in the neck. Can always start there and work down to shorter OAL. I'd try it if it were me, but that's just how I do things. I start long and work back.

I got my hornady OAL gauge out and checked for oal again did it 4 or 5 times got 3.480 so I made a dummy round seated to 3.470. It loaded in the mag box and I chambered it 4 or 5 times and re measured it and it was still same length. I need to get a bullet comparator though to get a more accurate length.

What I would do is use a black sharpie around the ogive, seat to 3.49 and see how much contact there is w/ rifling. A kiss is little squares around the ogive. If they're long rectangles seat a little deeper until you get squares. Then start load work-up powder/charge wise, and when I get to coal all I have is one direction in which to work.

No comparator needed.

If u mean 3.490 I would be jamming 3.480 is touching

I use 3.230 with a 165 Hornady BTSP and it shoots great!

i load .030 off to start.

Will seating the bullet out farther cause pressure or seating deeper cause pressure. I know if u get into the lands that can peak pressure