Ok I am completely new to reloading just getting everything together. Today I had a hornady OAL gauge come in so I wanted to check the coal of my 700. The nosler book says saami is 3.340. Well I tried mine with 165 grain ballistic tip 4 or 5 times just very easy pushing it to the lands then pushing it off with a rod. My measurements I'm getting is 3.485 this seems super long. What do u all think

Well the book is a suggestion. Some rifles have longer COAL. I read somewhere stating Nosler bullets loaded slightly longer gives better accuracy. When you used your Stoney and got your measurement that measurement is to the ogive. To transfer that to your caliper you should use a comparator. This will give your measurement to the ogive which is where the lands contact.

3.30" is Mil Spec.-Muddy

I realize the ogive is touching the lands but I was just measuring from the hornady lock and load case to the tip of the nosler ballistic tip

Take note of the length of the magazine box, that may make the choice for you.

I'm just trying to figure the coal. I was gonna back it off 10 thousands but I agree if they don't fit in the mag box but does it matter if it is hinged floor plate

I guess the actual box in the hinged floor plate is probably not gonna allow that long will it

You'll be in the 3.6's easily on a Remington 700. You'll be fine.

I guess my thing is I'm so use to factory ammo then seeing this bullet seated longer made me wonder

Worn out 700... That's way too long.

And don't listen to the idiot above. He ain't had pussy since pussy had him.

Worn out it is brand new I'm guessing has 75 shots down it

But really I'm guessing that probably won't fit will it? Just load a couple and see if they will push down in the mag box?

A long action Model 700 should have a magazine box allowing a 3.7" COAL, it's one of the longest among the major brands.

Just to be sure I understand what you're doing:
You have a Hornady OAL gauge with a threaded .30-06 case screwed on the end. You put a Nosler BT in the mouth and insert the whole thing in the chamber making sure to push the case fully into the chamber, then while holding the gauge and case in the chamber you push forward on the OAL gauge rod to push the bullet against the lands. Then you lock the set screw on the OAL gauge. Removing it, the bullet sticks in the lands so you push it out with a cleaning rod, then reinsert it into the .30-06 case on the OAL gauge as far as it will go to rest against the locked down inner rod.

Then you measure from the base of the case to the tip of the BT - and that measurement is 3.485". If the above procedure is what you're doing then that should be an accurate measurement.

I've never used the Nosler 165 BT but a Remington 150 Bronze Point can measure 3.432" pressed against the lands so the slightly longer OAL for the Nosler doesn't sound out of line.

As long as you still have a decent amount of bullet in the case mouth (rule of thumb is at least one caliber deep but don't pray at that altar too much) go ahead and seat the bullet to fit whatever distance off the lands you want and commence fire.

What did I tell you, you can easily get into the 3.6's, with a Remington 700. Your and 3.4 and change, no problem to fit.

I load my Whelen at 3.435 in a 700. Long throat but the magazine is long too, so it ain't a problem.

Jim that is what I'm doing now I'm not jamming it into the lands just pushing it till it touches

Bet a heavy round nose would give you a much shorter OAL.

What you are seeing is common in a factory chamber. I cut mine to fit the bullet I plan to shoot.

As others have said seat your bullet out as far as you can. Leave 1 caliber in the case neck. Your 700 mag is plenty long. If you end up with a similar issue in another rifle with a shorter box I seat my bullet out as far as the mag box will allow if I can reach the chamber OAL

Ok what does leave 1 caliber in the case neck mean?

I just keep things simple and start at 3.30" and go from there if need be. Usually with the right powder there is no need to keep chasing. NAB tend to like a jump and I use NBT for plinking.

In this case, your caliber is .308", so the theory is to have like amount below the neck.

So long as it grips (can't be pushed in easily, or more importantly fall out..) you'll be good.

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

out futher . bigger combustio chamber. less pressure. load 030 off

Do what?

Sweet Jesus, load some damn rounds and shoot effing thing.

load them .030 of the lands as determined by a hornady comparator .

Pses- what rifle chambered in 30-06 ? what are you going to shoot at with it? i love the 30-06 round ; and the rem 700 pss. ron

Dang it. All this discussion did was bring up the 300 Savage and remind me that I really need one. That's a neat looking little round.

It is a remington 700 deer is what it will be intended for

Well I loaded up some more at 55 grains cause I had only shot to 56 well I loaded up 3 with imr 4350 and .030 off the lands and i only shot 2 of them cause it really flattened the primers so I guess I won't be seating them that far out.

Oh, man, you really need some help.

Primer flattening, despite what you may read ANYWHERE, has almost nothing to do with pressure. Yeah, I know, even some loading manuals mention it, but they shouldn't.

Primers can also flatten when there's a little bit of slack between case and chamber. This doesn't mean unsafe headspace, it just means there's enough slack to allow the case to chamber easily. This is typical of new brass, whether in handloads or factory ammo. When the round is fired, the primer backs out slightly, due to gas coming through the flash-hole. The primer also expands slightly, because it's very thin brass. Finally, the case backs up over the slightly over-sized primer, which appears "flattened" because the primer pocket compresses the primer. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PRESSURE, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

Ok well I just going by what I have read in the manuals

So why didn't it flatten the primer seated deeper

i would load 49.5 , 50, 50.5 of varget, 168 balistic tip or CBT, (or a 165 balistic tip or a 165 hornady or sierra btsp, or) . i would use lapua brass, 210M primer. i would load all .030 off the lands. If you use I-4350 i would use 56, 56.5 , 57 and 57.5.