COAL w/ 180 Berger VLD's on 7mm WSM ?

[WARDOG]

Good day fella's-
I am reloading the 7 WSM and am having some difficulty with the COAL for the 180 Berger VLD's.
I checked the base to the lands using TreMon's system. I am getting about 3.029" COAL, (Base to Ogive on comparator 2.181"), is that is way off, especially since I wanted to start .010" <span style="font-style: italic">into</span> the lands? The 3.029" COAL chambers easily, and ejects without sticking (without firing).
I am getting the Ogive measurement from using a Sinclair pedestal ogive comparator, taking the overall length of the loaded cartridge, and subtracting the height of the comparator. I have a hex comparator that gives a different base to ogive measurement.
I am using once fire-formed Norma brass from the .300 parent case.
For those reloader's for this cartridge what are you getting for the COAL with 180 Berger's?
My search came up with another reloader claiming COAL for 180 Berger's of 2.965" ? That can't be without a huge jump, and huge pressure spike.
Thanks-

 

[Bacarrat]

Re: COAL w/ 180 Berger VLD's on 7mm WSM ?

Shoot it and see. If I load mine to the lands it's around 3.025 OAL but I load mine down to 2.960 and it shoots fine. While most people want to jam the VLD's, they also can shoot with a bit of jump as well. And going off of other loads that I have found online, my load of 66.7gr of 4631SC is a bit hotter then that of what most people use and I don't have pressure signs. I run around 3005 FPS with a 6 SD.

 

[WARDOG]

Re: COAL w/ 180 Berger VLD's on 7mm WSM ?

Thanks Bacarrat-
Your ballpark helped me. I just figured it out I believe.
I used thinned Dykem which began showing land marks on one side of the bullet at 3.030". I am going to start by loading into the lands what I think is .005 (3.035") and go in and out from there.
I realize that measurements that show .020 jump in one barrel may be AT the lands in another. This barrel only has 97 rounds though it for fireforming brass (crappy Remington primers were bad at 3% !!)