question about min OAL

[jayd4wg]

all of my manuals state that .308 150gr SP's on top of a 44-47 gr load of varget should be set to min OAL of 2.800

IF i seat the Hornady 3031's out to the max of the cannalure and still be able to crimp them, the best I can manage is 2.775-2.776...is this a problem?

 

[Country]

Re: question about min OAL

No , OAL usually states a maximum length.
Go by your rifle chamber and magazine . Make a dummy load to find the longest you can seat out the bullet without it touching the lands too hard or how ever you want and not being too long for the magazine
If it fits the magazine and the chamber its not too long.
You don't really need to know that actual measurement at all.
If it fits the gun how you want then thats it.

However you still have to seat a bullet deep enough to maintain straightness and correct neck tension.

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: question about min OAL

and since I will be using these for hunting, I fully intend to crimp them. BUT - since (for now i'm using the classic lee loader until i get the press mounted and my table built) the lee loader sets the neck at .307 and you then hammer the bullet to the right depth...will this be sufficient neck tension to hold the bullet securely? When i seat the bullet to 2.800, i'm .025 or so from the cannalure and would not crimp them there. A quick tap on the crimping side may snug the bullet up though but i'm not comfy with this.

 

[Country]

Re: question about min OAL

You don't say what kind of rifle action you intend using for this ammo. If its a bolt action then .001 of neck tension shouild be ok if its not a big kicker and the bullets are not real heavy .
If its an auto then it may not be enough neck tension especially if its a big caliber .
You should not have to crimp for a bolt action .
If you load ammo into a magazine and leave it there while you fire some shots by just relaoding the mag each time with one more shot each time. Then after a while strip out the unfired rounds and inspect the seating depth to see if any bullets have moved out of the case neck or been pushed in depending on mag design .
If they have not budged then the neck tension should be fine.
Also in addition in an auto you want make sure the bullet does not move forward when the bolt is slamed home after it loads a shell.
The weight of the bullet has a bearing on correct neck tension for a certain job.

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: question about min OAL

I loaded 2 dozen rounds last nite and have a totally new, unique problem. My Lee Loader does not provide enough neck tension to hold the bullets in place AT ALL. Either the brass neck thickness is too slight, or the Loader has tooo large a hole for the neck sizing - not sure yet and my calipers are not long enough to get down into the hole to measure accurately. I quickly set up the equipment I got from another board member and was able to salvage the rounds at the loss of quite a few primers but i'm now ready to hit the range and do some accuracy testing. I threw total OAL out the window and crimped at the cannalure in every case and all rounds are within .010 of each other, all around 2.776 - 2.788 - I was unable to be any more precise with this since the total neck tension was off a good bit.

Hopefully this isn't going to affect accuracy as much as i'm hoping it wont'...if that makes any sense. I actually think the winchester once fired brass may be to blame, and until i get back into it tonight I won't know. I have some other brass to try and will do federal and magtech tonight

 

[Quicky06]

Re: question about min OAL

Are you using the lee hand loader or an actual bench mounted press and dies.

The 2.8" oal in the manual should be max length not min. Double check that

edit: I need to read before I reply

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: question about min OAL

started with hand loader. went to the press with Lee dies on the trouble rounds and it got only marginally better. I am thinking it might be the brass.

 

[jayd4wg]

Re: question about min OAL

just got off the phone with Lee - spoke to a very knowledgeable man about the lee loader classic. Believe me now, this kit works great for it's intended purpose but may leave something to be desired if precision is sought after.

turns out the neck sizing portion of the Classic loader is a fully tapered hole, which tapers at right about 1/2 degree meaning that the top of the neck might be at .307 and at the base we could be a smidge over .3081 - just loose enough to be lose once the bullet acts as an expanding plug. If it enters off axis AT ALL, it will result in a larger opening. To get the neck any tighter at all, you need to drive the case in a little deeper than flush with the rear of the chamber - designed this way on purpose he said. Most guys don't have this and they wanted the kit to work with non-cannelure bullets as well...i would not have this issue without the cannelure. Maybe seat just shallow of the cannelure? I'll check depth to do this and see if it ends up longer than 2.800"

His suggestions were as follows:

When initially seating the bullet in the resizer, use a small wooden dowel of like diameter to the base of the bullet and seat the bullet a few thou' deeper than the base of the resizing side. this will force a bit more tension on the bullet and with flat base bullets make sure the side has a small radius or go with boat tails to you don't bugger up the case.
He also added that a little resizing lube may be in order to facilitate a deeper penetration with the case.

My solution is a bit simpler. a piece of 2x6 c'clamped to the kitchen table and start using the real press i got from TRob here. Full length resizing may just cure my woe's. I'll still keep the lee loader in a TEOTWAWKI kit or for stress relief at some point in my life, but for now trying to work up an nice accurate load i'll stick with the real hardware and put the toys away.