how are you measuring your OAL?
Don't worry about the cannelure, if you aren't going to crimp, ignore it.
I'll assume you don't have the tools to measure overall length at the bullet ogive, this is the "poor boy" method for setting oal. This will only work for this bullet.
Take an empty case fired in the rifle you are working with, needs to be a case that has not been resized, push some very slight dents into the case mouth so it will hold a bullet. Take the bullet you want to use and "color" the bottom 2/3rds with a sharpie or magic marker and barely seat the bullet into the case. Now, put the case and bullet directly into the chamber of your rifle and close the bolt. When the bullet touches the lands, it will push back into the case until the bolt is fully closed. Gently open the bolt and catch the ejected round. Look carefully at the colored portion of the bullet.....if you see scratches toward the tip of the bullet in the color, then you know the bullet slipped while you were extracting it, either repeat the process or push the bullet into the case so that the case mouth is even with the end of the scratches. If the bullet sticks in the barrel and doesn't extract with the case, push it back out with a cleaning rod, color it again and add a few more small dents in the case mouth to provide additional grip on the bullet. If there are no scratches, the bullet didn't move and is seated so that it is touching the lands, the overall length of that cartridge is the maximum length that bullet can be seated in that rifle........however, you should seat the bullet at least 10 thousandths deeper to start.
Now, the problem with this method is that many factory rifle have a throat that is so long a cartridge loaded so that the bullet is 10 thousandths off the lands won't fit in the magazine.......in that case, I start working up a load with the bullet seated just short enough to function through the magazine.
I'll assume you don't have the tools to measure overall length at the bullet ogive, this is the "poor boy" method for setting oal. This will only work for this bullet.
Take an empty case fired in the rifle you are working with, needs to be a case that has not been resized, push some very slight dents into the case mouth so it will hold a bullet. Take the bullet you want to use and "color" the bottom 2/3rds with a sharpie or magic marker and barely seat the bullet into the case. Now, put the case and bullet directly into the chamber of your rifle and close the bolt. When the bullet touches the lands, it will push back into the case until the bolt is fully closed. Gently open the bolt and catch the ejected round. Look carefully at the colored portion of the bullet.....if you see scratches toward the tip of the bullet in the color, then you know the bullet slipped while you were extracting it, either repeat the process or push the bullet into the case so that the case mouth is even with the end of the scratches. If the bullet sticks in the barrel and doesn't extract with the case, push it back out with a cleaning rod, color it again and add a few more small dents in the case mouth to provide additional grip on the bullet. If there are no scratches, the bullet didn't move and is seated so that it is touching the lands, the overall length of that cartridge is the maximum length that bullet can be seated in that rifle........however, you should seat the bullet at least 10 thousandths deeper to start.
Now, the problem with this method is that many factory rifle have a throat that is so long a cartridge loaded so that the bullet is 10 thousandths off the lands won't fit in the magazine.......in that case, I start working up a load with the bullet seated just short enough to function through the magazine.
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I haven’t found a marker yet but this is what it looks like
I have a OAL hornady gauge but not everything that goes with it yet I’m getting it
If you can't find a marker, you can smoke the bullet in a candle flame. You really need something on the bullet so you can see if it is staying where it is positioned when the bolt is closed or if it's moving when you extract.
You will want to repeat this process a few times to make sure you are getting a consistent measurement.
You will want to repeat this process a few times to make sure you are getting a consistent measurement.
The process you are doing is learning what that rifles specific Max OAL cartridge length is. A set of calipers will come handy when you want to duplicate that round. That round will be Taylor made for THAT rifle. A different rifle in the same caliber may require a shorter OAL. This is the difference between hand loads and reloads. Your reloading book I'm sure gives you a max OAL. That number is on the "safe" side so it will chamber in any brand rifle that caliber. Just a note, got in a rush once and grabbed the wrong reloads for my tc venture 22-250. It wasn't fun unstickin shells from the chamber. My Ruger American would eat fire-formed brass from either rifle. The Thomson had a much tighter chamber. So.... If you are going to reload for a specific rifle, be sure you don't mix it up with another rifle in that caliber. Hope this helps. If not, sorry.
If one only has a single caliber in a bolt gun, fire forming the case to the chamber then trimming to a consistent length is a common practice. In reality, when the round goes off, the brass swells/flows to fill the chamber, seals off the gases, then retracts milliseconds later for extraction.
In my 30-06, the only one I have, I've never ran the rounds through a total resizer die after the first shooting. Only neck size afterward, and trim to length.
Neck sizing dies are a seperate animal. Neck sizing won't work on ammo designed for semiauto guns.
In my 30-06, the only one I have, I've never ran the rounds through a total resizer die after the first shooting. Only neck size afterward, and trim to length.
Neck sizing dies are a seperate animal. Neck sizing won't work on ammo designed for semiauto guns.
This is the place to ask, these guys are awesome
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