case oal ?

[cdixon]

i am loading some 7mm rem mag shells, with the 168MK. my magazine allows me to seat the bullet out to 3.347 inches. i was told a way to see how long to seat the bullet so it will just touch the lands. the method i was told was to drop a bullet in the barell. then stick a cleaning rod through the end of the barrel, then mark the rod when it hits the bullet. then take the bullet out and close the bolt. push the rod in, and mark it where it hits the bolt. by doing this i got a meaurement of 3.16 inches. this seems really short. is this an accurate method? or should i seat them long? the rifle is a win m70 laredo. any help is greatly appreciated. im finally getting out to shoot for the first time this year, through the fourth. thanks

cdixon

 

[Cobra Kahn]

cdixon,

For about $30.00 you can obtain a Stoney Point OAL gauge, and another $6.00 to purchase the 7mm Rem case to go along with it. The will allow you to measure to the nats-*** the OAL where a bullet makes contacts with your rifle's lands. Of course it really is not the bullet tip that makes contact with the lands, it is the ogive of the bullet. In order to measure the length to the ogive you would have to invest another $15.00 to purchase the Stoney Point Comparator.

Check out MidwayUSA's web site, they certainly have other products and brands available as well. For the total investment of around fifty bucks, I'd certainly recommend it, especially if you plan on loading rounds that contact the lands. Keep in mind that seating bullets into the lands does in fact increase pressures over what would be experienced should you seat them with say 20 thousands of freebore; so decrease your charge and work up!