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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
MAXIMUM C.O.L vs Optimal C.O.L
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<blockquote data-quote="boomtube" data-source="post: 513449" data-attributes="member: 9215"><p>"I'm given to the fact that factories have safety factors that MUST come into play so no biggie there...please clarify for me where the "public safety/manufacturing" elements end and where the real world veteran reloader REALLY begins."</p><p> </p><p>All of the above applies. But...real world reloading really begins when the loader buys a press and dies. </p><p> </p><p>When I started reloading few manuals bothered with any OAL suggestions at all and those that did simply gave the SAAMI length, which is for a minimum throat without regard to what bullet it may contain. And gun makers can enlarge the leade as much as they wish because there is NO maximum length for that leade specification, nor need there be. </p><p> </p><p>Only after a few loading books started listing the OAL they used to develop the data they list, along with exactly the bullet they used to do it with (which means virtually nothing to anyone else) did the agonised questions start coming; "What OAL should I use for a Nosler .308 148 gr. ballistic tip-hollow-point boat tail in my Remchester .300 SOL with 21" barrel and Tasco 3-9x65 scope in Simmon's C-through mounts? All I can find is info for a 150 gr. spirepoint and I don't want to blow my gun up!" Forget it! Bottom line; book lengths and the powder, bullets, case and primer data they list are starting point guides, no more than that. And as more and more books include OAL for specific bullets the more the noob's understandable confusion rises. (Including a LOT of web gurus who consider themselves "knowledgeable.")</p><p> </p><p>Thing is, NO firearm cares a bit about where a bullet's meplat hangs in space. If the round feeds and chambers smoothly then develop your load around that OAL. AFTER you find the best shooting charge (optimal), vary the seating in maybe 5 thou steps, in and out, until you find the best (optimal) OAL and stick with it for that load. Few sporters shoot best at the lands so finding MAX OAL with high precision is interesting but virtually meaningless, all we really need as a working reference point that's reasonably close just to keep us from jamming the bullets. Most sporter rifles will shoot best with a jump varing from 20 thou off to as much as 4 times that much so precisely where you start and what a book says matters not a lot.</p><p> </p><p>There are perhaps a half dozen ways to find the max OAL to lands contact, and maybe a half dozen variations of each method. They all work, no one method is automatically better than the others.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="boomtube, post: 513449, member: 9215"] "I'm given to the fact that factories have safety factors that MUST come into play so no biggie there...please clarify for me where the "public safety/manufacturing" elements end and where the real world veteran reloader REALLY begins." All of the above applies. But...real world reloading really begins when the loader buys a press and dies. When I started reloading few manuals bothered with any OAL suggestions at all and those that did simply gave the SAAMI length, which is for a minimum throat without regard to what bullet it may contain. And gun makers can enlarge the leade as much as they wish because there is NO maximum length for that leade specification, nor need there be. Only after a few loading books started listing the OAL they used to develop the data they list, along with exactly the bullet they used to do it with (which means virtually nothing to anyone else) did the agonised questions start coming; "What OAL should I use for a Nosler .308 148 gr. ballistic tip-hollow-point boat tail in my Remchester .300 SOL with 21" barrel and Tasco 3-9x65 scope in Simmon's C-through mounts? All I can find is info for a 150 gr. spirepoint and I don't want to blow my gun up!" Forget it! Bottom line; book lengths and the powder, bullets, case and primer data they list are starting point guides, no more than that. And as more and more books include OAL for specific bullets the more the noob's understandable confusion rises. (Including a LOT of web gurus who consider themselves "knowledgeable.") Thing is, NO firearm cares a bit about where a bullet's meplat hangs in space. If the round feeds and chambers smoothly then develop your load around that OAL. AFTER you find the best shooting charge (optimal), vary the seating in maybe 5 thou steps, in and out, until you find the best (optimal) OAL and stick with it for that load. Few sporters shoot best at the lands so finding MAX OAL with high precision is interesting but virtually meaningless, all we really need as a working reference point that's reasonably close just to keep us from jamming the bullets. Most sporter rifles will shoot best with a jump varing from 20 thou off to as much as 4 times that much so precisely where you start and what a book says matters not a lot. There are perhaps a half dozen ways to find the max OAL to lands contact, and maybe a half dozen variations of each method. They all work, no one method is automatically better than the others. [/QUOTE]
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MAXIMUM C.O.L vs Optimal C.O.L
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