Re: Oal first or charge wegihts first?
Developing a load with the bullet set back from the lands 0.020" or so is what I do. I do it to be absolutely "sure" the bullet is not touching the lands. If the bullet is touching or jammed into the lands it can raise the peak chamber pressure 7,500 to 10,000 psi which is a lot.
If load development is done with out the bullet touching the lands, and the bullet is moved out to touch the lands, it will reuslt in the peak pressure going up by 7,500 to 10,000 psi - this is not a feature.
If this is a hunting load I'd recommend starting at 0.020" jump and after load development is done try increasing the jump in .010" increments to see if that makes a difference. Jamming the bullet for a hunting round into the lands can cause issues with clearing the rifle - there is a chance that emptying the chamber the unfired bullet will stay in the lands allowing powder to dump into the receiver when unloading and clearning the rifle..
Fitch