7mm Rem Mag OAL

[wjarrell]

I'm getting ready to start load development for my Remington 700 ADL in 7mm Rem Mag with a 26" barrel. I'm waiting on Norma brass to ship. I will be loading with Norma brass, CCI-250, Retumbo, and 168 grain VLD's. My plan is to load all at the same bullet depth and start at 69 grains of Retumbo and work up to 71.5 in .5 grain increments and then go from there.

Now here is my dilemma, when I first got the gun I bought a box of HSM 168 vld's to use for barrel break in. They consistently shot just under 1 inch at 100 yards for 3 shots, 2 bullets touching and then the third thrown. I should have measured the OAL of the HSM ammo but I didn't. Does anyone have a guess what they measure out to? I would guess that they are over 3.290 or whatever saami minimum is.

What depth would be a good starting point for me? I'm not sure how to measure my chamber length but I can try and figure it out.

 

[jpd676]

Your Over All Length depends on a lot of things. The important thing is to know how close your bullet's bearing surface is to the rifelings. I use a Hornady OAL length gauge to determine how far my bearing surface is to the rifelings and then seat the bullet just below (.02) that distance. It all depends on the bullet you use as some like to jump a bit and others like to have no jump. If you post where you are from, maybe someone in your area could help you set up your load with their equipment. Lots of us enjoy helping others get their loads figured out.

 

[wjarrell]

I went to Sportsmans Warehouse today and measured some HSM bullets with my digital caliper. They measured right around 3.335. I also noticed in this particular batch that they now use Federal brass instead of Norma, and a silver primer instead of a brass colored primer.

 

[roninflag]

Your Over All Length depends on a lot of things. The important thing is to know how close your bullet's bearing surface is to the rifelings. I use a Hornady OAL length gauge to determine how far my bearing surface is to the rifelings and then seat the bullet just below (.02) that distance. It all depends on the bullet you use as some like to jump a bit and others like to have no jump. If you post where you are from, maybe someone in your area could help you set up your load with their equipment. Lots of us enjoy helping others get their loads figured out.

this is a great place to start. .020 off the lands.