I am reloading for my .223 and i was told, for minimum "free bore", and maximum accuracy, i should start the bullet into the case, and then put the bullet and case into the chamber and close chamber. then pull loaded ammo out of chamber and then seat bullet .005 deeper into case. Well the problem is, i took .005 off and the length is 2.370. max col in all my reloading info shows 2.260.
I don't know if any of this helps diagnos my problem but i am shooting a T/C encore(single shot break action), 53gr hp match hornady bullets, and once fired winchester brass. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
Matt

With a single shot firearm you don't have to worry about feeding or fitting a mag so the COL is limited only by the bullet staying in the case while you handle the gun or the bullet being jammed into the rifling and making pressure rise if the load is max...it sounds like your chamber is long throated with a lot of freebore and many gun/load combos shoot most accurately with no or short "jump" to the rifling.....many use bushing dies to get neck tension to hold the bullet seated at least one "caliber"...220in.into the neck or so,but some guns shoot well with deep seated bullets to keep the bullet straight durring field use.....just watch for pressure jump with the bullet touching the lands and "hot" loads....experiment with different seating depths to see how they group......good luck and good shooting-loading!!

In addition to what bigdaddy said...be careful if you decide to experiment in both directions as seating the bullet deeper than the listed COL can increase pressure as well due to the resulting reduction in case capacity.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=RESDTCL&type=store

Sinclair offers a neat product that you can determine your chamber length with, it's caliber universal as well. r in s.

bkmastr,

I can't add much to Bigdaddytacp's post. I recommend you measure ogive length not bullet tip length.

I like the Davidson Depth Checker. Take a look at this product on Sinclear's website or talk with their technical staff.