I just had to tell somebody... last night I proudly produced my own handloaded ammunition for the first time. 20rds for my 270 Win. I used my spent Federal cases with H4831SC and WLR primers behind the 150gr Speer Hotcor.

I loaded 5rds each with 52, 53, 54, and 55 grains of powder (52 being the starting load and 55.7 being the max in my manual).

I can see this hobby turning into an addiction.

One question though... the manual listed a minimum OAL as 3.285", but the factory ammo I have on hand measures around 3.23" on average. 55 thou' seems like a big difference to me, but since this is my first effort, I thought I'd ask the forum if I need to be concerned.

Thanks

First and foremost, Congrats! Reloading is a fun little addiction that will simply enable you to shoot more. Lord knows I haven't actually saved a dime - I just keep dumping my "savings" into more lead and range time!

A quick check on Hodgdon's website lists varying COL's from 3.145 - 3.340" depending on the bullet. I think what you will find is that there are a lot of variables to work with when reloading and that COL is just one more of them.

I'm sure someone here will chime in with a lengthy post on COL's - I have to get ready for work this morning.

Having said that, my general rules for MY rifles are: seat the bullet and COL to 2.810 for my short action rifles and be done with it. 2.810 is the max I can do with the short magazines in my Rem 673 and Model 7 rifles. Since I can't go beyond those numbers due to magazine limits, and since I know that max COL still gives me a little jump to the lands (and I can do anything about it) I just call it "good" and move on.

On the other hand, if I had a rifle such as a Ruger #1 that would really let me play with min/max COL's I just might actually spend more time working with COL's.

Enjoy the hobby!

Mr Julian, Welcome to the forums and reloading. The approach you have taken for a first time loader is well thought out as you need to get a general idea of what your rifle will like. Should one of those loads shoot nice groups for you, next try 1/2 grain more and 1/2 grain less powder. Regarding seating depth or overall length, the above advice being the best for sporting rifles. That is, be aware of the magazine length restrictions and load to the longest possible for your rifle. Get a chronograph and keep very through notes. Read the loading manuals frequently.

If I could add one more piece of advice it would be to only change one thing at a time when searching for "the load."


Good luck and load safe.

mrjulian_1970 You lived reloading your own ammunition !. Please inform us of the results after test firing said Ammo .

I'm teasing ! , congratulations on a job hopefully well done with rewards of accuracy .

I must WARN YOU it becomes a sickness loading your own . Prices go way way way down accuracy increases

wallets become lighter as you tend to shoot far more . Life is GOOD .

Mrjulian, I too thinkg you are on the right track. I would advise you to buy a Nosler reloading manual, they give a great step by step method to determine the Max cartridge overall length for YOUR rifle.

Having said that, unless you rig has been rebarreled, whereby a COL for that specific barrel could be just about anything, you will be safe sticking to SAAMI min/max dimensions.

Tweaking seating depth (and thereby COL) is a key step for me in getting that last bit of accuracy out of a particular load. I always compare the max COL for any given rifle, because depending on the bullet I choose, I may wish to have it further from or closer to the lands.

A big example of this is when I want to use Barnes Triple Shock (Barnes XXX) bullets as I like to takes Barnes advice on this bullet, and seat them at .050 off the lands to start.

Welcome to AR, let us know how your range session goes.

Good shooting!

quote:

One question though... the manual listed a minimum OAL as 3.285", but the factory ammo I have on hand measures around 3.23" on average. 55 thou' seems like a big difference to me, but since this is my first effort, I thought I'd ask the forum if I need to be concerned

I think the OAL is something that ought to be dispensed with in manuals.....the requirements are that the ammo fit the magazine and that the bullet be seated in the case neck one diameter or more, and that the bullet isn't jammed into the lands upon chambering.....

You seem to be doing fine.....lets hear your analysis after some trigger time!

Congrats on your new addiction! Hello, my name is Andy, and I'm a reloadaholic.

I've saved tons of money reloading...so much, in fact, that I now have a room at the house devoted to it...2 metallic cartridge presses and 4 shotshell presses. Had to reinforce the shelves to hold all the ammo and components. Nuttin' like saving money!

Enter here at your own risk. Before I joined this forum, I was a sane man. I didn't think of shooting big heavy boolits into little small holes, from far, far , away. These guys corrupted me, I will never be the same again. Thanks Guys

consider yourself one of us,consider yourself one of the family....

Congratulations and welcome to the reloading world! All of the above is true, you will love it and it will run away with you. When we moved into the house we are in now, I saw a little room off of the garage that I hadn't known about or inspected. The wife told me, "Yes, I saw it. That's going to be your reloading room, isn't it?" She knows.

To add to 308Sako's comment, try to stick to changing one component at a time. A short time after I started, I wanted to shoot every powder and every bullet available, and that was just in one caliber. Try to settle on a bullet weight and use different powders with it. Or whatever suits you. Good luck, and have fun!!