Here I go littering the place with another newbie question...but.....

I have noticed that there is not much room between min and max overall length in what I shoot (7mm rem mag) maybe .010 (per the specs that come printed with my dies for that round)
With that said, people are talking a lot here about placing the bullet in the brass so it is just touching the rifling (or a specific spot in relation to the rifling), and to use a special gauge to measure and see what this is in your specific rifle.......
Now comes the question...will this placement always fall with-in the .010 +/- area the manuals states is o.k. for max and min lengths...OR is it o.k. to exceed the max length published specs if the gauge says your round would do better in another position?????
Thanks!
Bob

length of cartridge (COL)..... is relevent only to your magazine.....this number is far too over rated and I wish it was eliminated. It's more confusing than helpful.....as long as the cartridge cycles through the action it's OK!!!

As far as the distance the bullet travels in the barrel before it strikes the lands.....that too is far too overworked.....it can travel 1/8" and still be ok!!! Weatherby rifles are freebored to force a long travel before the bullet hits the rifling.

Don't get too concerned with these dimensions.....frankly neither is worth getting too upset with.

Seat your bullets about one diameter deep and see what happens.

Actually bullet specs by reloading manuals usually won't get you near the lands. Bullet profiles can vary much by manuafactuer depending onthe style of the bullet. A short stubby grand slam can't be set out as far as a sleek matchking. I would think you could easily find .080" variance and probably more between bullets.
Here's how to make a home made gauge. Take a once fired piece of brass. Try and work the case mouth closed slightly so that a bullet can slip into the case mouth but there is some friction. (Ie it take a little finger pressure to push it in or pull it out of the case. Now pull the bullet out a ways and put the case into your gun and close the bolt slowly. The bullet should hit the lands and as the bolt closes it will push the bullet into the case to match your "to lands distance". Now carefully extract the case and measure the distance from the tip of the bullet to the base of the case.
This will take a little practice and feel. If you set the case up with too much tension you can sometimes push the bullet into the lands to far and it will stick there. Then you may have to tap it out with a cleaning rod. Take several measurements and see if they are consistant. You will get the hang of it and the system works real well.