I am new to reloading. I used the Hornady OAL gauge to measure the OAL of a cartridge for a Rem 700 chamber. It measures 2.877 inches for a Berger 200 gr Match bullet when just touching the lands. The Black Hills cartridges I have been using measure 2.787 inches and the Hornady reloading manual gives a max spec for .308 at 2.810 inches. As you can see I am in XS of that max spec. Either my measurement is incorrect or the factory loads result in a very large jump. If I load to the 2.877 what risks am I running?

Jim

You never really want your bullets to be touching the lands when fired, this may be good for benchrest shooters, but not a good idea for hunting/long range rifles.
Pressures will be increased if you load this way.
The COL will change with the style of bullet you're using, it is not constant.
Do the rounds at 2.877" fit in your magazine?
If they do, I would seat the bullet to be .020" off the lands, shoot for accuracy and adjust in seating depth by .005" until you find the sweet spot.
If those rounds do not fit your magazine at that length, I would load them as far out as the magazine allows, with .010" clearance to the front of the mag, and follow the same procedure as above.
If you want to keep them at that length and single load, fine, but DO NOT seat the bullets into the lands. A .010" clearance is the minimum you want.
It is important to recognise that certain bullets are more accurate when they have quite a bit if a jump to the lands, sometimes as much as .050" or more.
Cheers.
416RigbyHunter.

are you crimping those bullets?

Thank you 416Rigbyhunter for the info. No I am not crimping the bullets. There is no cannelure tasunkawitko.


Both thanx for your help. I will try the method. The cartridges definitely fit the mag. It is a .308 in a Rem 700 LA. I will back off 0.02 inches and go from there. I won't seat to the lands. I was curious why the Hornady Max cartridge OAL is lower than the measured. These Sierra MatchK 200 gr bullets are big. I have Berger at 185 gr and Sierra MatchK at 175. I am trying to find a load and a configuration that my rifle likes.