308 load data, COAL

[Dennis]

Why do so many people reload and set their COAL to the factory setting of 2.810 and have great results.

And everybody seems to have there own COAL, either in the lands, on the lands, or off!

Just wondering as I have seen so many post that 2.810 COAL works perfect in many guns, so why experiment with COAL?

[Uncle Jack]

I would think the standardization of 2.910 COAL is primarily for the semi-automatic weapons that the cartridge is designed for. For bolt action rifles, whatever works/fits is just fine. I have (3) .308 rifles and have a different set of dies for each one.

uj

[tammons]

For accuracy mostly.

For instance in 308 if you want to load a barnes bullet to the recommended jump just to the lands in a savage you have to load it longer than the Sammi COL.

For the 110 gr Vmax, the bullet is so short, I load it shorter.

If you were hand loading for any old rifle you should load to the Sammi COL.





Why do so many people reload and set their COAL to the factory setting of 2.810 and have great results.

And everybody seems to have there own COAL, either in the lands, on the lands, or off!

Just wondering as I have seen so many post that 2.810 COAL works perfect in many guns, so why experiment with COAL?

[Bark]

Very happy to see this question asked here as I have brass and bullets (Lapua Scenar 155's) on the way and have only loaded straight case'd bullets loaded to factory COAL in the past.I have a 110LA that we rebarreled from 30-06 to 308 and am using a single shot follower which allows me to load jammed or jump'n but I have never myself measured the distance to lands in a loaded cartridge and do not know the procedure.Was going to ask this here today and logged in and the thread was already going.My question then is how do YOU find the distance of the bullet from the lands,starting with a 2.75 or 2.80 COAL?Will much appreciate ALL advice and good shooting to all. Mark

[tammons]

There are a couple of measuring devises. I use a hornady OAL gage. You buy a drilled and tapped piece of brass to use with it.

Alternately if they are out of stock on that drilled brass, I will take a piece of 1x shot brass, slightly neck size the brass, insert a bullet and load it long, and chamber it.

Pull the bullet out a bit and chamber it a few times to find the OAL at the lands.

There are other methods too, but the hornady oal gage is the easiest to me.

There is one that measures to the ogive, but I cant remember the name of it.

[Uncle Jack]

Every handloader should have one of these:

[[url]http://www.sinclairintl.com/product/5581/Bullet-Comparators/url]

and a decent dial calipher.

uj

[steveinwv]

My buddy has a Remington R25 AR and my brother a M700 BDL, both in .308. And they both shoot noticeably better at 2.75"OAL with both Nosler 125-150-165 Ballistics and 168BTHs. At 2.85" they both shot like s**t, with every powder and load known. This may not be the case for everyone.

[Ravenhawk57]

Suggest you go to bench rest central and read the archives on coal and accuracy, and proper ways to measure the seating depth of your rifle. These boys have it down pat. I use a stoney point myself with another tool to measure bullets ogive.

[pdog06]

Alot of times people will load to the 2.810 just so it will fit in the magazine. I have my 308 loaded at 2.875" withthe SMK's, but when I hunt and shoot NBT's or similar the longest OAL that will go in my Savage mag is 2.820". It stinks cause it might not be as accurate as the longer round, but if you want more than one shot available ya gotta do it.

[Woodser]

Every rifle has an OAL that will work best in it, and that may or may not be the published length. Experimentation can be done for optimum accuracy for competition and varmiting, optimum velocity with acceptable accuracy for a long range big game rifle, or best overall performance with a happy medium of velocity and accuracy, depending on what the shooter is looking for.

The published length is just for standardization, making ammo that will function in every rifle, and for handloaders is only a starting or reference point. Some reloaders start with recommended OAL and never venture from it,. others play with length for years before deciding on what they consider optimum for whatever purpose they decide on. It is totally an individual decision. Since some of us see the development of loads as an enjoyable hobby, the costs of components is a secondary consideration.

[darkker]

I used Standard COAL when I FIRST started reloading, and didn't know shite from shine-O-La.
As pure coincidence I started doind the 1/32" off the lands, as per Richard Lee. The more I tested, 98% of the time that allowed me to do very little load tweeking, with stellar accuracy.
Whenever I reload for a new gun now, I resize brass, and barely seat my intended bullets, chamber; and use the calipers to measure. Back that number off by the 32nd. And Viola!!

[Dennis]

As pure coincidence I started doind the 1/32" off the lands

Ahhhhhhh, it's late, I just finished reloading 200 rounds, ahhhhh

1/32" = ????? in 1/1000 (0.000") , don't laugh, it's too late!

When I wake up in the morning, I can figure it out, LOL, but not at the very moment!

I don't even know my name right now!

[Dennis]

others play with length for years before deciding on what they consider optimum

Ahhhh, again, it's late,

I don't figure I have "years" to decide, just kidding,

maybe by this summer I hope to have all my optimum loads in my load data journal!


??? ??? ??? ???

[Dennis]

PS: I "DO" appreciate all the responses and I am learning from everyone!

So Thanks to everyone who has responded so far!

Dennis

[okie2]

Every handloader should have one of these:

[[url]http://www.sinclairintl.com/product/5581/Bullet-Comparators/url]

and a decent dial calipher.

uj

here this link is a good one not like the above
http://www.sinclairintl.com/product/5581/Bullet-Comparators

[nova1194]

You will have to measure rounds chambered in your rifle to get the COAL that works best for it, and you will have to measure COAL for every bullet you want to try.
I am currently shooting 150gr Sierra game kings in my 308 10fp, when loaded to the sammi spec it jams the bullets .020, while it was very accurate, I couldnt remove a round from the chamber without pulling the bullet out.
I use the Stoney Point set up and really like it, measurung off of the ogive is way better than off of the tip, much more consistant results.

Later
Mike

[darkker]

1/32 = .03125" according to the calculator...