Hi gang,
I'm somewhat new to reloading, and am in quite the quandary with overall lengths as I attempt to measure my new loads for my 10 FCP in 308. I'm loading 175 Sierras into Lapua brass to break her in, and am attempting to get the correct overall length before seating the Sierras - figure I'll seat to the lands, -.010, to start knowing the 175s like a little jump.
I paid for a rather dubious device from Hornady to check the length against the lands, unwrapped it today and it gave me 6 different readings with the same bullet, ranging from 2.120" to 2.621". Reading other posts, this length didn't surprise me as many other folks seem to go over the recc'd 2.800" max.
Then I switched up to a loose-necked fire-formed FC case, and the measurements after inserting it gently into the breech and closing the bolt read a little more consistently over six attempts, from 2.784" to 2.794".
It's important to mention here that the case I used in the latter test was fire-formed in a different rifle - would this impact the measurement? I have new Lapua and Hornady cases, but their necks are very tight - not sure I want to use the bolt to fit a bullet into that. Thoughts?
Thanks!
Chris
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