Are the Chambers in Savage Guns Usually Large?

[Steeltrap]

I've found that (just my personal load development history) seating the bullets .020 (twenty thousands) from the lands was usually the "sweet spot" for most calibers. Some were fussy and had different lengths (I had a 7-30 Waters that got wonky if the bullets were set back farther than .010).

I'd go with the above recommendations of seating the bullets to the length your magazine will allow and try different powders and powder weights from reliable sources and see if that gets you the results you want.

If that proves difficult, you could always load them longer than your magazine allows, firing them single shot, and see if that gets you the results. If so, then the link provided above to buying an aftermarket magazine that may give you the "needed" room may be the way to go.

Just my $0.02.

Well, with inflation I guess it's now $0.03.

[Ernest T]

Thanks for the input. I'm starting with magazine length cartridges and working backwards away from the lands in small increments using four different powder weights. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm loading and shooting a lot and learning a little so everything's good!

[Whynot]

Thanks for the input. I'm starting with magazine length cartridges and working backwards away from the lands in small increments using four different powder weights. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm loading and shooting a lot and learning a little so everything's good!

Best way to approach it... as a fun and learning experience. If you are learning something from each round you load then the ones that shoot horrible still are not a waste.

One thing that can help out.... when you get to the OAL that you are going to use- then seat some bullets a few thousandths deeper and see how they shoot. This will give you a good idea of how the load is going to respond as the barrel wears and the bullets start jumping further. As stated earlier- I really don't care how far the bullets are jumping- but do want a wide degree of how much things can change and still be shooting good.

[Stumpkiller]

Don't panic. I have some bullets (i.e. Swift Scirocco II) that actually do better with a 0.060" to 0.065" jump. You have to play around and experiment.