Recently got my son a model 14 Classic in .308. Figured it was time to get back into reloading after a 20 year hiatus. Got a new Sierra manual, some Varget, Federal 210M primers, and 165 gr Sierra bthp. Figured I would fireform the new WW brass with a moderate load. Used 42gr and got cratered primers?! This was with a COAL of 2.750 well under the max Sierra stated of 2.810. I was aiming to get the top of the boattail at the base of the neck, not yet knowing what the max length of seated against the lands would be. And not really concerned at this point, just wanted to be short at this point to get a few rounds through it. So I figured I would do what I probably should have done to begin with and started at the minimum (38.5) and loaded 5 rounds each at .5 grain increments up to 41.5. Again cratered primers at the minimum load, this time in once fired, neck-sized cases. My reading on this forum made me think that maybe the slop in the firing pin/bolt face might be causing the primers to be cratered but not due to high pressure. well this morning I figured I would find out what the COAL would be with the bullet .005 short of the lands. I seated a 165gr Sierra long and started tring to close the bolt on shorter and shorter lengths. I could not close the bolt on anything longer than 2.750 (go figure). Upon extracting the case I measured it at 2.745. The cases had been sized with a collet neck sizing die so I figured (again) that the bolt closing was seating the bullet deeper to a point jammed against the lands. I smoked the bullet with a lighter (no powder or primer) and continued seating the bullet deeper in .005 increments until I could no longer see the lands on the bullet. That COAL ended up being 2.720. A rough measurement from the base to the lands looks like 2.285.