Oal and pressure question

[Jamnanc]

Loading hornady 168 bthp in commercial cases. Followed book data work up from 40.5 to 43.0 of h4895 in .3 increments. Loaded to 2.8 oal and the bolt wouldn't close. Took them home and ended up seating to 2.785 in order to get the bolt to close properly. Problem solved right?

Except that hat I started getting serious ejector marks and flattened primers at 41.5. Which shot pretty well. I'm thinking the bullet is still too close to the lans and causing pressure issues. So the question is if I push the bullet in farther will it increase pressure due to case capacity issues or lower pressure since it's going to have more free bore? I'd like to load a bunch of these based on their accuracy, but would like a little more pressure breathing room.

[Jamnanc]

Not cratered, slightly flattened, no leakage. What say you.

[TheBelly]

What is the base-to-ogive length in your gun?

What is the trim length of the cases?

what is the headstamp on the cases?

What is the gun?

[Jamnanc]

I haven't measured base too give because I don't have the tools.

Trim length is 2.005.

Nosler brass once fired.

Savage 10fp-sr.

There are many posts about the savage having a short throat. I was expecting if I loaded to common lengths it would work and could go longer to cut jump down later.

[TheBelly]

The base to ogive measurement is pretty important to both pressures and accuracy.

[Hound]

I am having about the same issue with some 300BLK general 150gr and some .223 50gr ZMAX bullet loads. Other bullets load/shoot great to normal but when I try these two bullets in my gun(s) the bolt does not fully go home when I use the specs from the manuals. I tried to reduce the OAL length a bit but at a certain point don't know how far to push this. I just picked up an OAL gauge to get the numbers for my specific guns but have been on travel and have not had time to relax and go through the process yet. I don't want to be in a hurry when I do it and mess it up. I will be interested in the feedback here.

[TheBelly]

Try this:

http://youtu.be/GmDi7v530Og

[TheBelly]

When I did this, it was within 0.001" of the measurement I got when I used an actual cartridge length gauge.

[Jamnanc]

I will do this to confirm what I already know. Thank you for the link. The question I have is, can I load the same powder charge at 2.775 as I did at 2.80 without seeing a pressure spike, I know it matters in a pistol, to what degree does it affect a rifle case?

[TheBelly]

I will do this to confirm what I already know. Thank you for the link. The question I have is, can I load the same powder charge at 2.775 as I did at 2.80 without seeing a pressure spike, I know it matters in a pistol, to what degree does it affect a rifle case?

It matters.

I always start with the low end of the recommended charge weight and work up to a good group.