Rem 700 308 long O.A.L.

[JCS]

I have a remington 700 adl, I used a hornaday OAL gauge in it to find the OAL to the lands using a hornaday 168gr match bthp bullet, 8 readings between 2.943-2.946 to the lands so I averaged at 2.944 cartrige spec length is 2.810. This looks really long to load to the lands. If it can be loaded this long how would I handle the powder charge due to the extra space in the case?

 

[JCS]

I guess it doesn't really matter unless I want to single load I should stay under 2.810. I have also found some other threads that say the stock remi chambers are long I would need a match grade barrel. To many other needs

 

[42769vette]

Thats really about right. Alot of folks switch to bottom metal that takes a AI mag just to be able to feed rounds with a oal longer than 2.8.

 

[kludge]

I load the 168SMK to 2.900" in my Savage, and that's 0.015" off the lands. Fits in the magazine, so no problems.

The extra leade length also makes it possible to load bullets like a 180gr RN.

 

[45fan]

How does your rifle group with the bullet seated under the max OAL? My 700, bone stock, save for the aluminum trigger guard, puts the 167 gr SMKs into less than an inch @ 100 yards. It might get better if I seated the bullet out further, but I dont know that I can shoot any better.
Weatherby was a big proponent of long freebore in his rifles too, and those were(are) some pretty accurate rifles from the factory.

 

[42769vette]

Weatherby was a big proponent of long freebore in his rifles too, and those were(are) some pretty accurate rifles from the factory.

Fact, the only bullets Ive found that just can not handle freebore are the berger vld's. The only think I have ever been able to make them shoot straight in is a prohunter

 

[Broom_jm]

A lot of guys have been very surprised to find their rifle delivers excellent accuracy, despite having a long jump from case mouth to leade...but let's think about this, shall we?

The bullet in question is ~1.265" long. Your chamber is ~.150" longer than the book recommended OAL. When seated to 2.810", the bullet you chose is seated .470" into the case. When it contacts the leade, it's still got more than .300" of the bullet in the neck of your case. It doesn't clear the case until it's well into the rifling, and that's going to be true regardless of what your OAL is.

I've become rather obsessed with single-shot rifles, where there is no magazine length to contend with and bullet can be seated as long as your chamber will allow. You can shove the ogive right into the lands, with mild to middling charges. What have I discovered? Well, it all boils down to an article I read some time ago about seating depth and how it affects accuracy. ( 24hourcampfire - "Factors In Accuracy, Part II: Handloads" by John Barsness )

In a nutshell, "concentricity" is what matters. Whether your bullets are kissing the lands, or .150" off, the KEY to accurate loads is concentric cases, neck, chambers, leade, and most importantly, the bullets themselves. Why are guns so much more accurate than they used to be? Well, modern manufacturing techniques are giving us actions, barrels and components that are remarkably concentric.

Shoot your gun with bullets seated to various depths. Go as long as your magazine will allow. Go as short as the book recommends. Heck, load some that you have to feed by hand cuz they are so long. You might find that it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, and more to the point, you will almost certainly be able to find a combination of charge weight and seating depth that gives you VERY good accuracy, while still being short enough to feed through your magazine.

See also: OCW Overview - Dan Newberry's OCW Load Development System