I am trying to determine a good OAL for a 69gr SMK load in my Stevens 200. I attempted to use a split neck case (once fired and ran thru a neck collet) to jam a bullet up to the lands. It seems REALLY long. 2.385" range. The book is showing 2.235". Will .150" jump be too much for accurate shooting, or is it more likely I am doing something wrong measuring?? Any help would really be appreiciated, money's tight these days and I'd like to cheapen the learning curve. Thanks.
More .223 questions
- Thread starter MailleMas
- Start date
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Use your cleaning rod to determine max COL.
1) close the bolt on an EMPTY chamber
2) put the cleaning rod down the bore from the muzzle and mark the end of the barrel on the rod using a sharp pencil (wrap the rod in masking tape to clearly show the mark)
3) remove the rod and bolt
4) drop the chosen bullet nose first into the chamber, ensuring that it drops straight into the throat
5) hold the bullet in the throat with a pencil (unsharpened is easier on your fingers)
6) reinsert the cleaning rod and mark the location of the muzzle
7) remove the road and measure the distance between pencil marks on the cleaning rod
Depending on the sharpness of your pencil you may be a hair long or short. You can set your seater to a hair longer OAL and gradually seat the bullet deeper until the bolt just closes without resistance (probably don't want the bullet jammed in the bore as you can pull the bullet from the case and spill powder in the action - PITA). Once you've got the OAL you want, function check to ensure that your ammunition feeds into your magazine. Load a full magazine worth of ammo into your rifle, not just a round or two as two rounds may not go deep enough in the mag to clear the front of the mag box. You want to find this out now, not out in the field.
Keep in mind that the long OAL might not give the best results for accuracy. test the loads to see if you really want the bullets seated way out or if they will shoot just as well with some "jump" to the lands. I they do want to be seated that far out and they don't fit in your mag it may be time for some minor surgery to the mag, follower and ejector (Savage uses an extended lug on the right hand side to limit bolt throw for the 223 models). You could order a 308 length mag box, follower and bolt flange (the second set of locking lugs on the Savage bolt do not rotate and act as a gas shield - these are what will need to be replaced). Savage bolts take down fairly easily and parts are likely available from Mysticplayer or ATRS.
That was more than I intended to write.
1) close the bolt on an EMPTY chamber
2) put the cleaning rod down the bore from the muzzle and mark the end of the barrel on the rod using a sharp pencil (wrap the rod in masking tape to clearly show the mark)
3) remove the rod and bolt
4) drop the chosen bullet nose first into the chamber, ensuring that it drops straight into the throat
5) hold the bullet in the throat with a pencil (unsharpened is easier on your fingers)
6) reinsert the cleaning rod and mark the location of the muzzle
7) remove the road and measure the distance between pencil marks on the cleaning rod
Depending on the sharpness of your pencil you may be a hair long or short. You can set your seater to a hair longer OAL and gradually seat the bullet deeper until the bolt just closes without resistance (probably don't want the bullet jammed in the bore as you can pull the bullet from the case and spill powder in the action - PITA). Once you've got the OAL you want, function check to ensure that your ammunition feeds into your magazine. Load a full magazine worth of ammo into your rifle, not just a round or two as two rounds may not go deep enough in the mag to clear the front of the mag box. You want to find this out now, not out in the field.
Keep in mind that the long OAL might not give the best results for accuracy. test the loads to see if you really want the bullets seated way out or if they will shoot just as well with some "jump" to the lands. I they do want to be seated that far out and they don't fit in your mag it may be time for some minor surgery to the mag, follower and ejector (Savage uses an extended lug on the right hand side to limit bolt throw for the 223 models). You could order a 308 length mag box, follower and bolt flange (the second set of locking lugs on the Savage bolt do not rotate and act as a gas shield - these are what will need to be replaced). Savage bolts take down fairly easily and parts are likely available from Mysticplayer or ATRS.
That was more than I intended to write.
I use the split neck technique for all my rifle. You have tostart with a resized case, then split the neck with a dremel tool. I run the case with bullet barely inserted 2-3 times measuring each time and if the measurements are within .005'' I make an average.
For 223 stevens don't be surprised the throat is long.... I reload 75 AMAX and my OAL is 2.540''.
Cheers
Gaetoune
For 223 stevens don't be surprised the throat is long.... I reload 75 AMAX and my OAL is 2.540''.
Cheers
Gaetoune
Take a fired case.
Use pliers to lightly make the neck out of round (This takes a very light squeeze)
Place bullet in end of case and chamber.
Remove from rifle and measure with a comparator.
Do this 4 or 5 times to get an average.
Use pliers to lightly make the neck out of round (This takes a very light squeeze)
Place bullet in end of case and chamber.
Remove from rifle and measure with a comparator.
Do this 4 or 5 times to get an average.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Don't worry about getting near the lands. You won't without being too long to seat in your mag.
Just let the mag determine OAL. You can adjust your powder amount to make the rifle shoot its best.
The MK's should be tolerant of a jump. As long as the bullet fully engraves before leaving the case neck, you can tune for accuracy using powder in very small increments.
Jerry
Just let the mag determine OAL. You can adjust your powder amount to make the rifle shoot its best.
The MK's should be tolerant of a jump. As long as the bullet fully engraves before leaving the case neck, you can tune for accuracy using powder in very small increments.
Jerry
