OAL for the Swede

[604shooter]

I was checking the rifle seating depth for some Nosler 120gr BT I'm loading and my rifle seating depth is 3.185. According to the Nosler manual I should seat the bullets another .015 - .03 inches less than the rifle seating depth. This gives me a OAL of 3.170 - 3.155. However, SAAMI OAL is 3.150

I've tried several bullets to get an average and all come up at around 3.185

Any thoughts?

 

[bcsteve]

I would seat them as far as you can to fit your magazine or for the neck to get a good grip on the bullet, whatever comes first. Most 6.5x55 are throated long to take the 160gr. SAAMI just want's to make sure that manufacturers will make ammunition that will ift in ALL rifles. You make you ammo to fit YOUR rifle. That's what I do with my two 6.5x55.

 

[p-17]

My 6.5 is throated so long that a 120-grain boattail is just barely held by the top 1/8 of an inch or so of the neck. That's just the way that cartridge has been traditionally reamed.

If it's a milsurp or hunting rifle, I wouldn't worry about seating depth too much, as long as its consistent. You just want to make sure enough of the bullet is held securely by the neck and you want to stay within the length limit of your magazine. In my case, I don't really care because my rifle is a single-shot F-class target rifle, so I can seat bullets way out. That ammunition will never be manhandled or slammed through a magazine.

 

[cosmic]

Well - I play with Swedes quite a bit - the M96's seem to have longer throats than the 38's, but most will accept cartridges well over the SAAMI limit. (If the rifle has been used for wooden practice rounds, its throat can be completely shot out, with a bright bore.)
I've no experience with the Noslers, but other commercial bullets can seat out to 3.25 in. I'd be careful about setting clearance down to 15 thou - ogive variation from box to box of the same bullet may get you in trouble. I use 30 -40 thou, based upon my tightest rifle.

 

[604shooter]

Thanks for the input guys. I am loading for my Steyr Prohunter and magazine clearance is definitely not going to be an issue. I will triple check my measurements and load accordingly.