i'm new to reloading and am a bit confused about over all length. it seems every different brand of bullet has a different oal, and very diffeent grain has a different oal. i want to load 50gr balistic top noslers for a 223, and cannot find the exact oal. how critical is this? also is using the same grains of powder in the reloading book for a certain weight of bullet ok, such as using 26 gr of h-335 for ANY 50 grain bullet? help please!
OAL Question
- Thread starter berjerkin
- Start date
rnbra-shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Brunswick
What rifle is this for?
There are a few things that can determine your COAL.
If you are loading from a magazine, the round has to fit in the magazine, and feed reliably from it. From memory the standard maximum overall length for a .223 is 2.260" COAL; all commercial ammo must be less than this, so that it will fit in all rifles. But you are not loading for ALL rifles, you are loading for YOUR rifle; it may well be the case that you can load ammo longer than this, and still have it work well from your magazine.
For advanced accuracy-oriented loading, one of the common variables that a reloader tweaks when tuning a load, is how close a bullet is to the rifling. This can result in a reloaded making ammo that is shorter or longer than "factory standard" ammo. When you see people talking about bullet "jump" (how far the bullet travels before it engages the rifling", or "touching the lands", or "jammed ten thou into the lands", this is what they are talking about.
Some bullets (not Nosler Ballistic Tips) have a "cannelure", which is a crimping groove. If you want your assembled ammunition to make use of this, and have the case mouth rolled into the cannelure, then the position of the cannelure on the bullet will determine the loaded length. This is usually only a factor in extremely heavily recoiling rifle/cartridge combos.
It's not _quite_ OK to use certain data for "ANY 50 grain bullet", though it is reasonably close. If you do this, and you also observe the usual cautions w.r.t. starting off with a "starting load" before carefully working your way up and looking for pressure signs, you ought to be fine. Read your reloading book (or books) in detail, especially the portions that talk about "how to reload", they ought to discuss the various cautions such as different kinds of bullet (of the same weight) producing different pressures, and other such reasons to "start low, then work up".
There are a few things that can determine your COAL.
If you are loading from a magazine, the round has to fit in the magazine, and feed reliably from it. From memory the standard maximum overall length for a .223 is 2.260" COAL; all commercial ammo must be less than this, so that it will fit in all rifles. But you are not loading for ALL rifles, you are loading for YOUR rifle; it may well be the case that you can load ammo longer than this, and still have it work well from your magazine.
For advanced accuracy-oriented loading, one of the common variables that a reloader tweaks when tuning a load, is how close a bullet is to the rifling. This can result in a reloaded making ammo that is shorter or longer than "factory standard" ammo. When you see people talking about bullet "jump" (how far the bullet travels before it engages the rifling", or "touching the lands", or "jammed ten thou into the lands", this is what they are talking about.
Some bullets (not Nosler Ballistic Tips) have a "cannelure", which is a crimping groove. If you want your assembled ammunition to make use of this, and have the case mouth rolled into the cannelure, then the position of the cannelure on the bullet will determine the loaded length. This is usually only a factor in extremely heavily recoiling rifle/cartridge combos.
It's not _quite_ OK to use certain data for "ANY 50 grain bullet", though it is reasonably close. If you do this, and you also observe the usual cautions w.r.t. starting off with a "starting load" before carefully working your way up and looking for pressure signs, you ought to be fine. Read your reloading book (or books) in detail, especially the portions that talk about "how to reload", they ought to discuss the various cautions such as different kinds of bullet (of the same weight) producing different pressures, and other such reasons to "start low, then work up".
Moose Masher
CGN Regular
- Location
- Oak Hammok Manitoba
You should spend the cash and buy a couple of reloading manuals, Nosler, Hornady etc. It's a good investment. The front sections of these books contain information that is invaluable to new reloaders. Read through the stuff 5 or 6 times until it is burned into your brain, then read it again. Exessive pressure is not your friend.
