7x30 with 120 grain ballistic tips

[theduke]

What do you set length of oal for 120 grain nosler ballistic tip bullets as not in my tc load book.  thanks  For others looks like 2.750".

[DANNY-L]

With my contender using 120gr sierra I go with 2.800 very nice groups with 37gr imr 4064,cci 200

[Keith1]

In my barrel the COL is 2.850 inches and I am still not close to the rifling. My barrel has a long throat.

Regards, Keith

[OLDHandgunner]

In my 7x30 Waters T/C 14" Hunter barrel, my best loads with 120BT has a OAL of 2.900. Ragged hole groups.

[cwlongshot]

Most loaders fined best accuracy with the bullet seated to be close to the rifling. 

 Make up some test loadings, NO POWDER or PRIMER and see how long your barrels throat is. Set the bullet to with in .0010 of the rifling and shoot it, you can move it closer to or farther away based on how it shoots.

I used to shoot this caliber quite a bit. I liked the 130Speer and the 120 Barnes Xbullet.

CW

[theduke]

How do you tell how far to rifling.  I stuck dummy case in barrel and does not fill like touching at 2.900 and its new barrel.  Do you have a trick to measure oal.  thanks

[Curtis]

How do you tell how far to rifling.  I stuck dummy case in barrel and does not fill like touching at 2.900 and its new barrel.  Do you have a trick to measure oal.  thanks

With most of my factory TC Contender barrels I cannot approach the lands.  Even with a heavy bullet, the bullet falls out of the case mouth before reaching the lands.  Can you say "long throat"?

I seat out a little just to make me feel better, (keeping a bullet diameter worth of bullet still inside the case) but don't notice much in accuracy improvment.

Curtis

[sixshot]

  Take a piece of brass thats already been fired in your gun, pinch the neck a little bit out of round with a pair of pliers & then start a bullet into the case with your seating die just enough to grip the bullet, now insert the long seated round into your chamber & let the rifling seat it for you. All you have to do now is measure the over all length (OAL) & subtract .010" or whatever amount you want the bullet to jump.
  Be careful seating the long round or the rifling will grab the bullet from the case, you'll have to tinker a bit to see how much to pinch the neck with the pliers, you can measure it faster than it takes to read this.

Dick

[Keith1]

Duke,
   With these long throated Contender barrels I just do as has been explained above. On my 7x30 barrel there is no way that I could touch the rifling with a 120 grain BT. I just decided a figure that gave me a long COL but also the bullet was in the case neck enough to be supported.

I have a 357 Herrett that has a throat so long that I seated a 200 grain Hornady at maxium length BACKWARDS and still could not touch the rifling.

Regards, Keith

[theduke]

ok thanks I will try that method.  New to reloading just was not sure how.