Bullet vs Neck Length

[Dirt Nap]

Kinda new to reloading so reading that the jump that the bullet has to make before it hits the rifling is important I bought a Hornady O.A.L gauge. I tried it on my Rem 700 30-06 using a 165 grain partition bullet and found out that the rifle seems to have a bunch of freebore in that for me to seat the bullet say 20 thousands off the rifling only about 2/3 of the bullet will be held by the case neck. I tried the same thing on a Handi 243 with a Hornady SST 95 grainer and to get the proper bullet seating depth the bullet will be held by the entire length of the neck. Is there a "rule" to this in that how much of the neck should make contact with the bullet when you are reloading?

Both of these guns are nearly new plus the brass is once fired...full length sized and trimmed. No neck turning nor do I own a neck turner.

Thanks

[GameHauler]

I am no expert and I know they will jump in
but my understanding min. is = to bullet diameter.

[skb2706]

In a break action gun the minimum can be whatever will hold the bullet straight. In mine I have a few that run .100" or slightly less. My .300 Win mag I can load so as to have .110" of bullet in the neck and have never ever had a problem with either accuracy or bullet pull. The old adage of min. = bullet diameter is not based on any real data and has no basis.
No expert, just done this a few years and long before the internet.

[wncchester]

"The old adage of min. = bullet diameter is not based on any real data and has no basis."

SKB is pretty much right, it has no absolute basis.  The original idea was to seat bullets deep enough they  would stay put with rough handleing back when cases tended to be highly variable.  Today cases are much more consistant.  Some "modern" cases are almost too short to allow that!

Seat where you wish, if the bullets stay put with your normal handling it's fine

[cwlongshot]

Like Game Hauler mentioned, when working with rifle calibers, I agree, caliber length in the case, is a good guideline.

CW

[Autorim]

I like to start by seating about .025 inches from the leade - understand that this will vary with each bullet type due to the difference in ogive. In a single shot rifle, if the bullet is held firmly, deeper seating is not necessary. One of my Ruger No. 3's in .22 hornet has a long throat and I cannot seat that close to the lands.

In a magazine firearm the maximum length that the magazine will accept governs. I tailor my loads to specific rifles and they are packaged and marked as such. If you plan to use the cartridges in multiple firearms, the shortest magazine will usually govern although you may find that one has a shorter leade.

For hunting loads, always test the loads by working them through the magazine and make sure they all chamber. A round that leaves a bullet stuck in the barrel and a magazine full of powder when you extract is not fun.On my bolt actions, I remove the firing pin and function test all hunting loads from the mag.

[LaOtto222]

A good rule of thumb is 1 caliber into the neck. You just can not go wrong with it. IMHO - If you are loading for hunting where you will only get 1 or 2 shots you use different criteria than you do for paper or varmints. For hunting or home defense (some thing real important) you need to make sure it is going to be as reliable as possible. To me this means that the bullet is short of the rifling leads and it functions through your magazine well. I also needs to be rugged - meaning there is no way a bullet is going to pull out of the case under recoil and it can withstand rough handling. The case must be run through the magazine and into the chamber to make sure it is going to fit nicely into the chamber. Some times you can get by with a neck size, but more than likely you will want to full length size your case every time, to make sure it will cycle. With a varmint round, I feel you can get by with a little different criteria - The bullet can touch the lands, the bullet only needs to to be into the neck enough to be held firm enough so it does not fall out or get tipped easily causing bullet run out. If you have a magazine fed gun, it still must fit in the mag unless you single load. A 30-06 has a longer neck that a 243 or 308. So saying seating the bullet base to the base of the neck does not really apply. It depends on neck length, bullet used, intended use and what fits your rifle well. I have loaded bullets with less than a bullet diameter into the case and it shoots fine, but I was not using it for home defense and not for hunting any thing bigger than a coyote. A .224 40 grain Hornady V Max only has about .200" bearing surface to start with so you can put it any where in the neck, but you are still going to get less than 1 caliber actually bearing on the neck. The 40 V max can shoot very well if your rifle likes them. Good Luck and Good Shooting