O.A.L. Gauge

[zfishingfool]

Hi guy . a just got a new o.a.l.gauge from stoney point. put it in my new remmington xp 100 in 22-250 got a 2.495 reading,  that .145" more than the max cart lenghtin the speer book , the instruction said to keep it 020" to 040" away from rifling. I read alot of people   and they talk about keeping it .002 " away  please  give me advice,

[Grumulkin]

First of all, 0.002 is a very tiny amount.  Differences in individual cartridges could easily be more than that.  The 0.02 to 0.04 figures would seem much more logical.

Certain guns have a lot of freebore; Weatherby rifles being a notable example.  In these guns, it's impossible to seat bullets so they almost touch the lands.  Weatherby rifles in general are accurate so I think too much is made of bullets being almost touching the lands.  See what works best in your gun.  If your gun's throat is a bit off, seating the bullets to almost touch the lands may help by centering the bullet better before it's sent down the barrel.

[PA-Joe]

Some guns have very long freebores and if you load to the barrel max COL then the round will not fit into the magazine or will have feeding problems. You will have to experiment a little to make certain it will feed correctly from the mag.

[tvc15]

I use the same tool. I try to stick with the -.03 rule. I tried some at -.02 but have had better results with -.03. I think it has something to do with a running start. Keep in mind you are splitting hairs. good luck