125 gr nosler,308 cal

[jerryniebuhr]

I am new to reloading I have the Nosler 125 gr BT, using Hodgson Vargent powder in the 308 cartridge. question is what is the C.O.A.L of the shell.?? I have looked and can not find the total length. Can anyone help me... Jerry

 

[PCCUSNRET]

Jerry,

The maximum S.A.A.M.I. Overall Cartridge Length is 2.810. You need to determine the COAL for the gun you are loading for by measuring the distance to the lands. As long as you have at least the diameter of the bullet seated in the case you should be okay as long as you stay under the SAAMI maximum. I recommend you take an empty case from a round that you have fired in this gun and insert one of the 125gr bullets in it and insert it into the chamber (you may have to roll the edge on a hard surface so there is enough tension to hold the bullet). Slowly close the bolt and then extract the case and then measure the round. Due this a few times until you are satisfied that you have the correct distance to the lands. You should back COAL approximately 3 100ths less than this measurement. Load a cartridge (primer and powder not necessary) and check it to see if it hits the lands when you load it in your rifle and make sure you have at least diameter of the bullet inserted into the cartridge. It can be difficult determining the C.O.A.L. for some of the smaller bullets but as long as you stay under (or at) the SAAMI Maximum you should be okay. You may want to do a search for establishing COAL as there have been others that have explained this procedure a lot better than I can. I hope this helps.