1st real reloads with 30-06... Problem?

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Vitamin G

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Okay, so i made a couple (5) loads of 30-06 with a 165gr HPBT with 45.0gr of 4064. I'm at work right now, and i can't remember the OAL offhand, but i know it was right around the recommended one according to the lyman manual. (I want to say 3.300 for some reason, but i'm not sure)

Here's my conundrum... I loaded a round into the gun to make sure it would chamber... it did... but it got LONGER oal (almost by 0.20) after it was withdrawn. Is my OAL too long for my gun? Did the bullet get stuck in the barrel? There were no obvious rifling marks on the bullet.

Is it time to put a magic marker on the bullet and check?
 
I bet your bullet got stuck in the rifling....

Lucky it did not pull out as cleaning powder dumped in the action is a PITA to clean up.......The max length can be misleading as different bullets are curved different. I found that out last month with my Swiss K31. I measured a milsurp round length and applied it to my reload. Pulled the bullet right out when it stuck in the rifling.....chris3
 
I would say that you are right on your assumptions. Do the bullets fit tight in the case necks? If they are tight, then you are seating the bullets out too far. Marking the bullets will help you see where they are touching.

If the bullets are not fitting tight enough in the case necks so that the bullets can be pulled out with your fingers, the neck expander in the sizing die is too large.
 
Yup...Stuck in the throat. OAL just a tad too long.

I have loads here that are .30-06 R-P cases with Sierra 165 grain HPBT that are OAL of 3.235 and they are just off the rifling of a Browning A-Bolt.

My Lyman 48th Edition shows OAL of between 3.000 to 3.300 depending on the type of bullet. Blacken a dummy round (no powder or primer) with the bullet just over 3.300 and start over until the bullet is just short of the rifling. If you have a Lyman manual it tells you how to do this. Good luck. Let us know how it comes out.
 
Which '06 rifle? Being up front I've owned only a couple rifles in my time.........but have never stuck a bullet using Lyman or any other manual's OAL........Creeker:)
 
Savage... the one with the combo deal with cheap scope, which was promptly replaced. It was local, and it was a well thought-through impulse buy. :)

It seemed really strange to me too, since so many said "You'll never be able to load a round long enough to fit in your magazine AND be too long for the chamber."
 
Not always a true fact. Just a reasonable rule of thumb. Best bet...Check it and if it still fits in your magazine...Well good.:D

Savage should be a good rifle. The scope? What? A Tasco Special or a Simmons Special?
 
I had a M-70 in .22-250 & .30-06 which ran out of throat length before magazine length.

Personally I think Savage is as good a rifle for the money as can be purchased. Try the black marker thing. Remember you'll get a mark or two from the ejection of the round but if it's marked by the rifling you'll know for sure. BTW are the bullets seated nice and tight? Can't move them with your fingers can you?
 
OAL

Do the OAL on the 30-06 the same as you would your K31. Make up a case with no primer and a loose mouth, seat the bullet way out and chamber it slowly so the bullet will slide into the case. Then at least you know how much room you have to start and can adjust your seating from there.
Just my 2 c.
 
I did something real foolish once and you would be ahead of the game to learn from my mistake.

I once loaded a fairly hot .243 round using the loading manuals cartridge OAL as a guide.

Turned out that my chamber was a good bit shorter than even a standard chamber.

So I was putting this hot load into the .243 and shooting it with the bullet not just touching but in the lands.

Fortunately this was from a Ruger #1 so it did not blow up.

The brass was ruined and not re usable.

So the rule I learned is always to figure out the lenght at which the bullet touches the lands and to do so with every different bullet I load because the ogive is different for each bullet. Its easy to do and its an essential thing to know.
 
Okay... I think this is really weird... The longest I can get my OAL with the 165hpbt (sierra) is 3.180 or it gets "extended" when the bullet gets a little stuck in the rifling.

This totally coincides with a previous thread of mine in which i loaded an empty with no crimp whatsoever, and it ended up at 3.190.
(here http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=195320)

Is my rifle screwed up? How could my rifle's max OAL be .120 shorter than book lists? Do i need to send this to Savage for some kind of tweaking, or is this a normal thing?
 
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