Bullet Length Question

[Birddog1911]

Okay, I've got some M80 ball that are 1.160, and they load just fine. I purchased 1K of 145grn .308/30-06 former tracers, and they measure 1.310; quite a bit longer. I haven't loaded these before in .308, and want to make sure that there isn't any issue. It looks like it will be a definate case of compression loading with these. They do seem to have two different cannelures.

FYI, these will be for shooting in my M1A. Powder will be IMR 4895 or Ramshot TAC.

 

[loadedround]

There should be no issues as long as you keep your cartridge OAL below 2.810" and that these cartridges feed thru your magazines.

 

[counterclockwise]

I just took a look at this with QuickLOAD. There does not seem to be much of a problem. I assumed 41.5 grain of IMR4895 with COAL consistent at 2.810 (that might be off a little if you are trying to hit a cannelure groove). With the 1.160 bullet length it shows a 4% unused volume with a total 53 grain H2O usable vol. With the 1.310 bullet length it shows a 2% compression. Because the shank of the tracer uses up case volume, the case volume max. pressure is a little higher and so velocity goes up a bit.