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Old August 19, 2000, 11:11 AM   #2
Watchman
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Join Date: August 8, 2000
Location: ARKANSAS
Posts: 484
Most benchrest shooters use the longest loaded bullet they can fit in the rifle. The usual limitation is the magazine, as some bullets would be too long to put in your magazine,thus turning your bolt action into a single shot.However , lots of benchrest just load one at a time , so this is not a big deal.

The only change in the chamber pressure would be if you actually seated the bullets ON the rifling.

This is where yout best accuracy comes in , when your bullet is seated ON the rifling. Since you will have a spike in pressure, you MUST reduce your powder charge or you WILL get signs of high pressure.

One thing you must watch is that your bullets must be very consistent in overall lenth. If they vary more than a couple of thousanths, you could have problems. If you JAM a cartride in your rifle that is longer than the rest,and you hunt all day without firing a shot , you may pull the bullet right out of the case when you are extracting it. Then you have gunpowder all over the place. Generally, you only want to load on the rifling for targets. For hunting , .010 off the rifling would be best to avoid any problems.

Also, if long loading to the rifling , it would be a good idea to chronograph your loads. It may be that when you reduce your loads, you may still get exellent velocity as the added pressure that it takes to move the bullet upon firing will speed things up a bit. It will also be a more consistent load, and consistency is the key to good groups from the bench.

Hope this helps.
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