Deep throat

[Lilswede1]

Bought the Hornady OAL curved guage and found my Remington 760 pump 30-06 has a long throat 3.370"
The clip will handle up to an OAL of 3.330" and I can load to that length and still have more that a cal. length in the case and a freebore of .040".
Currently, factory loads check out at somewhere around 3.175" depending on mfg. and I have been shooting a friends reloads at 3.230" which still leaves me .140" of freebore.
Guns shoots under 3" groups at 100 yds but I would like to tighten that up a bit.
Suggestions?

[Jim Watson]

I think you are getting about what the rifle is capable of.
I gather you do not do your own loading, in which case you cannot very well try loading to magazine length... unless your bud is very accommodating.

[RC20]

You can try an ELD hunting bullet (buy them for your friend)

Tough call as I do not like to and seldom shoot anyone else's reloads.

Curious if its a newer gun?

[Unclenick]

The box magazine should handle 3.340" cartridge overall length, as that's the SAAMI standard maximum for .30-06, and most magazines have extra room for that plus some. So I suspect something has gone awry with your measuring. My first suspicion is the cause of the confusion is Hornady's poorly chosen name, Overall Length Gauge. That device is used to set overall length indirectly, but it does not measure overall length directly. Overall length the distance from the outside face of the head of the cartridge case to the tip of the bullet. The gauge measures from the outside face of the head of the cartridge case to the point on the bullet ogive that its insert happens to intercept. That length is used to set up your seating die to turn out cartridges that match what you found with the gauge, caliper adapter and insert. But if you want to know the overall length, you would have to measure your finished cartridges separately with your caliper using no adapters of any kind on it.



A long throat (something Remington is known for) is not an accuracy killer in and of itself. Groups smaller than yours are possible to achieve in a bolt gun with a long throat, so it's not likely the main limitation. Most guns with two-piece stocks and barrel hangers suffer from inconsistent barrel contact points and pressure. For example, since your front sling swivel is attached to a ring on the barrel, if you use a sling and don't get the exact same pressure on it every time, that can cause the issue. You might want to look at M.L. McPhersons work with lever guns, which have a two-piece stock and barrel hangers, too.

Look for any looseness in the contact points with the barrel. Make sure the wood isn't rubbing or contacting it inconsistently. When you shoot for group, remove the sling at the front and try resting the gun's magazine on a sandbag instead of resting the pump stock on it. See if that improves groups.

[HiBC]

Whether .140 of jump will shoot better or worse than .040 jump is found out on the targets.
That jump will vary between bullet designs. Secant vs tangent ogive,etc. Round nose vs VLD

I generally do not shoot someone elses reloads.

Your buddy is loading for a different rifle that may have a different mag box length.
I have a suggestion.Buy your own set of dies.Then you don't monkey up your buddy's settings.
Let him help you learn to load with your dies. Then you are shooting your own loads.Some day you may set up your own bench.
I do not own or use any small base dies. I have no experience with them.I may have heard Remington repeaters sometimes prefer them.

Certainly seating depth and jump can effect accuracy. I can respect what you are trying to do. Change only one thing at a time. Shoot more than one group of at least 5 rounds to evaluate the changes.Take notes and see what you learn.... See what you can do. Tell us about it.

[RC20]

The following will work, but your gun is not a target gun. Its a hunting gun.

As noted, you can try some things but a pump is intended as a closer in brush gun where speed is important as oppose to accuracy.

Seat your bullet in your case (no power or prime) and cycle it through the gun

Keep seating it longer until it sticks.

You can tap it back out with a brass rod.