What COAL to use with 40gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip .223 REM

1100 Remington Man

1100 Remington Man

Member
I was measuring my distance to lands & my .223 Rem. I have a new Model 700 SFII and came up with a COAL to the Lands 2.334 Inch. and 2.26 is max COAL per SAMMI & at 2.334 the bullet is just in the neck of the case a very short bullet? Hornay uses 2.2 inch with there 40gr V-MAX ?
 
Looks like you are a new reloader; for now, seat the bullet to the cartridge overall length (COL or COAL, whichever acronymn you prefer) as is mentioned in your loading manual for that brand/weight of bullet.

The COAL/COL is a measurement of the overall loaded cartridge, from the case head to the point of the seated bullet; it is NOT the distance to the lands.

You do have a reloading manual, don't you?

The standard absolute minimum depth is to have at least a bullet diameter (.224) depth of the bullet seated in the case neck. Even that may be less neck tension than desired i.e. you bullet may come out of the case if you extract a loaded round.

For distance to the lands (DTTL) i.e. the point where the bullet diameter engages i.e. touches the lands , you need to have a Stony Point or similar gauge to measure where the lands start, and replicate that measurement with a bullet comparator of .224 attached to a dial caliper so you can adjust COAL, per bullet seating, to correspond to that same measurement.
 
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Yes new to reloading just 30yr reloading shotgun shells & 20+ years for rifle and pistol I just have never seen such a short bullet that so far from the lands with out jump to the lands I normaly load hunting rounds .0015 off lands to start. PS I do have a loading manual about 9 of them and all have there own ideas about bullet seating. Just woundering what other people were useing with the 40gr NBT in the .223 Rem if I use the .224 rule I would end up with a 2.11 COAL & that seems short?
 
Glad to see you have experience and manuals on your side...you will note I am the only one who answered or inquired re those points...MENTORING new reloaders is important.

As to the 40 gr BT seating depth....I use the Sierra 40 gr HP and it does well, maybe a reason to NOT buy more of the Nosler BT? If the .224 minimum depth rule is not possible, the NBT is too short for your rifle's throating!

The Sierra is a lot cheaper, too.
 
yep, load the Vmax's to book COL. I've had my best luck with Vmax's with LOTS of jump, especially the 224 cal 40's. Heck, with the 55's in my Ruger, I can't even touch the lands with a 60gr vmax. I have about a bullet length of jump with 55's (over 1/2") and over 1000 rounds down the tube and it still shoots them under 1/2". My 243 also loves the 58's, and it too is throated real long to accept up to 100 grain bullets. I always seat Vmax's to book COL and go from there.
 
In My Tikka, and My Howa, I have found that loading closer to the lands has better accuracy than the shorter factory rounds. My 223's areusually seated with BT's at a length of 2.265 - 2.285 depending upon rifle. I would try different lengths to see what your rifle likes. Good luck.
 
Thanks Guys I'll try the Hornady V-MAX COAL of 2.2 for 5 rounds then 2.25 COAL for 5 more rounds & see if there is enought neck tension. Thanks again good hunting.
 
i have the very same rifle and the col that i use is 2.374 i load ww brass with 27.2 gr H335 and cci 400 primers this gives me a vel. of 3745 it shoots in the .3s all day if i do my part. i have used this load to take 2 nice speed goats dropped them in there tracks a real death ray
 
The reason Buckeye took you to be a new reloader, is because anyone with 20 + years of reloading experience would never have asked the question in the manner you did.

Just my .02

Dave
 
Originally Posted By: 19grizz69i have the very same rifle and the col that i use is 2.374 i load ww brass with 27.2 gr H335 and cci 400 primers this gives me a vel. of 3745 it shoots in the .3s all day if i do my part. i have used this load to take 2 nice speed goats dropped them in there tracks a real death ray

Ok.. so a trimmed case is 1.750 add to that the length of a 40 gr Vmax of .680 "avg"
1.750 plus .680 = 2.43?
Your bullets are loaded to an OAL of 2.374.
2.43- 2.374 leaves 0.056 in the case? And this works? Im a construction worker, not a math whiz. Something looks funny. Im not starting anything, Im just wondering how this works?
 


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