Overall catridge length

[hoss-noogy]

I just got thru setting up my dies to load some lyman 311041 boolits(.309 straight from mold) and was playing around with some dummy rounds that I used in setting up the dies. When I have the case mouth crimped in the crimping grove the c.o.l. is 2.506,well below the max 2.617 listed in the book(Lyman 3 rd. edition). When I tried the round in my Remington model 7 308 the bolt was hard to close but it did close. One dummy round that was 2.540 would not let the bolt close. My main question is this, will the round that is 2.506 be safe to fire? This is the first time that I have loaded cast for a rifle. I plan to be loading using either Unique or Herco.

Also, I went and purchased some polyester fiberfill to put on top of powder charge. Does 5 grains of it seem about right(saw this on youtube video)

Thanks-Hoss

[beagle]

It may be that the nose is so large that the rifling is engraving it. As long as the effort to close the bolt is not too difficult and it is the rifling engraving them, they'll be safe to shoot.

If not, I'd attempt to seat a bit deeper if possible until the bolt closes easier.

In a rifle, with cast, the OAL is normally not critical to pressure unless you're running Max loads. Those should be safe to fire in that respect./beagle

[joeb33050]

I just got thru setting up my dies to load some lyman 311041 boolits(.309 straight from mold) and was playing around with some dummy rounds that I used in setting up the dies. When I have the case mouth crimped in the crimping grove the c.o.l. is 2.506,well below the max 2.617 listed in the book(Lyman 3 rd. edition). When I tried the round in my Remington model 7 308 the bolt was hard to close but it did close. One dummy round that was 2.540 would not let the bolt close. My main question is this, will the round that is 2.506 be safe to fire? This is the first time that I have loaded cast for a rifle. I plan to be loading using either Unique or Herco.

Also, I went and purchased some polyester fiberfill to put on top of powder charge. Does 5 grains of it seem about right(saw this on youtube video)

Thanks-Hoss
Here are some suggestions:
Don't use any filler until later, when you may benefit from it. Not now.
Don't crimp the 311041 now. Unless you're shooting these cartridges in a lever action with a tubular magazine, don't crimp at all. If you are using a tubular magazine rifle, load singly for now.
I've never had a 311041 or it's predecesser 31141 that had a nose big enough to engrave. Maybe you do.
Take some lubed .309" as-cast bullets and some cases that EASILY chamber-no bullet-in the rifle.
Make sure that the bullet drops into a FIRED and UNSIZED case.
Clean inside the case necks with a brush. Size the cases. No primer or powder.
Seat a bullet way out. Try the cartridge in the gun. Seat the bulet deeper. Try again. You'll pull a bullet out of a case leaving it in the throat-knock it out with a rod. Keep trying and measuring OAL and re-sizing that/those cases until you reach an OAL where the cartridge goes into the gun with a little resistance, where the cartridge can be removed from the gun without pulling the bullet out of the neck, and where the bullet mashes into the throat, leaving a ring mark.
This whole OAL test takes maybe half an hour for a given gun/bullet diameter .
Here's a pic of a 31141 sized .3095" in a fairly new 308 Win. gun. The right hand ctg. has the bullet touching-mashing into the throat, on the THIRD band down.
joe b.

[joeb33050]

This 31141 at .3095" has an OAL of 2.765" in one of my guns. This may be too long for a magazine, I shoot everything single shot, haven't put a cartridge in a magazine for years. Certainly hunters and others differ.
Here's another picture of a .3095" 31141 in another gun. The red line points to the ring mark made by the throat as the bullet mashes into the throat. I believe that the bullet shots more accurately with this interference, where the bullet-throat joint seals the bore from any gas, and thus doesn't lead.
And a picture of a 314299 with the nose engraved by the lands. I wish I had a 311041 with a nose big enough to engrave.
To summarize, I've had the best luck with bullets that are seated out far enough to seal a band to the throat, where I can see the ring-mark on a band. And, where possible, the nose engraves. This gives me sealing and alignment.
joe b.

[runfiverun]

jezus joe, i hope that is how you explained it in your book.