Henry Rifle Forums

Has anyone determined the max allowable LOA for the 327's?

I have the Hornady 10th edition handbook of cartridge reloading.
It lists the C.O.L. for .327 Federal magnum as 1.450"

Hope that helps

I've seen 2 different numbers for max COL ===> 1.450" and 1.460"

with most such numbers, I don't know if 1/100th of an inch makes any difference or not

JEBar wrote: ↑

Sun May 26, 2019 2:04 pm

I've seen 2 different numbers ===> 1.450" and 1.460"

with most such numbers, I don't know if 1/100th of an inch makes any difference or not

A lot of times it seems Hornady uses proprietary cartridge lengths, at least when using their cases, but only in some calibers.
I'm new to reloading, so it confuses me too.

It could very well be Hornady having more skittish lawyers.
The only way to determine the C.O.L. for a particular firearm would be to measure your chamber to find the distance to your leade.
You do not want to be touching the lands.

I've heard you can seat a projectile without primer or powder and give it a VERY light crimp if it won't stay in the case by itself.
Now chamber the mocked up round slowly and completely.
Now carefully extract that round.
In theory, seating the round will push the bullet back when it hits the lands.
Measure this length, but then you need to subtract, and I don't know how much.

I try real hard to stick to the parameters set out in published data books.
I trust very little data from the internet, unless it's a known source, such as the powder or bullet manufacturers.
Just seems safer that way.

YMMV

I've heard you can seat a projectile without primer or powder and give it a VERY light crimp if it won't stay in the case by itself.
Now chamber the mocked up round slowly and completely.
Now carefully extract that round.
In theory, seating the round will push the bullet back when it hits the lands.

This is how I have always done it - depending on the caliber.
I carefully remove the round after closing the action, measure and set my seating depth a couple thou deeper.

I load three different bullet weights with each a different OAL:
85 gr @ 1.450
90 gr @1.460
100 gr @1.465

Mgderf wrote: ↑

Sun May 26, 2019 2:16 pm

I've heard you can seat a projectile without primer or powder and give it a VERY light crimp if it won't stay in the case by itself.
Now chamber the mocked up round slowly and completely.
Now carefully extract that round.
In theory, seating the round will push the bullet back when it hits the lands.
Measure this length, but then you need to subtract, and I don't know how much.

I try real hard to stick to the parameters set out in published data books.
I trust very little data from the internet, unless it's a known source, such as the powder or bullet manufacturers.
Just seems safer that way.

YMMV

creating mocked up round to measure a rifle's chamber is an old school method that we used back in the 60's .... it does work .... in recent years we've developed new rounds for bullets with crimp rings by adjusting our seating accordingly .... without crimp rings we build a dummy round to the specs and use it if/when we need to check the seating dies .... as a side note, Weatherby historically likes a long throat .... I've seen some that will chamber a round that is too long for it to fit in the magazine

I have never bothered to try seating to the lands in a LA, loading to a length that will feed reliably from the magazine is my first priority.
If you are loading jacketed most makers put the canelure in a position that will have the loaded round at or under industry standards for OAL.
Like JEBar alluded to weatherby cambering have a massive amount of freebore, the one I have will shoot 3/4moa with more than 1/4" jump to the lands. No doubt accuracy can be improved with seating depth in a benchrest gun but in a hunting rifle I think the gains are questionable and in a LA where they are crimped I doubt you will see any discernible difference.

I don't load the 327 - but I'm assuming you are asking about the maximum overall length COAL that will cycle in the Henry rather than the SAAMI COAL or the maximum COAL that will fit in the Henry chamber?

If you are loading jacketed most makers put the canelure in a position that will have the loaded round at or under industry standards for OAL.

This is true for bullets the HAVE a cannelure - but not all do.
Most bullets intended for cartridges that are typically chambered for bolt action rifles (or otherwise do not require crimping) do not have a cannelure.