You are obviously confusing maximum case length and trim length with overal cartridge lengths.They areentirely different things.

There is a lot to know in this hobby if you want to do it right.

I wonder how many people just reload and don't really consider all the variables.

Tom

That would probablyinclude the majority of reloaders.It really is amazing that there are so few incidents,considering that many people that reload really don't know what they are doing.

Looky here! http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

You can find the lengths, plus most other dimensions, for most of the world's cartridge cases online at this site, THANKS TO STEVE RICCIARDELLI for posting them!

(Another source you should buy is CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD. Every shooter/reloader needs one of these!!)

I just looked at my two Lyman reloading manuals, and they BOTH CONTAIN the max. and min. case dimensions - they're shown in the cartridge diagrams! For example, the .375 Win.case. It shows a case o/a length of 2.020 - .020. This means you can havea case as long as 2.020", and when you trim it, you cut it back to2.000".

I have been reloading ammo now since 1953, and consider the Lyman manuals to be among the best. This is mainly because they are not partial to any brand of bullets, powder, primers, or cartridge cases since they don't make any of these products.

About the only issue I have with their loading data has been their insistence, with a few exceptions,on the use of small charges of fast-burning powders for cast bullet shooting. My experience has been that you can get generally more satisgfactory results with cast bullets when you accelerate them as slowly as possible (less deformation)and use high loading-density charges which ignite and burn more uniformly. This dictates using larger charges of slow-burning powders.Small charges move around a lot in the case, and often burn differently from round to round....






A 350-grain cast bullet in the .416 Rigby @ 100 yards, 112 grains of AA 8700, MV 2100 FPS, ME 3428 ft/lb. My "deer load".

Eldeguello,

I didn't know about the trim back to .02". The first reloading book I looked at was a speer and they specifically tell you what to trim it to. Yes the Lyman has the max case length as a picture I know that now.

I have to admit that I didn't fully understand what you wrote about in your post. But one of the things that I also noticed about the Lyman book is that at least for the 300 WM doesn't suggest the use of magnum primers which I did see for most of the loads that are in the Speer manual.

Thanks

Tom

Mostsources suggest the use of magnum primers for the 300wmespecially for use in cold weather.

Tom, here is what I do when deciding how to load up a new rifle or load. I take several sources, usually Hodgdon first, along with IMR, and Alliant, and then take take loads out of Nosler, Sierra, Speer, and lymans, (barnes if it solid shank bullet), and write them down, and look at the data all together. Some of it has to do with powder on hand. All of these manuals are just basic guides.

You probably figured alot of this out already. Lymans is kinda good where it mix's the bullets up, and you get to see another persons experience with another rifle, and compare data with the bullet manfactures data to help you better make a decision on starting load andwhere to start being real careful.

I don't have the Lyman manual here but I'm pretty sure it suggested the use of a standard primer for all of the 300WM loadings. I know for all the powders that I have it suggests a regular primer. Next batch I load up will be with the magnum primer for sure.

I ordered the Nosler Volume 5 Reloading Manual today.

BC - As son as I get the Nosler book that is exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to compare the starting and max charges to see how much they differ.

Thanks for all the responses.

Tom

I don't pay much attention to primer recommendations in reloading manuals. I have used them all, and have found over many years that I usually get my best resulkts with Federals - not always, but usually.

In addition, I routinely use Magnum primers (Federal 215's) in but two cartridges - the .416 Rigby and the .375 H&H Magnum. This is due to their relatiuvely large case capacities.

If I were loading any of the FULL-LENGTH Weatherby cases, (.300, .340, .375, .378/.460) I'd also use F215's in them. I have NOT found it necessary to use Mag. primers in '06-length or shorter magnum cases like the .300 Win. Mag., the .308 Norma, etc. However, with few exceptions, I have NOT shot a lot of these calibers in extremely cold weather, so PERHAPS a magnum primer would work better way below zero!