Hand loading long bullets

[AK_Skeeter]

Wow! The 30 Cal 200 gr Barnes TTSX is a loooooong bullet...1.624 inches!

My main purpose is a load for bull moose...so shots typically less than 200 yards, often 25-100 yards.

There are several potential problems with loading such a long bullet.
1) It might not fit in the magazine
2) It might be so long, there is not enough case capacity for powder
3) It might be too long for the rifle twist

So far not a problem in my 300 H & H.
1) I loaded 3 dummy rounds (bullet seated at jam, no primer) and
they cycled through the magazine into chamber no problem.
2) I loaded the 200 gr LRX seated 0.050" off lands
with IMR4831 initial test loads 61.0gr thru 62.5 gr (the case is a necked down 375 H & H)
No problem, no compressed loads, shaking the cartridge powder is still loose.
3) According to Barnes a 1:10" twist is acceptable (although their 212gr LRX requires 1:8" twist)

A fourth potential problem may be the bullet seating beyond the neck.....
This in unavoidable with such a long bullet.
This is less than ideal in some schools of thought:


source: https://precisionrifleblog.com/2020/04/28/bullet-jump-research-and-load-development-tips/

May be a moot point for my moose loads?
Time will tell...I won't be shooting hand loads until this spring when temps get above zero ....

 

[BBob]

I have loaded so many cartridges in hunting rifles limited by mag length with the bullet in the so called “not optimal below the neck shoulder junction” and not had any accuracy issues whatsoever or had large enough velocity loss (if any) that I feel it’s somewhat bunk. Maybe just maybe it would be more optimal if you could load it long but in many cases you just can’t for reasons you listed. It’ll still shoot and it’ll still kill stuff, I promise. It’s in the same category as “you need to have the bullet touch or be super duper close to the lands to even think about it shooting accurately” bunk that’s finally being disproven and accepted by the mainstream.

 

[TrailBoss66]

I agree with BBob....