Quoted:
Hello guys!  Got a couple questions.  I'm working up some loads for my brother's Ruger 7mm Rem Mag.  I got the OAL tool from Hornady, used it to take 6 readings and the part that the bullet threads onto broke.  But before it broke, I got a few measurements.  I would push the bullet till the ogive contacted the lands, I would feel a slight bump then it would go a few .010 further then stop.  

My question is, which point do I use, the first slight bump or the final spot where the bullet bottoms out and won't go any further?  I'm not forcing the bullet so I don't think I'm pushing it into the lands further.

The point at which it bottomed out as 3.355, I also got this same reading when I took a dummy cartridge with a bullet seated long and loaded it and closed the bolt.  When I removed the dummy round it was at 3.355 +/- a .001 but close enough.

Thanks for the help, just want to make sure I have the correct starting point

Quoted:
What is the COAL for the bullet you're using in a load manual?  Will the 3.36 inch long cartridge feed through the magazine?  COAL is 3.25, and it will fit

I don't have a manual handy to check the conventional loaded lengths.  Is the 3.36 inch dimension to the bullet meplat, or to the bullet ogive?  From the meplat

Anyway, if neck tension is not too great, then the last method you used is more or less the traditional way for locating the origin of the rifling.  Don't jam the bullet into the rifling unless you're doing a proper work up, and I don't recommend it anyway for a hunting rifle as the odds of ammunition malfunction increase and there's probably no practical accuracy advantage.  An offset of 0.005 inches or more is better for reliability.

Quoted:
If the case was not sized enough it would cause a no chamber on your handload.

Size another case, wipe off lube, and try to chamber case.

First things first, case needs to chamber first before you blame the OAL of the loaded round.

Good luck

Quoted:


I'm not seating to the lands, first I don't have a tool to measure the ogive and it's just for hunting so I'm not worried about .5" groups....

At lunch I loaded a round to 3.30, I'm using once fired brass (not shot in the gun) that I full length sized.  But the bolt won't fully close on the round....not sure why but I didn't have time to investigate.  I guess I will have to shorten seating depth and try again....

Any reason besides bullet length that would cause this?  Trim length is 2.55, I checked cases and it was 2.555

Quoted:

Does the first answer mean the 3.36 inch long cartridges fit the magazine?

If you're not planning to seat to the lands, then why are you trying to find them?  Load to the published COAL.  Part of the reason for that is to insure enough bullet is inside the case for adequate neck tension (besides magazine function and all that).