6.5 Carcano OAL?

[DHall_37]

Howdy folks I got a little question here about 6.5 Carcano OAL. I’m shooting a Hornady 160 gr .264 bullet seated at 2.980 behind 31 gr of IMR 4064. It chambered in 2 of my rifles just fine.

So my reloading manuals vary a little bit with OAL. Lyman 45th says 2.900 with any bullet, for testing they used the Hornady 160 gr bullet. Hornady 10th has different lengths for each bullet, but also says MAX OAL at 3.012, is that SAAMI max? The .268 version of the bullet they are using says COL to be 2.960. My surplus ammo from the 30s is seated around 2.980-2.990.

So my question is, as long as I am at 3.012 or lower am I fine? Will my rounds seated at 2.980 be safe?

 

[358WCF]

I dont believe there is a SAAMI spec for this cartridge, but am too lazy to look. Have at it.

https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ANSI-SAAMI-Z299.4-CFR-Approved-2015-12-14-Posting-Copy.pdf

If you care, have a poke around in CIP... the Euro SAAMI. Beware though, they talk metric to good people.

Ammunitions | Drupal

cip-bobp.org

 

[DHall_37]

I dont believe there is a SAAMI spec for this cartridge, but am too lazy to look. Have at it.

https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ANSI-SAAMI-Z299.4-CFR-Approved-2015-12-14-Posting-Copy.pdf

If you care, have a poke around in CIP... the Euro SAAMI. Beware though, they talk metric to good people.

Ammunitions | Drupal

cip-bobp.org

Did some looking around and found that the CIP max length is 76.5mm or 3.012 inches. I reckon as long as I’m under that length I’ll be good. I just like do double check with y’all fellas that have the experience.

 

[Kurz]

DHall,

The reason for the variations is that the ogive varies according to the bullet shape/design. round nose bullets are usually not as long as the very pointy VLD Match bullets or those bullets utilizing a plastic tip.

Your best bet is make a dummy cartridge with the bullet seated slightly long in a slightly looser neck then chamber it gently. Remove from chamber just as gently then measure. Assemble another dummy cartridge just so the land marks don't show, measure again. Be sure to use your magazine length in this process as well.

One method for making dummies is to use a small cutoff wheel and make a vertical cut in the neck. Carefully sand the inside and outside of the cut in the neck to eliminate the possibility of scratching the chamber and bullet.

Enjoy!

 

[DHall_37]

DHall,

The reason for the variations is that the ogive varies according to the bullet shape/design. round nose bullets are usually not as long as the very pointy VLD Match bullets or those bullets utilizing a plastic tip.

Your best bet is make a dummy cartridge with the bullet seated slightly long in a slightly looser neck then chamber it gently. Remove from chamber just as gently then measure. Assemble another dummy cartridge just so the land marks don't show, measure again. Be sure to use your magazine length in this process as well.

One method for making dummies is to use a small cutoff wheel and make a vertical cut in the neck. Carefully sand the inside and outside of the cut in the neck to eliminate the possibility of scratching the chamber and bullet.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the tip, I also have a Hornady OAL gauge on the way to help me out. I don’t have the comparators yet, I’m not going to make loads .005 off the lands so I reckon I don’t need those any time soon.

 

[358WCF]

The .264" 160 RN Hornadys #2640 were a 2 diameter bullet years ago. Maybe they still are? Somewhere around .256" for most of the shank in front of the cannelure & .264" behind.

If these are deer hunting rounds, there's been rumors of poor performance on game (no expansion) with the Hornady. They shoot well for me out of a 6.5x55, but haven't killed anything with them. I've been having good luck on targets with the Sierra 160 SMP Game King too.

 

[DHall_37]

The .264" 160 RN Hornadys #2640 were a 2 diameter bullet years ago. Maybe they still are? Somewhere around .256" for most of the shank in front of the cannelure & .264" behind.

If these are deer hunting rounds, there's been rumors of poor performance on game (no expansion) with the Hornady. They shoot well for me out of a 6.5x55, but haven't killed anything with them. I've been having good luck on targets with the Sierra 160 SMP Game King too.

Yep just measured, they are tapered to .264 up to the cannelure, muzzle eats them just to in front of it. I’ll just have to shoot them and see how they do.

Maybe match kings of game kings would serve me well?