proper COAL for Hornady 123 Amax......

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  • proper COAL for Hornady 123 Amax......

    According to Hornady's manual, they suggest a COAL of 2.245" for the 123 amax.

    But, I mic'd up some factory production Hornady 123Amax ammo and it measures 2.240".

    Which is the best length for this ammo?
    Last edited by Guest; 09-16-2011, 03:07 PM.
  • bwaites
    Moderator
    • Mar 2011
    • 4445

    #2
    Depends on your barrel. Mine seem to work best at 2.25.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by bwaites View Post
      Depends on your barrel. Mine seem to work best at 2.25.
      is that based on accuracy and velocity testing?

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      • bwaites
        Moderator
        • Mar 2011
        • 4445

        #4
        Accuracy only, I don't care much about velocity. I've shot factory Hornady in competition, and I've shot my handloads. My handloads are slightly (only slightly) more accurate at 2.25 than the factory was. (Of course I might have just been shooting better that day, too.) I'm not convinced that 1/100th of an inch is a real difference with all the other variables in the mix!

        The velocity on both is very close, with my handloads showing only slightly less deviation. I only measure velocity to make sure that the deviation is reasonable. I care about accuracy at 300 and 600.
        Last edited by bwaites; 09-16-2011, 03:35 PM.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by bwaites View Post
          Accuracy only, I don't care much about velocity. I've shot factory Hornady in competition, and I've shot my handloads. My handloads are slightly (only slightly) more accurate at 2.25 than the factory was. (Of course I might have just been shooting better that day, too.) I'm not convinced that 1/100th of an inch is a real difference with all the other variables in the mix!

          The velocity on both is very close, with my handloads showing only slightly less deviation. I only measure velocity to make sure that the deviation is reasonable. I care about accuracy at 300 and 600.
          +1

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          • #6
            If you are measuring COAL, the results will always vary. The bullets will always be different. If you are looking to be super consistent with the length, you will have to measure to ogive and not tip. You could chase your tail and wear your seating die adjustment out trying to make OAL to the tip. To see this, open a box of any projectiles and measure the length of some of them. When starting a new load, I always measure my chamber and use a random bullet from the box to be my bullet to build all my ammo with. All other projectiles should be seated according to the ogive and not the tip. That is how Hornady loads and why the OAL to the tip is different on factory ammo. It's loaded to ogive and not tip. The tip only matters when seating to fit the magazine. I mostly load for bolt guns and can load longer than for my AR's due to magazine. I'm not an expert but it works.

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