Thread: Tikka T3 .270 COL reading .005" off standard COL

Hi team,

Relatively new to reloading and have been loading to spec from the Hornady reloading manual.

I have been full length resizing my brass, trimming and seating to the book value of 3.210" based on the 130gr interlock SP.

Today I tried the method of pinching the fired case neck slightly so it holds enough friction on the projectile to read the max COL however when I have done this, the reading I get is 3.215 consistently. This means that the max COL as specified by the manual and my projectile touching the lands are within .005" of each other which seems like a very small margin off the book value COL. Have any other tikka owners had the same experience as I feel this is almost too low of a margin. Thanks for any input here