The picture Ed posts is EXACTLY the reason that I have been saying for years and years that OAL is secondary to seating depth. Look, the weight of the bullet outside the case doesn't increase pressure (unless is it hitting something in the chamber), the amount of the bullet IN the case does...


Why do you think that Elmer's bullets had more of their mass outside the case? Phil Sharpe? Seating depth is critical, period. OAL is a function of making the bullet fit in a particular chamber, seating depth is the function of reducing the amount of room in a combustion chamber.....um, DUH! Less room, higher pressure, period.


If you get Phil Sharpe's book, from the 1930s, you will see that seating depth of each bullet is listed, not OAL. Why? Because they knew that the amount of the bullet in the case was tons more important than OAL will ever be. Of course, as in a host of other things, we need to relearn what has already been known. They forgot more than we will ever know because we forget to learn what they knew!


Silly comments like: "It doesn't matter" or "A little bit won't change things much" are ignorant at best and diabolical at worst, unless you have pressure data to back up your claim, that requires equipment or paid for testing. Both of which, few handloaders have.....

FWIW