SmallCaliberCentral

I'm getting ready to load some .204 and .223 this weekend and because we're going to be in the "Condor Zone" I have to use the lead free bullets. I notice the equivalent weight bullet in lead free is much longer than the lead projectile. I know it requires more material to give the same weight. My question is, what effect will the length of the projectile have on my hand load recipes? I'm shooting a Remington 700 SPS in .204 and it flat loves 32gr HDY VMax over 27grns. of H335. The new bullets are HDY 24gr. NTX and Nosler 32gr BT Lead Free. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks in Advance. Don

All other things being equal, a longer bullet is harder to stabilize. Weight has nothing to do with stability. Weight only counts when you're talking bullets of the same diameter and made of the same density material, which doesn't hold here. But I doubt such a light bullet will be long enough to cause problems.

Two things about loading the longer bullet (again, all else being equal). First, a longer bearing surface means more friction as it's being driven down the barrel. Second, you'll have to seat it deeper to end up with the same jump. To not seat it deeper runs the risk of an accidental jam seating. Not that jam seating necessarily is a bad thing, provided the charge weight was developed with jam seating in mind. And the deeper seating means a higher initial pressure, which leads to a higher peak pressure.

Probably best to start from scratch.

neither of my 204's liked the nosler 32
but both did very well with the 24 NTX and the 26 varmint grenades