So of I did the test right. My max oal is 1.185. Soooo the 1.160 or the 1.155 should be fine. Right?
That's not an assumption you should ever make. Reloads will vary based on a number of factors including gun (varies from gun to gun even if comparing the same model of gun), bullet (the projectile only, not the case), and bullet type. So you take a measurement of your reload and that number is okay for that reload with that bullet (again, just the projectile, not cartridge which is bullet + gunpowder + case + primer). Now you go compare to factory loaded ammo, and they are mutually exclusive. Basically for factory ammo, if you drop the cartridge in your barrel and it headspaces correctly without the projectile snagging on the rifling, then that's okay. But note, this will not be optimal length for your gun because factory ammo has to work on a broad range of guns. This is why reloaded ammo can be more accurate than factory ammo. Just because your reloaded ammo measures out to be a certain length doesn't mean that automatically all factory ammo that is the same length or shorter will work. Different projectiles have different shapes - ogive.
Now let's back track a sec. You measured 1.185. What measurement is this? Is this overlength? Overlength is when you do the push test with a fired casing and the projectile inserted into the barrel, and you push until the cartridge headspaces. This is the length that is "over" the length of what your ammo should be because the ogive is engaging the rifling. This is not the measure you should make ANY of your reloads. You subtract from .15 - .20 inch as a rule of thumb because you need a tad of jump space before the actual projectile hits the rifling.
Do you see now why you can't make a generalization that because your measurement is good (not that we know from what you said WHICH measurement this actually is - overlength of max length), it's automatically good for factory ammo?
