That’s always a good thing 
I’m loading .308 mostly for my Savage bolt-action, but I want the same rounds to function in my M14-type, too…
I only have the “straight” Hornady comparator, but dummy rounds at 2.865 easily fit in M14 mags (as well as AICS mags) and hand cycle through the action just fine, too…
I’m slowly working up to loading .223/5.56. I have ARs (and only ARs), so I’ll be loading to steel-mag length, assuming that the comparator doesn’t tell me that I’ll be jamming bullets in rifling.
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I just installed a new criterion 16” barrel with their m118LR chamber.
Distance to lands is 2.860 oal, that may just fit in my mags but I haven’t made any dummy rounds yet. It’s about 12 thousandths shorter than the BA barrel I had before.
Hmmm… I bet you mean that if you load rounds with an 2.860 OAL, then you’re at the lands?
(“Distance to lands” would be “case base to ogive” (CBTO), measured with a comparator tool like Hornady’s, and should be in the 2.2" range; my Savage is 2.265".)
AFAIK you’ll want your OAL 0.015 or 0.020" shorter, and you’ll be loading ammo that has an OAL of 2.840 or 2.845".
(Again, though, what really matters is CBTO.)
2.845" should easily fit in any normal magazine… Even PMAGs will take a 2.860" and M14 mags will take 2.870" — plenty of space.
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In the order of importance-
Barrel and chamber job
Bullet
Powder
Brass
Primer
Benchrest shooters, who consider a 1/4" group to be terrible, spend big bucks on barrels and make their own bullets. All the PSA barrels I have ever shot do very well for the price paid, but it is rare to find one that shoots inside of a true match barrel.
At 100 yards, you will barely be able to see the difference in velocity SDs under 20 FPS.
Berger > Sierra > Nosler and Hornady in my experience.
That all said, maybe the BTHP doesn’t like that chamber, due to jump, etc. The SMK may solve your issue.