.223 OAL and varying bullet length

I am fairly new to reloading and even newer to .223 reloading. Thus far have had good results, the only bullets I have used so far were some Hornady fmj from Natchez. Those bullets measured in length from .734 to .739, at least in spot checks taken from them.

Fast forward to one of the last gun shows I went to with pistol powder, the seller requireing you to buy 1000 bullets if you wanted more than one pound. Well, I did and bought 1000 of his .223 FMJ type bullets (maybe copper coated?).
They looked just like the Hornady, with a cannelure just like the Hornadys. What was NOT just like the Hornadys was the length of these bullets. the shortest so far is .734. From there it varies widely, measuring High .740s, high .750s and even one at .761.

I dont find the variance of the Hornadys to be that big a deal, a little variation in the third digit after the decimal point. These other however, show large differences in even the second digit after the decimal point.

Question 1: Isnt this a large enough difference it should be taken into account on the final OAL of the bullet? If the hornadys, averaging 2.20 OAl, and suddenly you switch in a bullet that is .760, shouldnt the OAL be adjusted to the longer bullets size? I.E., The oal around 2.20 for hornady, up to 2.246 or so to have the same seating depth?

Question 2: I indeed see load data that has .223 rounds as long as 2.260. Will this function through the average AR platform .223? I guess a better question is "What is the maximum OAL that will typically function through an AR platform gun?" Thanks for any help, I have every thing keyed up from loading the Hornady bullets and am staring at the press wondering. In the mean time I have fished out a few that fall in the average length of the Hornadys...

Thanks in advance,

Russellc

Thanks Walkalong, I feel confident with 9mm but the .223 is new. I remember being told, and this was concerning 9mm, to be wary of these differences at the second decimal point as it could raise pressure dramtically. I see what you are saying now, seated to the cannelure, the seating difference will be nill, although the bullet length will vary, and I need to make sure they will cycle through the gun. I will try not to OCD about a "Slam-fire" occurring! lol. Press is back in action. I didnt think these were steear bullets, but I havd to buy them in order to get the powder I wanted.

Thanks again,

Russellc

Thanks. Still a little wary of .223 loading. Was told concerning 9mm that variations at ther second decimal point could cause pressure spikes. I see what you are saying, seat to the caanelure and the seating differences will be nil, but the overall length of the bullet will vary. As long as it functions though the gun, all is well. Press back in action!

Russellc

Again, thanks for clearing this up for me, I feel a lot better and am now done with a batch of .223. I had rather appear a little slow and ask than post back proving it no doubt with a damaged gun or worse. Thanks again!

Russellc

Thanks for the responses, I feel easier now and have a couple hundred new bullets to try. Weight difference isnt much, I wasnt loading max, and I set OAL to 2.238 or so instead of 2.20...I think they will be fine and that I can refine the load as far as no name plinking bullets can be refined.

Russellc

gamestalker said:

My concern would be particularly focused on weight. A large variation in projectile length length, may indicate a possible issue with variations in projectile weight, which does matter. So what I would do is, weigh some of those at each end of the spectrum length, if they are within a couple grains of each other, your good to go. Other wise, a few thousandths in length isn't going to make a hill of beans difference regarding pressures.

GS

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I weighed a large sample of these bullets, and everyone I weighed came in at 54 or 56 grains. Loading them up!

Russellc

safarihunter said:

As long as the ogive measurement is consistent, the OAL is only important as to whether it fits in the magazine

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This is what I have discovered as well. My only previous reloading is with 9mm, and OAL is much more critical with it, .223 not so much. Checking where the knowledge base ends just to be safe. Thanks for the response.

Russellc

spitballer said:

I've reloaded my share of FMJ bullets and try as I might, I could never get them to tighten up groupwise. I always got the sense that they were designed for high-pressure ball rounds. They certainly don't foul the barrel like softer bullets, that's for sure.

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Yeah, as I said earlier and others pointed out, no name bullets of this type are not known for stellar accuracy...not a problem, this is plinking ammo which came about from the scenario in post #1, gunshow powder seller required me to buy a 1000 lot of bullets so I would be allowed to buy as much powder as I wanted. Otherwise I was limited to 1 lbs.

Russellc