45 230 gr. lead

[chief99]

Loading 230 gr. lead 45's with 5.0 grs. of bullseye . Load is very accurate. Oal is 1.264 . In the Speer manual this load is supposed to be oal 1.270 . Crimp is a little above the crimp groove . Should I change my seating depth ? Rounds are chambering well but sometimes get one that does take the slide all the way home .

 

[rcmodel]

Take the barrel out of the gun and use it for a chamber gage to 'plunk Test' the loads.

They should drop in with a plunk all the way even with the barrel hood.

And fall back out when you tip the barrel over.

You cannot use 'book' measurements unless you are using the exact same bullet they were using.

rc

 

[ReloaderFred]

The OAL listed in the manuals is what the ballistics lab tested their data at. It's not a hard and fast rule. It tells you that they worked up their load with the bullet they used at that seating depth, and that if you shorten it and reduce the case volume, you "may" encounter pressure issues if you approach the upper end of the data. At mid-range levels, you'll normally still be fine, as long as the rounds cycle through your pistol and fit your magazines.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[blarby]

Plunk test, magazines test, and functionality are more critical than book OAL.

There is great advice in the first two posts, heed it !

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If the OAL you're now using works well in your handgun and it's an accurate load there is no reason to change it.

The OAL in a manual is useless to you unless you are using the same exact bullet in the same brand brass trimmed to the same exact length. The OAL they list is only telling you what the OAL was in their load development.

 

[LiveLife]

Loading 230 gr. lead 45's with 5.0 grs. of bullseye . Load is very accurate. Oal is 1.264 . In the Speer manual this load is supposed to be oal 1.270 . Crimp is a little above the crimp groove

Different pistols and barrels will feed and fully chamber at different lengths as start of rifling and leade/free bore in the barrel varies. And often chamber pressure testing is done with universal single shot barrel fixtures and not an actual pistol that must feed from the magazine.

This thread shows how to determine max OAL/COL using the barrel known as the "Plunk Test" -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=506678

 

[chief99]

Thanks for the help. Will start the plunk test on my next reloading session .