.45 ACP LEAD ROUND NOSE Question

[sgtzach]

Hey y'all,

New to the boards and fairly new to reloading. Ran through my first 1000 . 452 230gr LRN and picked up some new ones from a different local shop. Weigh 'em and measured the diameter so I started loading. After about 20 rounds I started to drop test them in my Kimber. Damn things wouldn't sit all the way down into the barrel! Did some adjusting of the dies and found that they would seat properly in the barrel at an OAL of 1.232. The previous lead ones were at OAL of 1.270 per the speer manual. Just wondering if this is going to dramatically affect the pressure and be any cause for concern?

Also went out and bought some Oregon Trail Cast lead .452 230gr LRN and they did the same thing so I don't think its the local shops mis-casting. The Oregon Trail and the new local shops bullets are a bit longer at .666 and .683. My original ones were .663 Just trying to make sure I don't have any surprises when I go to test 'em out and whether I just need to adjust my dies and press on. Also I made both new rounds with 4.6gr of Bullseye.

Any thoughts/insight into this??

Thanks in advance...

 

[joustin]

The ogive has a lot to do with how deep it will sit in the case. I have some TN valley 230gr round ball that is loaded to 1.236, so the 1.232 isn't much different, it feeds and shoots very well.

 

[mongoose33]

What Joustin said--different bullets can have different profiles which affect how they may work in the chamber.

Whether you'll have pressure issues depends on what load you're running but when you change bullets you should be working up that load anyway.

If it's a mild load, I wouldn't expect there to be a huge effect, but if you're running a hot load w/ a fast powder--maybe.

That's why you work 'em up.

 

[sgtzach]

thanks for the quick replies...gonna go ahead and stay up a bit and press some more out for testing at the range tomorrow...

Semper Fi...
Zach

 

[loadedround]

Sarge:
FYI, I checked my current Nosler loading manual and normal OAL for the 45 ACP is 1.190 to 1.275" max. You are within those parameters. Various cast bullets will vary in length from different manufacturers, so don't be concerned about it as long as they chamber properly. I load Oregon Trail bullets in all my 45's and have found them to be excellent bullets.

 

[Slamfire]

I have problems with bullets sticking out and jamming into the throat of my 45 ACP. So I seated the bullets deeper.

My bullets would jam the M1911 where I could not pull the trigger and shoot the cartridge, but the darn things were in the throat so hard I could not rack the slide with my bare hands.

That is when I discovered that full length guide rods were not a good idea.

 

[Robert Palermo /Penn Bullets]

O.A.L.s are not the most critical item when changing from one bullet style to another and the new bullet requires a different O.A.L. from your previous version. What is more important is how much different the new bullet takes up space within the case compared to your old bullet especially if you are running max loads with your old setup.
Some cartridges like the venerable .45 ACP are more forgiving to a point since they are lower pressure type cartridges but even these have limitations to how far you can push them. Best to play it safe and compare the two and back down the load a bit and work it back up to be safe and sure.

 

[Sapper771]

SgtZach,

Precision Bullets 230gr RNFP are the same way. When I was loading them for my Glock 21 w/ Lone Wolf barrel, I had to seat them to 1.185" COAL to get them to fully chamber. The Lone Wolf barrels are known for being tight, but the bullet's ogive is part of it too.