45 ACP min oal?

[Trojan.45]

Hello

Im wondering if there is a minimum OAL for 45 acp. Im usuing cast 230 grain lead bullets with aprox 4.3 grains of WIN 231 powder. Right now my OAL is 1.23ish inch. Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

No minimum other that what will feed in your gun, and of course the deeper you seat them the higher the pressure. An almost non issue with the .45 though. Your 4.3 Grs of W-231 is real light. Not going to any pressure problems with it.

I load 230 Gr RN bullets at 1.260 to 1.265 O.A.L., so 1.230ish is kinda short in my book. If they are flat points that is another story. I load 230 Gr TrFP bullets at around 1.225 O.A.L.

 

[Slamfire]

I used to worry about seating lead bullets exactly so the cartridge base was even with the M1911 barrel hood. That was until I got a M1911 that had a short throat. Long seated bullets jammed into the throat, enough so that I could not get the slide closed, and jammed so hard, that I could not get the slide open!

Now I seat my 230 LRN bullets to 1.250". Goes bang in everything.

I really do not know if there is something as seating too short. Ignoring pressure considerations, as long as the firing pin can hit the primer, the round will go bang.

 

[Trojan.45]

I was having a problem with the slide not closing as well after the first 100 or so shots. Thats why I shortrned my load. I also put more flare in the case mouth so that no lead gets shaved. STIs have a tight chamber and a few people Ive talked to said to make the loads short.

 

[DEDON45]

Depends on the bullet... a LRN bullet or FMJ ball bullet may work fine at 1.250" ... my LRN reloads are at 1.240 for feeding reliability reasons... the JHPs I use are seated to 1.200" OAL. My recommendation is to go by what your reloading material shows for a specific bullet (or at least one close to it in size and configuration), and seat deeper only if needed... reduce your powder charges by 5% or 10% if you go deeper and work your way back up.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Hodgdon lists a COL of 1.200" for a 230gr LRN bullet. I find that very short and won't use that COL. I find a COL of 1.275" a good length for that bullet. You will will get a little less velocity and pressure than reported but that can be worked with. The rounds using a 230gr LRN bullet with a COL of 1.275" are very accurate and feed without a problem in my son's Springfield 1911A1.