Confused about OAL for M-1 carbine round

[chevy bob]

Hello,
I'm a newbie reloader using a Lee carbide dieset to reload my M-1 carbine.I plan to use W 296 powder with a 110 gr.fmj Hornady bullet.I'm looking at the Lee data sheet for my dieset,in the last column it lists the oal for that particular combo as being 1.625. This differs with my Speer manual which states 1.680 oal.Can someone tell me which one is right? Also,I was curious as to why the oal column on this Lee data sheet lists so many different lengths for this cartridge.Shoudn't they be the same? Thanks in advance.

 

[rcmodel]

Max SAAMI length for the .30 Carbine with any bullet is 1.680".
All that means is they will fit in the magazine, and work through the action.

When you change bullet shapes or weight (length) from the standard 110 GI FMJ-RN bullet, the seating depth very likely will be shorter then the SAAMI max length.

Hornady lists the OAL with thier bullets at:
1.550" with the 90 grain XTP-HP.
1.680" with the 100 grain half-jacket RN-FP.
1.680" with both mil-spec 110 grain RN & FMJ bullets they make..

Speer lists:
1.625" with the 100 grain half-jacket Plinker.
1.635" with the 110 HP.
1.675" with the 110 RN-SP.
1.680" with the 110 RN-FMJ military bullet.

rc

 

[USSR]

If the Hornady 110gr FMJ bullet is a standard USGI profile bullet, there is no reason to seat it to an OAL of 1.625". As rcmodel said, 1.680" is typically used, as any longer than that, and they won't fit the magazine. I usually load mine to 1.675" so that I am sure there are no magazine "issues". Load it with 15.0gr of W296 at the longer OAL, and you are GTG.

Don