newbie Q's: cartridge headspace etc

[buzzcut]

I am planning to reload 45ACP and 223Rem. A new $$$$ hobby thanks to THR, gee thanks

1)
Do I need an adapter to measure Cartridge Overall Length with calipers, or are they just for convenience/speed?

2)
What is the best/easiest/cheapest way to measure the distance from the base to the shoulder of a bottleneck case, where I understand the 223 seats in the chamber to determine headspace? I see the Lyman "CASE LENGTH & HEADSPACE GAUGE 223" for about $12. Would that do the trick?

3)
Do I need a 45ACP "MAX CARTRIDGE GAUGE"? I've read that my Lee FCD has a carbide sizing ring that says a cartridge will chamber if it passes through, so can I just use that? Can I use a caliper to measure the other specs that these type of gauges check, just more slowly?

4)
If the 45 headspaces in the chamber on the case mouth edge, then so long as the brass is the right length and the bullet is seated so that the COL is SAAMI spec, there shouldn't be a headspace problem?

Thanks kindly for any answers,
Buzz

 

[Ol` Joe]

#1 - No, calipers will work just fine.

#2 - The easiest way is with a RCBS Presicion mic or Stoney Point head space tool. You don`t really need these to set your die for proper headspace though. Read your die directions and manual, they will explain the procedure.

#3 - No, If you want to see if your ammo chambers OK take the barrel out of your gun and drop the cases or cartridges in the chamber to test them. The chamber of your pistol is the best gage for your purpose.

#4 - Yes to a point. There should be no problem if the cases are within tolerance in reguard to lenght. (in a 45acp 0.898" max, to 0.888" TRIM lenght)

You can however have cartridges fail to chamber if the bullet has a llong bearing surface that jams the rifleing when seated to max COL. This isn`t a headspace problem but will the wrong for bullet. COL will cause feeding and chambering trouble if not compatible with your gun. I would always start at the COL suggested by the bullet maker inre to COL.

Try this link and check out the "beginner and advanced loader" pages for some good info on starting to reload.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/

 

[ghostrider07]

If you have a 1911, use the barrel for your Go/ No-go gauge. Take the barrel ou, and drop the cartridges in the chamber. they should drop in easily, and for the best accuracy, should be flush with the barrel hood.

 

[antarti]

A little help with .45acp

buzzcut,

I'm a reloading amateur who is loading the same calibers you are, but let me address .45 specifically, since I had a dickens of a time with it, and almost gave up. I know the rest is long, but if it saves you the headaches I had, it will be worth it.

There is "data" and there is "good data" (at least for me). Go online and get all the free .45 data you can (its no substitute for manuals, but good to have more data). I personally trust .45 OAL seating to the ones listed in Accurate Arms online data. They (and to be fair, a few others others) actually fired their loads in a 1911, where they had to feed them, not in a pressure barrel. Getting data that was shot in the SAME firearm is a boon. Accurate does the same for the AR15 and other service rifles. Look under NRA loads on their site.

For instance, I bought a bunch of Rainier plated bullets in .45 to start with. I made the mistake of trying to use Rainiers data, which was shot in a pressure barrel. Their OALs were at 1.275 for the 185FP and HP. I took it literally and it was a mess. Anything ~1.220 or over jams into the rifling in my barrel... But at 1.215 OAL they wont feed from the mag very well. I had to back down until 1.210 or less until they fed well. Then I had to find and use data for similar weight/profile bullet seated at that length (or less) to keep pressures safe. You can see how one thing brought on the others.

Save a couple of the worst pieces of brass, clean-resize but don't prime or charge them. Use them strictly for experiments in resizing, bullet seating and feeding from the mag. Make a dummy round using resized brass that drops in 100% easily, start at MAX OAL 1.275 or so, and try to drop in the chamber, seat .005 deeper and repeat until it fully chambers. Then see if it strips and feeds smoothly, if not, continue to decrease. Once it does, look up data. The tighter your 1911s chamber and the less functional the feedramp for that bullet profile, the smaller the window you will be locked into. The whole "each gun is an individual" thing is not a joke, at least in my short experience.

My second problem was that once I had good feeding ammo, the bullets would set back radically in the case just from being fed or sitting in the mag during recoil. That is unsafe condition, and I was stumped, even after the herculean efforts of the reloading gang here (who know more than I ever will about reloading quality ammunition). I finally called Lee and asked them. They sent me an undersize sizing die in an effort to determine if it was loading process, bad components, bad die, or just plain "operator headspace". I still had the same issue, and paid for the die since it didn't resolve my problems, and it was something I was doing wrong. I just couldn't figure out what, and neither could they.

Long story short, the range brass I had was filthy inside, with some of the factory loads bullets lacquered in, and the Iosso I was using to clean them made the outsides shiny and the insides into a slippery black carbon mess. The black tarnish inside the case acted like a heck of a lube, and allowed bullets to slide around easily. Cleaning a case inside with a brush fixed everything, even without crimping or using the undersize die (just like folks here said it should).

Now I can't make setback happen by leaning my weight on the case, or dropping it, etc. Time to diagnose problem prolly was a 6 weeks of painstaking trial and error, making dummy cartridges, re-reding loading manuals, directions, trying again, etc.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness in reloading now, at least in my experience.

Hope some of this helps... you are in real good hands here (mine excepted, as I'm still a newbie)

 

[MachIVshooter]

The listed COAL's for a given cartridge will function fine in most guns. Accuracy, however, is a different matter. Freebore is a huge determining factor here. Some of my .22 HOrnet loads are a full 0.040" over max listed COAL, becasue that is what shoots accurately. OF course, my hornet is a single shot, so mag space is a non-issue.

As for headspacing, .223 headspaces off the shoulder and, in most autopistols, the extractor does the headspacing rather then the case mouth. You will only notice a chabering problem if they are too long.

Unless your .223 is an autoloader, I would use neck-sizing dies rather than FL. I can almost gaurantee accuracy will improve if you don't resize the whole case.