OAL or COL Question

[actionflies]

I started loading 9mm and my 3 reloading books have 3 different OAL for the 115grn FMJ, so my first 20rd. OAL was between 1.090"-1.095". All 3 agreed that maximum OAL should be 1.169". So was my OAL ok or should it be different and how critical is the OAL for accuracy and safety? Please help the newbie

 

[RustyFN]

What was the seating depth for the test gun in your manual? I think 1.090 sounds a little short to me but will probably be OK if you are at the starting load and not near max. If you are talking about a 115 RN, I seat them at 1.135.

So was my OAL OK or should it be different and how critical is the OAL for accuracy and safety? Please help the newbie

OAL will affect accuracy but most important is safety. The shorter you make them the higher the pressure. I made some 124 FP plated with a OAL of 1.12 as the book said. They would not chamber in my gun. I took one of them and kept seating it and trying it in the barrel until it would chamber. I ended up at 1.036. I tried them since they were a starting load and had no problems. I worked them up to 4.3 grains of Titegroup which is .1 under max. I shot them and still had no signs of high pressure. If you are going to shoot them, try one and check the case for signs of high pressure before you shoot any more. Let us know what you decided to do and how it turned out.
Rusty

 

[Walkalong]

I load the Ranier 115 Gr. RN and the Hornady 115 Gr. FMJ at 1.135 O.A.L. for both.
I measured some Winchester factory 115 FMJ at 1.155 O.A.L.

I load the Ranier 124 Gr. FP at 1.060 O.A.L.

I load the Berry's 124 Gr. HP at 1.030 O.A.L.

You may have to tweak O.A.L. to work in a given gun.

 

[CZ57]

The ideal situation if you're load for 1 specific pistol is to seat the bullet to an OACL that matches the chamber of your pistol. Some 9mm pistols have shorter chambers than others like those from SIG and Glock. Here's a link to a thread I did to deal with the CZ 75, but it applies to all pistol loads in general. If you have a pistol with a long chamber, you have more options. Most commercial JHP loads come in around 1.120 - 1.122" (28.5mm). A lot of the European powder companies use an OACL of 29mm/1.142" for a good number of their jacketed bullet loads. A common length with many for a 124 gr. FMJ is 1.150", but, you can determine the best length for your particular pistol by gaging the OACL with a specific bullet. I'm not trying to publicize the forum I administrate on! Take a look at the member count. We're mostly a collection of like minded individuals and the post is a bit long to just cut and paste it here: http://triggercontrol.proboards2.co...sammunition&action=display&thread=1129106379;)