AOL for different style bullets, hopefully for Lee molds

[Wingman61]

I haven't yet made the plunge into casting bullets, but I am trying to gain info so that when I do I start right. One of my first basic questions that I can't find an answer for is when I read my Lee manual it has lead bullet weights and load info. Seems pretty basic. I would like data for different styles of bullet. For example LRN, LWC, LSWC (I'll probably load LSWC). It seems to me that the AOL would be different for each of these. Can someone point me in the right direction to find this info? Thanks. I see the Lyman casting manual is fairly detailed for mainly Lyman molds, but is there something similar for Lee mold??

Thanks

[Harter66]

The COAL is mostly set by your magazine and chamber as far as a maximum goes .
Most often a book COL (cartridge overall length) is a guide rather than a fixed point .
Make up a dummy no powder or primer or several for an auto loader .
Check the COL against the magazine sometimes a nose flat will be wider than the magazine curve at the COL in the book .
Check the chamber fit , does the bolt close easy , do rims bottom , does it "plunk" in an auto chamber , does it feed from the magazine ?

Plunk test remove the bbl from the slide , drop a factory round in , look at how it sits and fits ,remove, repeat with an empty fired in that chamber , remove , drop in your dummy if it drops in something half way to just like the factory your good to start with a minimum load and work up to your best group or maximum load or when things get sticky ejecting , flat primers , etc .

It's hard to be more specific without knowing what you're shooting .

[Bzcraig]

Hatter66 post has given you all you asked for and more and all good.

[pjames32]

OAL is the term most of us geezers use. The Lyman Cast Bullets handbook gives some suggestions, but you need to determine what your gun wants as stated above. I've found .002-.003" can make or break a load.
COL and COAL seem to be the current terms.
Good luck!

[mold maker]

Harter 66
I know what you intended, but your statement of dropping "half way to just like the factory" could be dangerous to a new caster/ reloader. Nothing less than a complete "PLUNK" is aviseable to a new loader.

[Harter66]

Harter 66
I know what you intended, but your statement of dropping "half way to just like the factory" could be dangerous to a new caster/ reloader. Nothing less than a complete "PLUNK" is aviseable to a new loader.

You are correct I should have been more specific about the intention of the halfway between fired and factory plunk as being side play vs stopping short due to contact and making a feel call . I too often presume an existing level of knowledge that may not be available .

[fredj338]

OAL seems to confound most new & some experienced reloaders. Regardless of any data, the loaded round MUST fit your individual gun. So it will AWLAYS be barrel & bullet specific. What fits my gun may not fit your gun. So any attempt to post "correct" OAL for any given bullet is pretty moot.

[gwpercle]

Isn't AOL America On Line, :kidding:
Get the Lyman Cast Bullet #4 , it does have data with Lee moulds in it now , with AOL's and everything lots of good info.
The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbooks are my go to first books but it's good to have several sources to cross check data.
Gary

[Whitespider]

For example LRN, LWC, LSWC (I'll probably load LSWC).
Using that sentence from your post I'm making the assumption you're talking about ammunition for revolvers??

If you are, as I assume, talking about revolver ammunition... the best advice I can think of is KISS... Keep It Simple Stupid (figure of speech, no offense intended).
Most all cast round-nose (RN) and semi-wad cutter (SWC) boolits designed, or intended, for revolver ammunition will have a crimp groove. Seating the boolit so the case mouth comes just a hair short of, or right at, the top of that crimp groove is the intended design. Of course there are some exceptions, odd-balls, and "special purpose" boolits... but it's unlikely standard/typical weight RN/SWCs will be one of them. Using the crimp groove to determine cartridge overall length (COL) is a safe place to start (and normally deviating from that is something "special purpose" or advanced reloading technique)... the cartridge won't be too long for a standard revolver cylinder, and the boolit won't be seated to deeply in the case. Full wad cutter (WC) boolits may have a crimp groove, or may not... those without are usually designed to be seated flush with the case mouth.

It's not possible to list, or show, a generic COL for all LRN or all LSWC because not all RN and SWCs are created equal... for example a "Kieth" style SWC will have more of the boolit mass in the nose (outside the case) than many other style SWCs... meaning the "Kieth" style will have a longer COL. Because each boolit is unique in design, any COL figure given in a reloading manual is specific to that boolit (or mold), and that boolit alone. When the Lee manual lists a "LRN" or "LSWC" at a certain weight for a particular cartridge, listing COL without identifying the mold is meaningless.

Determining COL for semi-auto pistols and nearly all rifle cartridges ain't quite as user friendly... as has been stated or described, it's the relationship between the boolit shape and firearm design that determine COL. There are SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute) minimums and maximums, but often, using cast boolits, the actual COL may not fall between those minimums and maximums.
*

[Wingman61]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I seems I will have to play around and see what works, and that sounds like fun. I guess my biggest concern with COAL is with pressure. The starting point I was looking for was a safe length to prevent over pressure. It seems like if I load to where the crimp groove is just below the case mouth it should be safe? Of course I'll have to work from there to see how it works in my guns. (9MM, 357MAG/38SPL, 45ACP)