COL for Lee TL 452 200gr SWC?

[philthephlier]

For 45 ACP what COL should I load to with the Lee tumble lube 200gr SWC?

[Jumping Frog]

Well, if you want the long story, you can read my thread over on The High Road regarding .45 ACP, 200 gr LSWC, and feeding (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=455184).

You will probably get people jump into this thread and spout the "1.250" mantra, which is what most people assume for a 200 gr LSWC bullet. They will be wrong.

Instead, the correct answer is you typically need roughly 0.030" of exposed shoulder on the driving band for a LSWC design to feed correctly.

The Lee bullet nose is too short for my gun. When I loaded the round so that the driving band was approximately 0.030", the round was far too short to feed in my gun.

Case length: ~ 0.890"
Driving Band: 0.030"
Bullet Nose: 0.254"

Total Length: 1.174"

My gun would not feed cartridges that short. Some people's 1911's will feed empty cases, but mine is more picky.

If I have an OAL of 1.192-1.194 (or shorter), then the round will jam during feeding. Any longer, and the shoulder gets jammed into the barrel lead and the gun won't go into battery.

After MUCH heartache, trial and error, I switched mold designs and picked up a Lyman mold. It feeds and fires flawlessly in my gun.

For the people who are going to chime in on loading a 200 gr LSWC to 1.245" - 1.250" OAL". The below picture demonstrates why that wasn't an option with the Lee design:

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg126/Jumping_Frog/DSCF0891D-noted.jpg

With the shorter nosed design, here are two different loaded rounds. The Lyman bullet on the left has a length of 1.245". The Lee design on the right is 1.174". Big difference. The Lyman bullet feeds just fine in my gun.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg126/Jumping_Frog/DSCF0921-cropped-2.jpg

[zomby woof]

I use 1.190-1.200" with that boolit. They feed fine in two 1911's.

[XTOL]

Ive run a couple thousand of those through my Colt Series 80
loaded at 1.180"

[gefiltephish]

I load that boolit to 1.185 over 4.5 of WST. I used the barrel to judge how deep to seat it. They feed ok in my RIA.

[Cloudpeak]

For 45 ACP what COL should I load to with the Lee tumble lube 200gr SWC?

Load a dummy round or two and use your (removed) barrel as a case gauge. You want the case head flush with the barrel hood or very slightly below. Drop a factory round in the chamber & see what it looks like. A loaded cartridge that sits higher than the barrel hood will result in failures to chamber. You will also find it difficult to remove a live round once the bullet shoulder has been jammed into the leade.

IOW, first job is to make sure the round will chamber which the above accomplishes. Second is to see if they will function 100% in your pistol.

Jumping Frog and I both had FTF problems with the stubby Lee bullets. I sold the Lee molds and bought a Lyman. The 200 gr SWC Lyman bullets have been 100% for several thousand rounds and I really like casting with the Lyman mold.

[Shiloh]

Both boolits feed fine in mine. Don't have that Lyman mold, but have fired that boolit. The convenience and volume of the LEE TL six banger mold is especially nice.
I seat it so it looks like the picture of yours. Just enough of the band to slide the round into the chamber. If out to far, it won't go into battery.

Shiloh