What should my oal be?

[txshooter524]

Want to load lee 230 gr truncated cone in .45 acp. Not sure what my oal should be. Lees manual says the min oal for a 230gr is 1.19 but this won't chamber in my springer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[fourarmed]

In a 1911 type, you just take the barrel out of the gun and use it as a gauge. Seat a bullet long and drop the round into the chamber. Keep seating the bullet deeper until the base of the case is even with the rear of the hood.

[Gerry N.]

Want to load lee 230 gr truncated cone in .45 acp. Not sure what my oal should be. Lees manual says the min oal for a 230gr is 1.19 but this won't chamber in my springer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If I tried to chamber a round in my Springer, he'd eat my face.

Gerry N.

[BD]

I suspect that something else is going on as I seem to remember seating those 230 gr. TCs to more like 1.35. I've only used OALS of 1.20 and less on the 452460s and button nosed wad cutters. How much bullet shank is exposed ahead of the brass?
BD

[arcticbreeze]

When you say it wont chamber can you tell what is stopping it? Is the shoulder hitting the rifling? What are you sizing your bullet at? I have had tight chambered guns that the boolit expanded the case just enough that the round would not chamber. If your not sure take a loaded round and color it with a marker. Take the barrel out of the gun and drop the round in. Where ever it stops put a little more pressure (not to much) than pull the round out and see where it is marked, that should help tell what the problem might be.

[txshooter524]

When you say it wont chamber can you tell what is stopping it? Is the shoulder hitting the rifling? What are you sizing your bullet at? I have had tight chambered guns that the boolit expanded the case just enough that the round would not chamber. If your not sure take a loaded round and color it with a marker. Take the barrel out of the gun and drop the round in. Where ever it stops put a little more pressure (not to much) than pull the round out and see where it is marked, that should help tell what the problem might be.


Yes the shoulder just barely hits the rifling it sticks out about 1/16 in beyond the barrel hood. These are tl bullets as cast they run .452-.453

[technetium-99m]

I load the 230gr TC to 1.207 with great results. They feed well and live eject easily. Live ejection is importat to me as I shoot a lot of USPSA.

Acurracy is 2+ inches at 25 yards.

GT

[arcticbreeze]

I don't think I would seat them much shorter. You might want to slug your barrel and see if you should size them smaller. You might have a barrel with a smaller than normal grove diameter or you may have to have your barrel throated. My 40 caliber match barrel actually has a groove diameter of .400 instead of .401. You mentioned as cast .452-.453. Any chance that your boolits may not be perfectly round and hitting where it is wider. My 40 caliber match barrel actually has a groove diameter of .400 instead of .401. Just some suggestions to get you started, I hope it helps.

[Wayne Smith]

I have no idea how experienced a loader you are, so forgive me if I state what is to you the obvious. When you seat your bullet deeper in the case than the data expects you increase pressures. Unless you are running light to mid-range loads reduce your powder charge before you seat the bullets any deeper.

[supv26]

I do not own a case guage (yet) and have been loading 20+ years. What I learned to do for pistol is to take the barrel out and drop a round into the chamber. I am satisfied when it drops in with a slight clink. The clink is when the shoulder/rim of the case hits the end of the chamber. This works for me with round nose and semi wad cutters.

The only gun I had that this concept did not work for was a Ruger P90 .45ACP. That is when I got my Lee FCD and that solved that issue.