What 45acp dimensiond do you guys have?

[shagg]

I'm beginning to question my load data book, it gives 1.275 OAL and case length of .898. All factory ammo i measure is in the 1.26 range and every case i measure is in the .888 range. I've also found some powder statements, grains vs volume that are inconsistent. What is generally held as the best load data book (if any)?

Ron

[uncle joe]

I just bought a new Hornady manual that I love, has all the new cartridges and is not stuck on any one brand of powder like powder company books, however it does use hornady bullets for pics.
UJ

[theperfessor]

I've never found a .45 ACP case that reached the max listed length. I like the Lyman Cast Bullet handbook, I have several editions and I hear a née one is supposed to come out soon. Also use online references from various powder manufacturers.

I think COAL is another issue of max length vs what feeds best in factory test guns or your gun and will vary based on bullet profile.

[Gohon]

Use the barrel as a gauge and you'll do just fine.

[Dutchman]

Use the barrel as a gauge and you'll do just fine.

+1

I've handloaded .45 acp since 1968. I learned this method of OAL way back and have never deviated from it. Do double check OAL to allow for free function in _all_ your magazines when you do it this way. I never pay attention to numbers with .45 acp.

Oh, when I first loaded .45 acp it was for a Colt LW Commander that sold in 1956 for $125. I got the box and original bill of sale $100 in 1968. I shot the beejeebers out of that gun. I roll crimped it for quite a few years before I got into taper crimp. I never ever had a problem with roll crimping .45 acp in the Colt. Never.

I'm down to one Colt Gov't .45 acp now. Made in 1933 C-prefix and "Policia Federal" from Argentina. A JLD re-blue. No collector value but it can shoot little clusters at 20 yds.

The Colt 1911A1 went bye-bye last year after 30 years. But I got a good price for it.




My favorite. Brazilian Navy Modelo 1937. .45 AutoRim/acp. This gun makes you smile when you shoot it.



Dutch

[mike in co]

I'm beginning to question my load data book, it gives 1.275 OAL and case length of .898. All factory ammo i measure is in the 1.26 range and every case i measure is in the .888 range. I've also found some powder statements, grains vs volume that are inconsistent. What is generally held as the best load data book (if any)?

Ron

the number isa MAX OAL...NOT the correct oal for your gun with every bullet.

you are the loader you need to tune for your gun.

in 40 yrs of reloading i have only once seen 45acp brass that was at the "design " number.

mike in co

[Echo]

The .898 figure is the chamber depth, and I have never found a .45ACP case to be that long, putting to rest the idea that the round headspaces on the case neck. Seat your boolits a little proud of the neck so they contact the rifling origin. That cuts end-play to zero, and improves ignition. Taper crimp and press on.

[chris in va]

I have to load mine at 1.25 otherwise they won't fit in my magazine. When I was shooting my Sig 220 they were set at 1.26, but once I got the EAA Witness I discovered the rounds were getting jammed from being too long.

1.275 wouldn't even start to fit.

[casterofboolits]

I started with the Lyman manual fourty odd years ago and have stayed with it as my main source of info. I have other manuals which I consult ocasionally. Speer, Hornady and Accurate.

Lyman still remains my "go to" book. I too am awaiting Lyman's new Cast Bullet Handbook.

Remember that the OAL for 45 ACP is for the 230 grn hardball bullet. TC or SWC boolits will require a different OAL to fit your gun.

I load all my 45 ACP ammo to function in my Series 70 Colt Gold Cup and my other 1911 autos gobble it up without a problem.

[shagg]

Thanx all, i loaded my first rounds to 1.272 oal and it worked fine in my gun. I have since loaded to 1.264 oal and i think i'll leave it at that.


Ron

[David2011]

Overall length in a .45ACP is meaningless unless you define the bullet profile. Ball ammo will (should) function out to 1.285". A semiwadcutter at 1.285" won't even fit in the magazine. The 1.285" OAL is based on the ball bullet matching the inside shape of the magazine with very little clearance. For SWCs I load to 1.250" and they feed well. My experinece with case length is the same as the perfessor's. I have never measured a .45ACP cartridge that was at maximum length.

David

[XWrench3]

well, i have actually had to trim a few 45acp cases. i pick up anything i find, and i will load anything that looks good. but i do check them out as well. under NORMAL circumstances, using your own, or new brass, you will probably never see 0.898" shells as stated above, and oal varies greatly, it really depends on the boolit itself. my lee cast 230g rn boolits, like 1.250" much longer, and the boolit jams into the rifling, and the slide will not close. i have not seen the images GOHON posted before today. but basicly, that is what it boils down to. if you use that, you will not go wrong.

[MtGun44]

.45 ACP headspaces on the case neck. Those that have read the stories in gun mags
and assume that because you don't find brass that measures at max length should
take the top end off of a 1911 and spend a bit of time with different length cases
in the barrel with the barrel in the slide and look closely from the bottom with good
light and some feeler gages before they jump to the conclusion that the 1911 headspaces
on the extractor.

CAN it headspace on the extractor? Yes, of course. But - do some measuring of how
far from the breach face the case has to be for that to happen and you will find that there
is essentially no normal .45 ACP brass out there that is that short. Also, there is essential
no normal .45 ACP brass out there that makes the max case length.

The good news is that the firing pin on a 1911 goes out so far (like about 1/2" or more!)
that it will fire any length cartridge. I would imagine (I am not recommending it!) that
a .45 GAP would fire just fine in a 1911 chambered for .45 ACP. This would be a situation
where the extractor would hold the round back. BUT even if you removed the extractor
and chambered something as ridiculously short as a .45 GAP (I assume that the diam
is compatible, never have checked) it would still get struck by the very long stroke firing
pin of a 1911. Again - don't do such a thing, you could hurt yourself or damage the
gun for no good reason.

+1 on using the dismounted barrel as the way to set the TC and LOA for a 1911, and pretty
much any other semi auto pistol - with the caveat to also check for LOA fit in the magazine.
Book numbers are only of interest to ensure that you have an idea where the base of the
bullet/boolit is located to know the combustion chamber volume that they were using when
they measured the pressure. If you are seating deeper, you will get higher pressure due
to smaller combustion chamber.

Bill