Jelly,
I don't think you caused the thread to get hijacked either. The caution was to understand the need to overlook OAL sometimes and consider seating depth.

I just got a book from NKJ_Nut as a prize. It is Phil Sharpe's book on Handloading (reloaders need not read! ).

It seems to me that something has been lost over the years in understanding in our fine hobby. I have had to rethink things before and have done so on this issue years and years ago.

Adjusting OAL for fit or function with disregard towards seating depth is an accident waiting to happen.

Who cares if it fits and functions if it is a time bomb just waiting to go off.

Remember, this isn't for those that get bullet x, find recipe y and use the exact components to build bullet z. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, don't get me wrong, and this isn't "aimed" at Dennis, many folks just want bullets that shoot and don't experiment one iota. I mean this, that's fine. They are re-loaders.

This was for those few of us out there that take bullet xx without any recipe and try to build a safe, functioning round for it.

Take for example the 45ACP. Say I want to put a 255gr LRNFP from a 45Colt in it and run it in my M625JM. Where do I start? Well, I can tell you, seating depth. I will compare the crimp groove on that bullet to one I have known data for near the same weight. I will seat that bullet in the case, maybe make up a dummy round with no powder and primer, I've done that, and see how it chambers. Maybe it does. If so I go on from there with the adapted recipe. Starting low and working up.

What if it doesn't fit and I need to seat it deeper? Then I will until I get a round that fits my chambers. I will carefully note how much deeper I had to seat it and adjust the powder charge accordingly, maybe reduce it a full grain to start out with, working up from there.

That seating depth makes all the difference in the world in pressure problems, I don't care what anyone says. If you don't believe that, find someone with a semi-auto who has had a KB due to bullet set back. OAL didn't cause the problem, seating depth did.

An experiment of mine focused on this issue. I took a load with known performance and seated the bullet only .030" deeper. All of the other factors were the same, powder, primer, lube, bearing surface, bore condition, yada yada. From that deeper seating depth I saw an increase of over 100fps from my firearm. Fortunately, it wasn't a maximum load. What if it was though and I had total disregard for this knowledge and seated the bullet deeper to get it to function or fit in my firearm? Maybe nothing, maybe something catastrophic and it would be due to my ignorance.

When folks want to argue and fuss over what they know it only shows how much they really don't!