OK, my friends, I realize this is a S&W forum but seeing as how I just reloaded my last .38Spl Berry's I decided to load some .45ACP Nosler. Any help would be appreciated. I bought 250 Nosler #44964 230gr FMJ flat nose bullets back when I first started into reloading. I've just never loaded them. So, being out of Berry's and Winchester I thought I'd give them a try. The nearest recipe I could come up for this bullet profile with was from the Hornady 8th edition with their bullet #45187. Starting grain 5.0 and max 5.7gr. It gives a COL of 1.200". I loaded a couple of dummy rounds and put the caliper to them and I was just about on the money at 1.210"-1.214" COL. Tried them in my Glock36 barrel and they seated practically identically to all the other .45s I've loaded. Put two dummy rounds in the magazine and cycled them through the pistol and they did perfectly. So, my question is why won't they seat completely in a .45ACP case guage. None of the dummy rounds with go more than 1/2-3/4 into the guage. None will seat completely. The crimp seems fine. Still trying to learn, guys. Somebody come to the aid of a still novice.

Is it a Wilson CASE gauge? If so it is for a resized case not a Cartridge (with a bullet in it)

Take the barrel our of your gun and drop your dummy round into it. It should plunk in, Turn the barrel over it should fall right out.


A short throat is sometimes the culprit. Too long an O.A.L. is sometimes the problem, even with barrels with average throats.

This pic is often used to help explain correct headspacing and how O.A.L. can affect chambering and headspace.

__________________
Still Running Against the Wind

Thanks for the reply. No, it's a Dillon case gauge. I did the plunk test and it did exactly as you say. What's confusing to me is why is this happening when all the other rounds (1K+) have dropped into the case gauge easily. Nothing is different but the bullet. Even using the exact same brass.

Have you measured the bullet diameter? They may be slightly larger in diameter. I wouldn't worry about it as long as they headspace properly in your pistol's barrels.

The case gauge is way tighter tolerance than your barrel is. You need to find out what part of the bullet is causing your problem. I would like to see a picture of it if possible. I believe I could tell then.

I've ran into now two different unknown brands of plated .45 ACP bullets that had to be seated just slightly deeper than normal or the bullet would hit the lands. This is why I usually say to contact the bullet maker to see what they say to seat them at to prevent confusion. You can mark a bullet with a black magic marker and see where the lands rub off the marker ink.

Could be the crimp or lack of enough. The best gauge is your barrel. If it fits there than that's what matters.

So the Dillon gauge measures a loaded round rather than just the sized brass??

__________________
Still Running Against the Wind

I'm going to do something taboo and just admit I stopped using case gauges...

(dives for cover)

I just pull the barrel for everything I load. I even test fit the rifle ammo in the chamber for how much I'm bumping the shoulder back. If the bolt closes on the cartridge then I bump it back just a tiny bit more and call it good.

So far all my ammo goes blam-o and I've not seen any cases wear funny and everything hits the target.

Me to...I've been reloading since 1968 and never used a case gauge. I was taught to use your 45's barrel and your revolvers cylinders as the ultimate gauge. I don't even own a case gauge.
Is that blasphemy or somthing I should ask forgiveness for?
gary