First of all......the Hodgden listed OAL of 1.200" for 230 gr. ball is just wrong. The OP's posted pictures demonstrate that perfectly. I have spoken to Hodgden about this a few times and it has fallen on deaf ears. I load plated and load around 1.260. These feed and work fine in literally 50 plus .45's that I own. If it looks wrong, it may actually be wrong.
.45acp reloading COL questions
- Thread starter Harley Fan
- Start date
Groo01
Member
Groo here
The OAL is the minimum with any given powder charge [aka max]
shorter than this will cause higher pressure.[also bullet set back will do the same ]
Longer will usually not cause a problem.
To load to more then one gun, find the one with the shortest lead
load to it and the others will usually be ok.
This can be found by dropping the bullet into the barrel [out of the gun]
and measuring from the base to the hood of the barrel with dial caliper
[the rat tail]
Take a fired case {loose} fit the bullet to just fit the mag this is max length and plunk test.
if too long ,seat deeper till it does then record and load for real.
The OAL is the minimum with any given powder charge [aka max]
shorter than this will cause higher pressure.[also bullet set back will do the same ]
Longer will usually not cause a problem.
To load to more then one gun, find the one with the shortest lead
load to it and the others will usually be ok.
This can be found by dropping the bullet into the barrel [out of the gun]
and measuring from the base to the hood of the barrel with dial caliper
[the rat tail]
Take a fired case {loose} fit the bullet to just fit the mag this is max length and plunk test.
if too long ,seat deeper till it does then record and load for real.
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Try this, take a fired case, get a bullet that will lightly fit in. Start the bullet into the case, put both into the barrel chamber. Push until the case mouth seats, (you know how deep this is because you checked before with a couple of empty cases). Remove the dummy 'round', measure. You now know the limit for THAT combo. Subtract .015" from the OAL, there is your starting point.
fredj338
Member
Once again OAL seems to confuse new & old reloaders alike.it is this simple; oal is always barrel & bullet specific. Even if you use identical bullets in the data, your gun will have a diff throat, requiring a diff oal.
So make a dummy round for each bullet you load for. Start at 1.250" & plunk test it in Your barrel. If it fits, try it in your mag, all the way down. If not, seat 0.010" deeper & try again. That is your oal for that bullet in that fun.
So make a dummy round for each bullet you load for. Start at 1.250" & plunk test it in Your barrel. If it fits, try it in your mag, all the way down. If not, seat 0.010" deeper & try again. That is your oal for that bullet in that fun.
FWIW, I just measured two different brands of factory 230 FMJ loads and they were both 1.262" - 1.263".
m657
Member
I've always had trouble with trying to use the PUBLISHED "1.200" length. It ALWAYS makes trouble in ALL my 1911s.
I have found though, that for my own little clutch of 1911s, I can count on "1.235" to always work in all of them.
I used to use a 625-45 acp revolver to burn up the 1.200 stubbies.
Reloading is an Art & Science requiring attention to details that at times, turn out to be noisome errors perpetrated by even well established folks that should know better.
But the entire story illustrates the need for attention and questioning of why things work or don't work.
Last summer had launched into loading a bunch of 9mm to work reliably in a handful of 9mm pistols. Was doing pretty good, until son brought in his PPX...which just would NOT feed same OAL as the others...which were all in SAAMI spec.
I have found though, that for my own little clutch of 1911s, I can count on "1.235" to always work in all of them.
I used to use a 625-45 acp revolver to burn up the 1.200 stubbies.
Reloading is an Art & Science requiring attention to details that at times, turn out to be noisome errors perpetrated by even well established folks that should know better.
But the entire story illustrates the need for attention and questioning of why things work or don't work.
Last summer had launched into loading a bunch of 9mm to work reliably in a handful of 9mm pistols. Was doing pretty good, until son brought in his PPX...which just would NOT feed same OAL as the others...which were all in SAAMI spec.
