OAL too long?

[cpatbay]

I am starting to load some 357 Mag rounds with 200 gr cast bullets from cast performance.

What confused me was that for me to seat the bullet so that the case mouth was within the crimp groove of the bullet, the OAL was around 1.610"; which was longer than the max OAL of 1.590" for 357 Mag rounds. If I push the bullet deeper so the OAL was 1.590", the case mouth would miss the groove.

What's the right thing to do here?

 

[SMSgt]

If the round fits your chamber and doesn't impede the cylinder rotation because the bullet binds on the forcing cone--you're fine. I would not seat it deeper than the crimp groove. Seat deeper could raise pressures catastrophically high.

 

[OKFC05]

Seat revolver bullets with crimping grooves so they crimp in the groove.
The OAL from a loading chart reference is only good FOR THE EXACT BULLET USED. Remember SAAMI specs are so ammo will work in all SAAMI chambers.

A problem with long bullets is that they have to fit in YOUR cylinder. If they will not when crimped in the groove, you bought the wrong bullets for your gun. Make one and try it; I'm betting it works.

 

[klausinak]

Seat to crimp groove, provided that will fit in your cylinder/chamber/feed in your levergun, etc.. If that won't fit, I'd try a different bullet, CP also makes a 180 w/ a shorter crimp to nose distance.

-Klaus

 

[cpatbay]

Great! That's what I need to know. Thanks.

 

[Nevada Ed]

In my 686 I have had RN loads with a OAL of 1.62" and they were inside the cylinder.

Just depends on the design of the bullet that the company pumps out.

No big thing if the bullet does not "Jump" under recoil.

PS;

158gr LRN could go to 1.66" and still work.
Sorry, forgot about that long bullet.

 

[gregintenn]

You could always file off the nose of the bullet.

Seriously, if it doesn't hang out the end of your cylinder, you're good to go.

 

[cpatbay]

OK. Loaded a few with the 200 gr. They fit in the cylinder and do not obstruct anything. Actually, it has quite a bit more to go before touching anything.

 

[Fishinfool]

OK. Loaded a few with the 200 gr. They fit in the cylinder and do not obstruct anything. Actually, it has quite a bit more to go before touching anything.

They should work fine for you. Just make sure to use enough crimp so they don't grow on you under recoil.

Larry

 

[rwsmith]

You don't want.....

You are right in that setting the bullet too deep will raise pressures but the .38/.357 cartridges are forgiving because of the large internal space and you can seat the bullet anywhere on the shank (straight side) of the bullet.

Now semi autos are a different story. Since they have a small case with just enough space to contain the powder, semi auto cartridges are VERY sensitive to OAL. Too deep and the pressure skyrockets and not deep enough, they won't feed.

 

[Rule3]

That's why the groove (cannelure) is there. Crimp in the groove.

I do not even measure lead bullet revolver loads

 

[mzack66]

Another vote for using the crimp groove. Just try one to be sure it fits in your gun with no binding, and a little clearance for recoil. If not, try a different bullet, but 1.61 should be okay in most guns. My 686 can deal with that length, but my Python is a bit shorter. Depends on the cylinder or your rig.

 

[bedbugbilly]

Just a suggestion . . . if you start to use a new bullet (one you haven't used before) such as what you are talking about . . load up a "dummy round" and try it in your cylinder "before" you reload any. That will tell you if it is going to fit your particular revolver cylinder or not so you can decide what you'll need to do before you load any.

Regardless of what caliber I'm loading, I always load up a dummy round and slide it in an envelope labeled with the bullet size/type, case length and OAL. That way, I can use the dummy round to quickly set up my seating die, etc. I use a 4 hole Lee turret and until I got enough turrets to leave my dies permanently set up, I found this to be a great help to quickly adjust the dies.

I ran into the same problem you did only with some RN bullets I cast out of an original Winchester mold for 38 spl. Case length was in spec. and bullet seated to crimp groove and roll crimped. Thankfully,I loaded a dummy round first and tried it. I have about 8 38 specials and in one, the nose stuck out just enough that it wouldn't work. I solved it by switching to a shorter Lee RN which cleared just fine. I could have trimmed some brass down just enough so it would work (I load light loads) but instead, I just switched bullets and made a note that the particular revolver needed the shorter RN.